03/30/2025
Today is ! Celebrated on the 88th day of each year in reference to the piano’s 88 keys, Piano Day was envisioned as an occasion to celebrate the piano’s music and those who perform and compose with the instrument. On this Piano Day, we honor one of Missouri’s most acclaimed pianists, ragtime pioneer John William “Blind” Boone.
Blind Boone was born in a Missouri State Militia camp to Rachel Boone, a formerly enslaved woman working as a cook for the militia. As an infant, he became sick with what was then known as “brain fever” but was likely meningitis. Treatment at this time involved removing a patient’s eyes.
Young J.W. Boone showed an aptitude for playing musical instruments, and at the Missouri School for the Blind, he demonstrated impressive skills on the piano. Particularly, he was able to play songs from memory. When the school enacted new rules that prevented Black children from playing the piano, Boone skipped class. He often instead spent time at nearby saloons where he could play the instrument freely, and these frequent absences resulted in him being expelled from the school.
After a series of struggles following his time at school, Boone’s musical career began in earnest when he met John Lange Jr., a man who would prove to be a skilled music manager and worked with Boone until his death in 1916. Under the banner of the Blind Boone Company, Boone played his first concert in 1880.
Throughout his career, J.W. Boone performed more than 7,000 concerts across the US and Canada. He played to mixed-race audiences, and his concerts featured classical songs, hymns, and some of the earliest ragtime music. A signature of Boone’s style was his fast style of playing, which made his compositions highly complex. Some of his work was even recorded by the player piano roll company QRS.
Today, Boone’s home in Columbia is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and can be toured. Boone is shown here at home sitting at his grand piano, courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri Louise B. Trigg Photograph Collection P0163.
If you’re interested in hearing some of Boone’s work, the University of Missouri School of Music hosted a recital of some of his compositions, which can be viewed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxoHEFVlHn4.
