People get ready: The Blind Boys Of Alabama are coming.
With a career spanning seven decades, The Blind Boys are legends of the industry, and this month they're coming back to Australia to bring their own gospel sound to Bluesfest Byron Bay. Founding member Jimmy Carter has always felt the love for Australia, calling his Aussie fans “the nicest people in the world”.
It's been a few years since the group graced us with their presence, but for those few unfamiliar, The Blind Boys Of Alabama first performed together in 1944 and have been a mainstay in the gospel, blues, soul and rock scenes since then (gospel being what they love to play the most, and what they're known for). Yes, the singers are both blind and from Alabama (though Jimmy will tell you being blind really has nothing to do with it).
The band's following grew pretty late in their career, but over the years The Blind Boys have stayed true to their roots in gospel music, working with amazing artists like Bob Dylan, Prince, Peter Gabriel, and newer artists like Bon Iver. The Blind Boys had humble beginnings. “All we had back then was a guitar!” Jimmy says of those early days. “Now, with contemporary music how it is... we just had our voices, and gospel.”
While other artists who emerged around the same time moved on from gospel to change with the times, Jimmy says The Blind Boys “made a pact” that they would always stick to playing gospel music.
So, is that the secret to their lengthy success: sticking to their guns? “We're doing what we love. We're doing what God told us to do, helped us to do. We just gotta keep going, that's how it's always been.”
After seven decades, they've got to be doing something right. Jimmy says he always knew what he wanted to do: that his love of music was always there and has always stayed there.
When The Blind Boys first started it was during segregation, the Jim Crow era. It was difficult for them just to find something to eat while they were performing because, as Jimmy remembers: “They wouldn't let us into the white restaurants or anywhere like that. It was hard, but the music got us through it.”
The Blind Boys have had the chance to meet and perform for three different presidents in the White House during their time including Barack Obama. Jimmy says he had no idea he'd ever perform for not just multiple presidents, but a black president.
He says he got to meet Barack Obama as well as perform for him. Back when the band were witnessing the Civil Rights movement firsthand in the 1960s, he never even thought it was a possibility. “I didn't feel like we were a huge part of it: the movement. But being even a small part of it, playing at benefits for Martin Luther King, that meant a great deal to us. It did feel important.”
In terms of the current state of equality in America, Jimmy acknowledges the steps in the right direction that have been made. “There has definitely been progress. But we've still got a long way to go.”
Seventy years in the music industry is a lot of time and a lot of hard work, but did Jimmy and the the band ever have one of those moments where they wanted to give it all up? “It never crossed my mind,” he says.
Though Jimmy admits there have been tough times, he says that God and his love of gospel music got him through it, and that his love of the music always keeps him going.
Jimmy talks about the accolades the band has received with a lot of pride, noting that even though they had been working and performing for a long time before any mainstream recognition, “it's better late than never!” The band has five Grammys to their name, including the Lifetime Achievement Grammy.
What's next for the band that's been around forever? Jimmy says he'd love to work with Stevie Wonder. “I've always loved his voice, his music.”
But now it's Bluesfest time, where The Blind Boys will bring a slice of music history to Australia and play plenty of their signature tunes. There's one song in particular fans of the band can definitely expect to hear. “'Amazing Grace' is my favourite gospel song,” Jimmy says.
“That's our signature song, we'll always play it.”
Written by Stephanie O'Neill
The Blind Boys Of Alabama Tour Dates
Sun 27 Mar - Bluesfest (Byron Bay)Mon 28 Mar - Bluesfest (Byron Bay)
Thu 31 Mar - QPAC (Brisbane)
Fri 1 Apr - Melbourne Recital Centre
Sat 2 Apr - The Factory Theatre (Sydney)
