Blind Boone as he was known, never saw a piano. He never saw a piece of music. But he was blessed with a beautiful talent and an amazing memory that overcame his handicap.
Born in a Warrensburg army camp during the Civil War, John William Boone came down with brain fever at the age of six months. His life was saved only because his mother allowed a camp doctor to remove his eyes. He was five years old when his mother gave him a tin whistle, his first musical instrument. A few years later he had a harmonica. John Boone was only nine years old when he was sent to the St. Louis School for the Blind, to learn a trade and receive some education. He found a piano, though, and started skipping his lessons to play it. School authorities closed up the piano and gave him a broom. The boy ran away.
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