The Blind Boys of Alabama

The Blind Boys of Alabama

The Blind Boys of Alabama are a gospel group from Talladega, Alabama, formed in 1939 at the Talladega School for the Deaf and Blind, later known as the Talladega Institute for the Deaf and Blind. The group begins as school students singing in the glee club, and at first performs professionally as the Happyland Jubilee Singers before taking the name the Blind Boys of Alabama in 1950, after the death of one of their members.

Early years and recordings

The original line-up includes Clarence Fountain, Johnny Fields, George Scott, Ollice Thomas and Vel Trayler. From the start, all but one member are blind. The group first records in 1948 and begins by working with small labels, starting with Coleman Records in Newark. Between 1953 and 1957 it records for Specialty, and from 1963 to 1965 it records extensively for Vee Jay. In the 1950s it has gospel hits with songs including “Oh, Lord Stand By Me” and “I Can See Everybody’s Mother But I Can’t See Mine”.

The group’s early style takes cues from the Golden Gate Quartet, which Clarence Fountain hears on the radio as a young person. During the 1960s, its hard-driving gospel sound is also echoed by artists such as Bobby “Blue” Bland and Marvin Gaye.

Membership and later work

The line-up changes over time. Fountain leaves in 1969 for around a decade before the group reforms with the original members in the late 1970s. Later members include Eric McKinney, Billy Bowers, Jimmy Carter, Joey Williams and Donald Dillion, and the group continues to perform under the vocal leadership of Jimmy Carter. The verified line-up also includes Eric “Ricky” McKinnie, Ben Moore, William Bell, Bobby Butler, Curtis Foster, Peter Levin, Trudy Lynn, George Scott and Joey Gilmore. Clarence Fountain remains the only living founding member; George Scott dies in 2005 and Johnny Fields dies in 2009.

In the 1990s the group expands beyond the Bible Belt, touring theatres and larger churches and making its first European tours. It also appears at festivals such as the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Beale Street Music Festival and the King Biscuit Blues Festival, and it tours in Melbourne and at the World’s Fair in Brisbane. Television appearances include BET’s On Jazz and a cameo in Beverly Hills, 90210.

Recognition and notable recordings

The Blind Boys of Alabama gain wider attention in 1988 through the Obie Award-winning Broadway production Gospel at Colonus, which they play for 15 weeks. They receive a National Heritage Fellowship in 1994 and are inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2002.

Since 2002, the group wins the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album every year. Its cover of Tom Waits’s “Way Down in the Hole” is used as the opening theme for the first season of HBO’s The Wire. In 2008, the group releases Down in New Orleans, recorded with New Orleans musicians including the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Allen Toussaint.

Style and labels

The group is identified with gospel, and the listed genres also include blues, soul, folk and soul-blues. It records for a range of labels over the years and is associated with Opus Music Ventures.