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.
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.”
