The Blind Boys of Alabama

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Blind Boys of Alabama
Biography (Excerpt)

The Blind Boys of Alabama are a Gospel ensemble originally formed in 1939 after its founding members met at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind. The group has released well over 50 recordings since 1948, five of which have won Grammy Awards. Its Nonesuch catalog includes the soundtrack for the musical The Gospel at Colonus and 1992’s Deep River, an album of originals and covers.

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The Blind Boys of Alabama are a Gospel ensemble originally formed in 1939 and active to this day. Its founding members—Clarence Fountain, Johnny Fields, George Scott, and Ollie Thomas—first met at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind. The group has released well over 50 recordings since 1948, five of which have won Grammy Awards. They have also built a reputation as guest artists with a diverse array of other musicians from Bonnie Raitt and Solomon Burke to Lou Reed and Ben Kweller.

A major boost to the Blind Boys’ popularity came when the group participated in the Bob Telson musical The Gospel at Colonus in the early 1980s, the soundtrack of which is available from Nonesuch. The Blind Boys’ Nonesuch catalog also includes 1992’s Deep River, an album filled with both original songs and covers, which the Los Angeles Times likened the album to "a great gospel performance," with its "slow and medium tempo devotionals” and “roof-rattling rave-ups.”

Latest Release

  • November 6, 1992

    The five-time Grammy Award–winning Blind Boys of Alabama have been active since 1939, when the group met at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind. The Los Angeles Times likened the album to "a great gospel performance," with its "slow and medium tempo devotionals” and “roof-rattling rave-ups.”

Releases

News

  • July 24, 2018

    The Gospel at Colonus, Bob Telson and Lee Breuer's groundbreaking retelling of Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus, will be given six free performances at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, September 4–9, presented by The Public Theater and the Onassis Foundation USA. The musical, for which Nonesuch released the 1985 original cast recording, returns to NYC for the first time since 2004 to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the original production. Set in the context of a black Pentecostal service, it celebrates the myth of Oedipus' redemption with a rousing gospel and blues score, featuring more than forty voices including The Blind Boys of Alabama as Oedipus.

  • October 10, 2012

    Dr. John hits the road with a four-piece band and The Blind Boys of Alabama for the Spirituals to Funk tour, starting tonight in California. Based on the legendary Carnegie Hall Spirituals to Swing concerts of the 1930s, Spirituals to Funk features an integrated show that explores the connections between jazz, blues, and gospel, all under Dr. John's musical direction. "Musical pairings don’t come much more inspired," says the San Diego Union-Tribune. The tour will visit 30 cities and towns in 14 states across the US.

Tour

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About The Blind Boys of Alabama

  • The Blind Boys of Alabama are a Gospel ensemble originally formed in 1939 and active to this day. Its founding members—Clarence Fountain, Johnny Fields, George Scott, and Ollie Thomas—first met at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind. The group has released well over 50 recordings since 1948, five of which have won Grammy Awards. They have also built a reputation as guest artists with a diverse array of other musicians from Bonnie Raitt and Solomon Burke to Lou Reed and Ben Kweller.

    A major boost to the Blind Boys’ popularity came when the group participated in the Bob Telson musical The Gospel at Colonus in the early 1980s, the soundtrack of which is available from Nonesuch. The Blind Boys’ Nonesuch catalog also includes 1992’s Deep River, an album filled with both original songs and covers, which the Los Angeles Times likened the album to "a great gospel performance," with its "slow and medium tempo devotionals” and “roof-rattling rave-ups.”

Performs On