Blind Tom, the Black Pianist-Composer (1849-1908) [Hardcover]

Geneva H. Southall (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0810835940 | ISBN-13: 978-0810835948 | Publication Date: July 28, 1999

This work focuses on the debate surrounding the American blind black pianist Blind Tom. Born into slavery in 1849, was a musicain of amazing skill. The author asks questions about the talents of black performers, their ability to weather the dual stigmatization of racism and (in Blind Tom's case) physical disability to produce music not just worthy of rememberance but of importance to the tradition of American arts from which they were simultaneously excluded. The author doesn't just tell a tragic tale of a black musical prodigy but also investigates tangled issues of race, racism, musical skill, American culture, and the collective stereotypes that pockmarked America after the Civil War.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[Southall] writes with passion and considerable knowledge of the subject. (Notes )

Blind Tom is a work of empirical research, sympathy and engagement... [it] illustrates the continuing strengths and virtues of "traditional" scholarship in the field of musicological studies. (Journal Of American Studies )

[Southall] writes with passion and considerable knowledge of the subject..... (Notes )

Blind Tom is a work of empirical research, sympathy and engagement... [it] illustrates the continuing strengths and virtues of traditional scholarship in the field of musicological studies..... (Journal Of American Studies ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Geneva Handy Southall (B.A. Dillard University, M.Mus. American Conservatory, Ph.D., University of Iowa) is Professor Emeritus of Afro-American Studies at the University of Minnesota.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Scarecrow Press (July 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810835940
• ISBN-13: 978-0810835948
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,457,740 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)