The Blind Boys of Alabama, est. 1939

[low_delta]

There's something astir in the heart of musical America. A group of ancient gospel singers are penetrating into the very core of the nation's fame obsessed media machine, a place normally reserved for Hollywood celebs and teeny pop icons. They're getting primetime exposeure on The David Letterman Show, hot spots on 60 Minutes II, wild praise in the pages of Time Magazine, Rolling Stone, USA Today, Vibe and Vanity Fair. And all of this because they sing the depest, warmest, most soulful and inspirational gospel that's ever likely to ease your troubled mind. Praise the Lord, it hardly seems credible! It's been over sixty years ... SIXTY YEARS!.. since Blind Boys fouders Clarence Fountain, Jimmy Carter and George Scott met and started singing together at the Talladega Insititue for the Negro Blind in Alabama. Since then they've been joined by 'late arrivals' Joey Williams, Ricky McKinnie and Bobby Butler. The fortunes of the combo reached their first peak in the 1950's, when vocal groups reigned both in and out of the pop charts, but their recent climb to fame really began with the release of 'Spirit of the Century' on Real World Records in 2001. The album won a Grammy and the nation began to rediscover what true down-home gospel is really like. It's a taste that had almost been forgotten in recent years but something in the collective conscience, with its renewed hunger for unadulterated roots and th real musical McCoy, made the glorious voices of the Blind Boys seem like a tonic for the nation. Not that they're hooked on cheap nostalgia or anything like that. On their latest CD, 'Higher Ground', the Blind Boys bring their collective vocal powers to bear on songs by the likes of Curtis Mayfield, Prince, Tom Waits, Aretha Franklin, reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, or the very contemporary singing and songwriting genius Ben Harper, who describes the times he's shared a stage with the Blind Boys as "the greatest musical moments of my life." Furthermore these septagenarians have hired the very talented bandleader and slide guitar player Robert Randloph and his Family Band to back them up on their new album. Randolph is at least five decades younger than the youngest Blind Boy. So this is more than just revival music, it's bridging music, closing the gap between geherations. between pop and its distant gospel roots, between sinners and saviours, and between the sighted and the blind. "Faith, soul and quality by the truckload," as those folks at Billboard recently wrote.

From the concert program

Comments

[i.livejournal.com]

i honestly believe that peter had a lot to do with this.

[cynnerth.livejournal.com]

Their rendition of Amazing Grace blew me away. I'm getting goosebumps now just thinking about it.



Or maybe it's this cold basement I'm sitting in with no socks on...

[specificocean.livejournal.com]

I thank the music director gods (actually, Martin Bandyke at WDET, the Detroit NPR station) for playing 'Spirit of the Century' last year when it came out and 'Higher Ground' THIS year. I'm a big Stevei Wonder fan, but their version of the latter song is better than his, IMHO.

WDET webcasts via www.wdetfm.org

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

I mentioned the Blind Boys here, about a year ago.

I've been looking for "Higher Ground", but I haven't seen it. I may have to buy the record.

[specificocean.livejournal.com]

Look on ebay....