Blind Boys Of Alabama
The aren't many bands with a sixty year plus history, a couple of dozen albums to their credit and a Grammy, but the Blind Boys Of Alabama are one of them.
The band acquired their name back in 1948, but had originally formed in '39 as The Happy Land Jubilee Singers in Talladega (Ala.) Institute for the Deaf and Blind. They took part in a singing contest against another blind band, The Jackson Harmoneers in a contest in '48 that was billed as, 'The Blind Boys Of Alabama Verses The Blind Boys of Mississippi, and the name stuck.
Both bands ended up being amongst the biggest names in gosple music. The institute that the band came from had a tough image. It wasn't unusual for residents to be beaten if they stepped out of line.
The Blind Boys Of Alabama have songs by some unexpected names in their repertoire over the years, including those bastions of virtue Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
The Blind Boys Of Alabama have graced the Cambridge Stage before and it's good to see them back. Whilst gosple isn't everybody's cup of tea, this is a band that knows how to use it to it's best.
POST FESTIVAL VERDICT
A sixty year history doesn't lie. They are commensurate perfirmers with a good sense of humour. You should see their chair routine. There is still strenth in the voices and I'm sure whilst there's still breath in the body it will be given to singing.