Tom Wiggins — The blind, autistic former slave who became one of America’s finest 19th century musicians.
The amazing tale of the musical genius “Blind Tom”, a phenomenally successful pianist and composer.
Born into slavery in the mid-nineteenth century, the tale of Tom Wiggins is one of prodigious talent forcing its way through all barriers. He was born blind and would be considered autistic in the today’s world, but his phenomenal gifts, and the range of emotion in his music made him one of the most renowned romantic composers and pianists in the United States of America.
The many twists and turns of his life story might never truly be uncovered as his genius emerged at a turbulent time in a nation at a transition. Though what we know is already extraordinary. This is the story of Thomas Wiggins….
Slave on a Georgia Plantation
When Thomas Wiggins was born in 1848, his mother Charity was understandably anxious about his future as a blind slave living on a Georgia plantation . After his master Wiley Jones branded him a “worthless runt”, Tom’s early fate was firmly in the hands of his mother’s negotiation skills. Jones had refused to feed or clothe Tom, and put him up for auction seperated from the rest of his family. Charity Wiggins, however was successful in her endeavours. At the last minute, she managed to convince pro-slavery newspaper mogul James Bethune to buy her family together at the slave market.
Initially, Tom was largely hidden from his owners. However as soon as he turned one, he began to show unique traits. He had an ability to replicate noises of birds and other animals, mechanical objects and people around him. When he turned four, he became a constant fixture in the music hall of James Bethune, watching the slave-owner’s daughters learn piano and then copying their playing.
A slave owner with an eye for silver, Bethune recognised the potential for an investment. By six years old, Tom had already become famous throughout Georgia as an artist who could recite and musical composition regardless of difficulty. By the age of eight he was touring the United States, and by ten he performed at the White House for President James Buchanan (1860). He was reportedly the highest paid pianist of the 19th century, though he saw almost nothing of this income….
Tom possessed a combination of perfect pitch and absolute immersion in sound due to being severely visually impaired. Despite his talents, there may have been a degree of embellishment with regards to the extent and sources of his abilities. Supporters and charlatans throughout his life made use of exaggeration and mysticism, even fellow slaves believed he could communicate with otherworldly spirits.
He had a number of behaviours which would today be classified within Autistic Spectrum Disorder. These included body rocking, twitching hand-movements and vocalizations, and other restrictive and repetitive behaviour traits. The Piano may have provided Tom a release from the sensory/auditory overload he would have as a combined result of his blindness and Autism. His pleasure in playing would gradually become part of the spectacle for audiences mesmerised by the wonder they were witnessing, and the metamorphosis when touching ivory keys was noted by figures from John Steinbeck to Mark Twain.
“I am astounded. I cannot account for it, no one can, no one understands it“ unnamed concert-goer
Compositions
Composed only when he was 14, The Battle of Manassas is the magnum opus of Tom Wiggins — a piece commemorating the first victory of the Confederate army in the Civil War, though likely through accounts given to him by Bethune. He was said by his manager to have “enlisted his heart to Confederate causes”, although perhaps the subtle discordances in the piece are a gentlly penned subversive musical letter reflecting the young teenager’s true feelings about war.
“A complex man who listened to the turbulent world around him and reflected it in sound” Jeremy Denk on Thomas Wiggins
His famous “The Rainstorm” was apparently first composed when he was five years old, and this has been recorded by musician John Davis alongside a number of his other songs. The “Sewing Song” also composed in his youth, mimics the sound of a machine which would have likely filled his childhood.
The last few decades have found a re-discovery of Thomas Wiggins’s musical compositions, prompted by a recording of 14 works by pianist John Davis, and a biography written by Deirdre O’Connell, the Ballad of Blind Tom.
The spectacle of “Blind Tom”
Things moved fast for young Tom when his talent was discovered. James Bethune hired him out to concert promoter Perry Oliver, and together Bethune and Oliver profited from his success over the following years. During the Civil War, his performances continued to be lucrative both for his owners and for the confederate cause.
However it took the end of the Civil War for Tom to achieve the success he was destined for, as he swiftly became a well-known name throughout Europe and North America. A current of racism surrouneded his popularity, as allegations of witchcraft and magic underpinned the perennial question “How could he be so gifted”.
This supernatural elements wherein he connected manufactured and natural soundscapes to his art were likely to be a unique experience for audiences who have never seen such a thing before…. The exhibition of a “Blind Tom” experience became as much a consequence of his movements before and during his playing, as to the other otherworldly abilities he seemed to display, not just on the piano more carnivalesque displays — sounds and speeches being mimicked, tricks with two or even three instruments being played simultaneously— banjos, flutes, and percussion all at once.
“He is a singular and inexplicable phenomenon” Composer Ignaz Moscheles
A Complex and Mysterious End to an Amazing Life
No longer officially a slave after 1865, Tom remained under the guardianship of James Bethune, earning only $20 per month. He was kept in hotel rooms on his tours with little contact with any other money made. The son of James Bethune, John, later took over the guardianship and squandered much of the phenomenal annual earnings made by Tom’s performances. Tom himself appeared to have little interest in remuneration, simply enjoying being a musician and connecting the sounds to his audience.
Following this period, he ended up under the stewardship of John’s widow, Eliza, a period during which he was unhappy and he died in 1908 following a stroke, aged 60. He may not have known the huge impact he may be yet to have as the first African-American musician to perform at the White House, someone who was blind and autistic but produced immense joy for a huge number of people. His legacy will surely remain strong, with hopes that we discover more of his music over the coming years and decades.
Further Listening
Further Viewing
Further Reading
The Ballad of Blind Tom by Deirdre O’Connell:
Born into slavery in Georgia, Tom Wiggins died an international celebrity in New York in 1908. His life was one of the most bizarre and moving episodes in American history. Born blind and autistic-and so unable to work with other slaves-Tom was left to his own devices. He was mesmerized by the music of the family’s young daughters, and by the time he was four Tom was playing tunes on the piano.
Eventually freed from slavery, Wiggins, or “Blind Tom” as he was called, toured the country and the world playing for celebrities like Mark Twain and the Queen of England and dazzling audiences everywhere. One part genius and one part novelty act, Blind Tom embodied contradictions-a star and a freak, freed from slavery but still the property of his white guardian. His life offers a window into the culture of celebrity and racism at the turn of the twentieth century.
In this rollicking and heartrending book, O’Connell takes us through the life (and three separate deaths) of Blind Tom Wiggins, restoring to the modern reader this unusual yet quintessentially American life.
Autistic Spectrum Disorder: Read more here: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/what-is-autism
