Praise 93.3 logo
Get our free mobile app

Alabama has deep roots in gospel music. One of the famous groups that Alabamians and the entire world loves are The 5 Blind Boys of Alabama.

Sonorous Records is releasing 91 original track recordings from their HOB Catalogue by the Five Blind Boys Of Alabama. The tracks are part of an eight album release, remastered and digitally enhanced from original recordings. “All efforts have been made to maintain the integrity of the original sound,” stated Ivan Cavric label manager for Sonorous. The albums are titled:

Mother On A Train – release date August 11, 2021

Put Your Hand In The Hand – release date August 9, 2021

Coming Back – release date August 10, 2021

How Far Am I From Canaan – release date August 12, 2021

Lord Have Mercy – release date August 13. 2021

Even Me – release date August 17. 2021

It’s Alright – release date August 19. 2021

Some Day – – release date August 24. 2021

 

The Blind Boys of Alabama have the rare distinction of being recognized around the world as both living legends and modern-day innovators. They are not just gospel singers borrowing from old traditions; the group helped to define those traditions in 20th century and almost single-handedly created a new gospel sound for the 21st. Since the original members first sang together as kids at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in the late 1930s (including Jimmy Carter, who leads the group today), the band has persevered through seven decades to become one of the most recognized and decorated roots music groups in the world.

Touring throughout the South during the Jim Crow era of the 1940s and 1950s, the Blind Boys flourished thanks to their unique sound, which blended the close harmonies of early jubilee gospel with the more fervent improvisations of hard gospel. In the early 1960s, the band sang at benefits for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and were a part of the soundtrack to the Civil Rights movement. But as the years passed, gospel fans started to drift away and follow the many singers who had originated in the church but were now recording secular popular music. And the Blind Boys, who refused many offers to ‘cross over’ to secular music, also saw their audiences dwindle. However, the Blind Boys persevered and their time came again, starting in the 1980s with their starring role in the Obie Award-winning musical “The Gospel at Colonus,” which began a new chapter in their incredible history. It’s almost unbelievable that a group of blind, African-American singers, who started out touring during a time of whites-only bathrooms, restaurants and hotels, went on to win five Grammy® Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, be inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and to perform at the White House for three different presidents.

Go get these albums in August for your music collection and celebrate great gospel music from our heritage sons of Alabama.

6 Alabama Businesses That Are Killing the Game

More From Praise 93.3