Amateurs Like Us

The stunt did pay off; one of the films, Black-Eyed Susan, was screened at the Garden State Film Festival, where it won the prize for best feature. And Conte was invited to play at the opening of the festival. But he was described only as “John Conte who broke the Guinness Book of World Records for continuous piano playing.” There was no reference to his many years of composing and performing. Though few would recognize Conte’s music, many now know his name. Conte the professional amateur is more famous than Conte the professional composer and musician will ever be.