Biographical Note
John William "Blind" Boone was a Black pianist and composer born on May 17, 1864, in Miami, Missouri, to Rachel Boone, a U.S. Army cook, and an unidentified musician in the U.S. Army. "Blind" Boone was not born blind. At an early age, he contracted an illness that medical professionals of the time determined was only curable by removing his eyes.
By age three, Boone was showing interest and talent in music. In 1872, with the financial support of his local community, Boone was sent to the St. Louis School for the Blind to foster and develop his musical talent and receive a formal education. Although he disliked the academic program, during his first year he succeeded at becoming proficient at playing piano by ear. When the school placed Boone in a broom-making trade class, he began sneaking out of school to listen to music in the "Tenderloin" district of St. Louis. The frequency of these trips led to Boone's expulsion after his second year.
Boone had difficulty getting his music career started. Upon his return from school, he toured with a small band, and then with a gambler who exploited Boone and his talents until he was rescued by his stepfather. Boone began touring again and encountered John Lange Jr., who took an interest in Boone and invested in his career, paying for him to receive formal piano training at Christian College and Iowa State Teachers College. While there, he was exposed to the music of classical composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Liszt.
During this time, Lange and Boone established the Blind Boone Concert Company. They held their first concert in 1880 and went on to tour the United States, Canada, and Mexico for thirty years. Boone performed a wide range of music, including original compositions, plantation songs, spirituals, classical works, and ragtime tunes. The Blind Boone Company traveled under the slogan "We Travel on Merit, Not Sympathy" to keep the focus on Boone's talents rather than his blindness. Boone married Lange's sister Eugenia (1870-1931) in 1889.
Upon Lange's death in 1916, the Blind Boone Concert Company's success rapidly declined. Despite fewer bookings and performance opportunities due to the changing world of entertainment, as well as a resurgence of racism and prejudice, Boone continued to perform until his last concert on May 31, 1927, just months before he died on October 4, 1927.