Show #26: Blind Boys of Alabama
And then there were two...
With the death of George Scott in March of this year, gospel pioneers Blind Boys of Alabama were reduced to two but Clarence Fountain and Jimmy Carter continue down the path they started on 66 years ago. Founded in 1939 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind, the group toiled on the traditional gospel circuit oblivious to most of America until 1983 when they got a role in the popular musical, The Gospel at Colonus. Then in 2001, they released their album Spirit of the Century on Peter Gabriel's Real World label. It won the Grammy for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album. In 2002 they opened up for Peter Gabriel on his tour in support of Us which featured the Blind Boys on "Sky Blue". The group recreated their part live when the song was played. In addition, their version of Tom Waits' "Way Down in the Hole" from Spirit of the Century became the theme to the popular HBO series, The Wire. Over 60 years in, the group finally found the fame they richly deserved.
I was lucky enough to catch them when they opened up for Peter Gabriel in November 2002 in Chicago and then again when they played here in Madison the following January at the Oscar Meyer Theater. I lucked out and ended up in the front row. The music was great and Jimmy Carter couldn't sit still, as is always the case. And he wandered out into the audience with the guitarist chaperoning as is his wont. How the nearly all-white audience stayed on their asses for the vast majority of the night is beyond me because the Blind Boys put on a great show that demanded movement. There was one other guy besides myself, who was also in the front, that dared stand up at any point before the last song and at the behest of the band. It was probably best that the Blind Boys couldn't see the audience. The group played in Milwaukee last night but I was unable to see them so here's a dose to make up for it.
The show here was recorded at the Bonaroo Festival on 23 June 2002.
Setlist:
Wade in the Water (w/Robert Randolph and the Family Band)
"we just like instant coffee"
Run On For a Long Time
Nobody's Fault But Mine
Getting Better All the Time
Way Down in the Hole
Lord Remember Me
Amazing Grace
Soldier
Download Show
Blind Boys of Alabama
With the death of George Scott in March of this year, gospel pioneers Blind Boys of Alabama were reduced to two but Clarence Fountain and Jimmy Carter continue down the path they started on 66 years ago. Founded in 1939 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind, the group toiled on the traditional gospel circuit oblivious to most of America until 1983 when they got a role in the popular musical, The Gospel at Colonus. Then in 2001, they released their album Spirit of the Century on Peter Gabriel's Real World label. It won the Grammy for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album. In 2002 they opened up for Peter Gabriel on his tour in support of Us which featured the Blind Boys on "Sky Blue". The group recreated their part live when the song was played. In addition, their version of Tom Waits' "Way Down in the Hole" from Spirit of the Century became the theme to the popular HBO series, The Wire. Over 60 years in, the group finally found the fame they richly deserved.
I was lucky enough to catch them when they opened up for Peter Gabriel in November 2002 in Chicago and then again when they played here in Madison the following January at the Oscar Meyer Theater. I lucked out and ended up in the front row. The music was great and Jimmy Carter couldn't sit still, as is always the case. And he wandered out into the audience with the guitarist chaperoning as is his wont. How the nearly all-white audience stayed on their asses for the vast majority of the night is beyond me because the Blind Boys put on a great show that demanded movement. There was one other guy besides myself, who was also in the front, that dared stand up at any point before the last song and at the behest of the band. It was probably best that the Blind Boys couldn't see the audience. The group played in Milwaukee last night but I was unable to see them so here's a dose to make up for it.
The show here was recorded at the Bonaroo Festival on 23 June 2002.
Setlist:
Wade in the Water (w/Robert Randolph and the Family Band)
"we just like instant coffee"
Run On For a Long Time
Nobody's Fault But Mine
Getting Better All the Time
Way Down in the Hole
Lord Remember Me
Amazing Grace
Soldier
Download Show
Blind Boys of Alabama
posted by Palmer at 9:52 PM
1 Comments:
Wow, this starts off great!
"Wade in the Water" made me cry (okay, it almost always makes me cry, but it sounded so good)...
The D
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