THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA
Blind Boys of Alabama are a five-time Grammy Award winning gospel group from Alabama. They first sang together in 1944. Since then, the group’s output has spanned seven decades of tours and appearances, and produced a successful discography. Since their formation, Blind Boys of Alabama have made it their self-proclaimed goal to “spiritually uplift audiences”. In the words of one of the group’s blind members, Ricky McKinnie, “Our disability doesn’t have to be a handicap. It’s not about what you can’t do. It’s about what you do. And what we do is sing good gospel music.” (More from Wikipedia)
Adversity in life seems to be one of the sparks that have ignited many a talented musician over the years. The idea that being blind aids hearing and, thus, musical talent is nearly a cliché. Two of the greatest R&B artists of all time are blind: Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles; other notable blind musicians include José Feliciano, Clarence Carter, Terri Gibbs, Ronnie Millsap, and Doc Watson. There are many others who are less well known, such as Blind Lemon Jefferson (apparently the source of the name of the 1990’s band Blind Melon), Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, and (from the world of gospel music) the Blind Boys of Alabama and the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi (also called the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, the Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama and the Original Five Blind Boys of Mississippi). Frontman John Kay of Steppenwolf didn’t just wear sunglasses to look cool; he has a degenerative eye disease. There is no telling how many better known blind artists I am inadvertently omitting, there are so many.
(June 2011)
