The Blind Boys of Alabama Interview

They first started singing together at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in 1939. Their 1948 hit, I Can See Everybody’s Mother But Mine launched a recording career that is still going strong. In the 1960s, they provided a crucial part of the soundtrack for the Civil Rights movement, but by the 1980s were nearly forgotten, until a 1983 Off-Broadway musical, The Gospel at Colonus, reintroduced them to the public.

See also: The Blind Boys of Alabama perform for Prime Time Radio.

Through it all, and with many changes of instrumentation and personnel, they've maintained a commitment to gospel music, and have been a key part of the growth and maturity of that genre. They're not afraid of making new connections and winning new friends for gospel. Over the years, the group has sung with Eric Clapton, Prince and Tom Waits, and their music has even been featured in the recent movie Hop, about an unemployed man who befriends the Easter Bunny.

In this interview with Prime Time Radio host Mike Cuthbert, we also hear selections from their latest recording Take the High Road.

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