Thomas Bowers (singer)
| Thomas J. Bowers | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Thomas J. Bowers |
| Born | c. 1823 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | October 3, 1885 Pennsylvania |
| Occupation(s) | Concert artist |
| Years active | 1854–85 |
Thomas J. Bowers (c. 1823–October 3, 1885), also known as "The Colored Mario", was an African-American concert artist. He studied voice with African-American concert artist Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield and toured with her troupe for a few years before embarking on his own successful solo career. He was the brother of professional singer Sarah Sedgwick Bowers, known as "the Colored Nightingale", and John C. Bowers, a Philadelphia entrepreneur and church organist.
A fictionalized version of Thomas Bowers' life was depicted by actor William Marshall in a 1964 episode of Bonanza titled "Enter Thomas Bowers".
Thomas Bowers was born in 1836 in Philadelphia. His father, John C. Bowers, Sr. (1773-1844), was a secondhand clothing dealer, a vestryman and school trustee at St. Thomas African Episcopal Church, and one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. His mother's name was Henrietta. As a youngster, Thomas showed a desire to learn music and was taught piano and organ by his older brother John. At the age of 18, he succeeded his brother as organist of St. Thomas African Episcopal Church. He and his brother were trained as tailors and operated a "fashionable merchant tailor shop" catering to upper class gentlemen and businessmen in Philadelphia.
Despite his natural aptitude for music and enjoyment of singing, Bowers deferred to his parents' wishes not to perform outside the church. He declined offers to sing with the famous Frank Johnson's Band of Philadelphia, among others. But as more people became acquainted with his singing, he was persuaded to appear at a Philadelphia recital in 1854 with African American concert artist Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, and became her student in voice. That 1854 appearance met with popular and critical success; the critics began calling him "The Colored Mario" and "The American Mario" for the similarity of his voice to Italian opera tenor Giovanni Mario. Bowers personally disliked the sobriquet, but agreed to be billed as "Mareo". He proceeded to tour with Greenfield's troupe in Philadelphia, the Midwestern United States, New York, and Canada, and afterwards embarked on a successful solo career.
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