We’re really looking forward to meeting you and being at the show. No, Clarence will not be joining us, but Jimmy Carter will be there along with myself and the rest of the Blind Boys of Alabama. Will he be joining you at Blues Under the Bridge? Playing blues with people is like that a lot of the time, like a boxing match or something, but those people end up being really close friends.Ĭlarence Fountain and Jimmy Carter are the only remaining founders of the group, and I know Clarence Fountain has been having some health problems. I’ve always thought those friendly rivalries are so fun. Yes, we used to be called the Happy Land Jubilee Singers, and then we played a show with another group, and it was billed as The Five Blind Boys of Alabama vs. One interesting note I read was that the group used to go by a different name until you were billed on a show as the Blind Boys of Alabama. And if you keep the drive and the sight and keep the faith, everything will work out. A disability is nothing but a limitation. We want the people to know that it’s not about what you can’t do, it’s about what you can do. Do y’all have a mission in your heart that drives all of this success? This group has been together for over 70 years, and in that time you have brought gospel music into the spotlight of mainstream music. I’ve played the Apollo more times than I can count. … I was a house drummer at the Apollo when the Blind Boys played there. Well, you know, I’ve been playing drums with the Blind Boys of Alabama for 40 years, and I’ve known them all since I was 4 years old. Were you a part of that first rise toward success the Blind Boys experienced? In the 2004 DVD Live at the Apollo, George Scott mentioned that the Blind Boys played at the Apollo 40 years earlier. We enjoy everything that different artists have brought to the table. It was like that, so we enjoyed it very much. Well, we went into the studio with Ben Harper to record two songs, and we ended up recording a whole album. Do you have a favorite experience in all the collaborations you’ve done? In 2004 you released one of my all-time favorite albums with Ben Harper, There Will Be a Light. We collaborate with a lot of the same people, you know: Yim Yames, Bonnie Rait, Gift of Gab. He produced your album Deep River 25 years ago. I had an opportunity to sit down with him and his wife, and they were very nice. We don’t know what we’re going to call it yet, but I think it’s going to be really good. I was told you guys have been in the studio working on a new album? Her and my father were known as the preaching deacon and the singing sister. I grew up in the church, and singing was just something we did. Was there anyone in your family or in the church who inspired you to start singing or was it just natural for you? As long as there are people listening, we’ll keep making our music for them. Ricky McKinnie: Everyone we’ve worked with and all the people who listen to our music drive us to do what we do. Is there anyone who has done that for you? You all have been a huge inspiration to me in being fearless on stage and feeling comfortable playing anything from gospel to funk music. Grant Sabin: I’ve been a huge fan of the Blind Boys of Alabama my whole life. Here are highlights from his artist to artist conversation with Ricky McKinnie, accomplished Blind Boys drummer who also tours with the Ricky McKinnie Singers, which he founded in 1978. When local bluesman and Blues Under the Bridge veteran Grant Sabin caught wind that we were interviewing the Blind Boys as headliner of this year’s Blues Under the Bridge, he wanted in. Their awards have been numerous awards, including five Grammys and a Lifetime Achievement Grammy. From the Jim Crow South and the Civil Rights Movement to performing at the White House for three presidents, the Blind Boys have stayed true to the music they love, blending tight harmonies of early jubilee gospel with innovative improvisations. The original members, including current leader Jimmy Carter, began singing together as kids at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in the late 1930s-more than 70 years ago. It’s no hyperbole to say the Blind Boys of Alabama are living legends.
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