Although the Blind Boys of Alabama have been singing gospel music for more than five decades, it's only recently that the group has had the benefit of a major record company behind them. The founding members were Clarence Fountain, Johnny Fields, George Scott, Ollice Thomas, and Vel Trayler. The current group consists of Eric McKinney, Billy Bowers, Jimmy Carter, Joey Williams, and Donald Dillion.
From their inception in the 1930s, when all were boys, all members of the group except one were blind. They began singing when all were students, in the glee club, at the Talladega Institute for the Deaf and Blind in Alabama, but didn't begin recording until 1948. As a youth, Fountain heard the legendary Golden Gate Quintet on the radio; the early Five Blind Boys of Alabama took their musical cues from that group. The group began singing professionally as the Happyland Jubilee Singers, and for years only toured the Bible Belt in the Southern U.S.
Since 1948, they've recorded for a variety of small record companies, and had gospel music hits in the 1950s with "Oh, Lord Stand By Me" and "I Can See Everybody's Mother But I Can't See Mine". In 1950, after the death of one of their members, the group renamed themselves simply the Blind Boys of Alabama.
The group recorded first for the Newark-based Coleman Records label. Between 1953 and 1957, the group recorded for Art Rupe's California-based Specialty label. In the 1960s, the group's hard-driving gospel sounds were imitated by people like Bobby "Blue" Bland and Marvin Gaye. The group recorded extensively for the Vee Jay label from 1963 to 1965. In 1969, Fountain left the group for a decade to try to make it on his own, and the group re-formed with all the original members in the late 1970s.
They gained widespread success in 1988, when they starred in an Obie Award-winning Broadway show. According to Fountain, the group's high point was being on Broadway for 15 weeks with the musical Gospel at Colonus. The musical opened up new avenues to bookings for the group, and they began touring theaters and larger churches in the early 1990s, embarking on their first European tours as well. The group was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship in 1994. In 1994 and 1995, the group played festivals including the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Beale Street Music Festival and the King Biscuit Blues Festival. The group also toured in Melbourne, Australia and the World's Fair, in Brisbane.
Mid-1990s television appearances included Black Entertainment Television's On Jazz, and even a cameo on Beverly Hills, 90210.
Since the turn of the century, founding members, George Scott (2005) and Johnny Fields (2009) passed away. Clarence Fountain remains the only living founding member. The group is still performing, under the vocal leadership of longtime member, Jimmy Carter. Releases by the group in recent years have been favorites at the Grammy Awards — they have won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album every year since 2002. The Blind Boys of Alabama were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2002. Their cover of the Tom Waits song "Way Down in The Hole" was featured as the opening theme for season one of HBO's The Wire. In 2008 they released Down in New Orleans, on which they were accompanied by such Crescent City legends as the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Allen Toussaint.
Founding members
Jimmy Carter – vocals
Clarence Fountain – vocals (November 28, 1929 - June, 3, 2018)
Johnny Fields (deceased) – vocals
George Scott (d. 2005) – vocals
Olice Thomas (deceased) – vocals
Vel Bozman Traylor (deceased) – vocals
Past members
Bishop Billy Bowers (deceased, July 2, 2013) – vocals
Caleb Butler – rhythm guitar
Samuel Butler Jr – rhythm guitar, songwriter and arranger, manager, second lead singer
Roscoe Robinson – lead vocals
Charles Porter - vocals
Lamont Blount (deceased) – band manager
Joy to the World
The Blind Boys Of Alabama Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
The Blind Boys of Alabama's "Joy to the World" is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the King of kings. The lyrics are based on Psalm 98 and are a call to all of creation to share in the joy of his coming. The song speaks of the need to prepare one's heart for the coming of the Lord, and to draw close to Him in prayer and worship. The repetition of the phrase "Heaven and nature sing" emphasizes the universal nature of Christ's birth and the joy it brings to all of creation.
The second verse of the song tells of Christ's reign as Savior, with all of creation singing His praises. The repetition of the phrase "Repeat the sounding joy" emphasizes the unending joy that comes from knowing Him. The third verse speaks of Christ's power to overcome sin and sorrow, and to restore all things to their original glory. The phrase "Far as the curse is found" emphasizes the extent of Christ's redemption, reaching all corners of the world and redeeming all of creation. The final verse speaks of Christ's rule over the world, and the wonders of His love.
Line by Line Meaning
Joy to the World, the Lord is come!
Let us rejoice that the Lord has come to Earth.
Let earth receive her King;
May the Earth open up to receive Jesus as its King.
Let every heart prepare Him room,
Let every person make space in their heart for Jesus.
And Heaven and nature sing,
Even the Heavens and nature sing in excitement for Jesus' arrival.
And Heaven and nature sing,
The Heavens and nature continue to sing in celebration of Jesus.
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.
All of Heaven and nature are filled with joy and singing about Jesus.
Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
We should celebrate that Jesus is now our reigning Savior.
Let men their songs employ;
We should all use our songs to praise and worship Jesus.
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Every part of nature and creation should join in the celebration, from fields to floods and rocks to hills.
Repeat the sounding joy,
Let us keep repeating the joyful sounds of celebration.
Repeat the sounding joy,
We should continue to repeat the sounds of joy and celebration.
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
We must continuously repeat the sounds of joy and celebration.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Jesus has come to Earth to put an end to the growth of sin and sorrow.
Nor thorns infest the ground;
Jesus has come to Earth to end the infestation of chaos caused by sin.
He comes to make His blessings flow
Jesus has come to Earth to bless everyone.
Far as the curse is found,
Jesus' blessings will reach as far as the effects of sin reach.
Far as the curse is found,
Jesus' blessings will spread as far as the effects of sin have spread.
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
Jesus' blessings will extend as far as the effects of sin have extended.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
Jesus governs the world through both truth and grace.
And makes the nations prove
Jesus makes every nation understand and see that He is their King.
The glories of His righteousness,
He displays the beauty and magnificence of His righteousness.
And wonders of His love,
Jesus demonstrates the amazing wonder of His love.
And wonders of His love,
He continues to show His wonders of love.
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
Jesus' love is filled with wonders beyond understanding.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: . TRADITIONAL, LALO SCHIFRIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind