The Blind Boys of Alabama are a gospel music group from Alabama that first … Read Full Bio ↴The Blind Boys of Alabama are a gospel music group from Alabama that first formed at the Talledega School for the Deaf and Blind in 1939.

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

Oh Come All Ye Faithful
The Blind Boys Of Alabama Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh, come ye
O come ye to Bethlehem
Come and behold him
Born the King of angels
O come, let us adore him
Christ the Lord

God of God

Light of light
Lo, he abhors
Not the virgin's womb
Very God
Begotten not created
O come, let us adore him
Christ the Lord

Sing, choirs of angels
Sing in exultation
Sing, all ye citizens
Of heaven above
Glory to God
In the highest

O come
Let us adore him
Christ the Lord

See how the shepherds
Summoned to his cradle
Leaving their flocks
Draw nigh with lowly fear
We too will thither bend
Our joyful footsteps
O come, let us adore him
Christ the Lord

Yea, Lord, we greet thee
Born this happy morning
Jesus
To thee be glory given
Word of the Father
Now in flesh appearing
O come

Let us adore him
Christ the Lord

Overall Meaning

The Blind Boys of Alabama's version of "O Come All Ye Faithful" is a classic Christmas hymn that praises the birth of Christ. The song invites all to Bethlehem, where the King of angels is born. The lyrics start with a call for worshippers to come to Bethlehem, to see the newborn King. The second stanza affirms Christ's divinity, stating that he is the son of God and not a created being. The chorus repeats the invitation to adore, or worship, Christ the Lord.

The third stanza celebrates the birth of Christ with the proclamation of the angels to the shepherds, who then come to worship him at his cradle. The final verse praises Jesus as the Word of the Father, who has now appeared in the flesh. The song ends with a final invitation to come and worship Christ, the Lord.

Overall, this song is a call to worship Jesus, recognizing him as the son of God who came down to earth as a baby to save humanity from sin. The hymn captures the essence of the Christmas story and reminds us of the importance of the season beyond the gifts and festivities.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh, come ye
Oh, everyone, come!

O come ye to Bethlehem
Come to Bethlehem

Come and behold him
See him for yourselves

Born the King of angels
He is the King of angels because he was born

O come, let us adore him
Let us worship him

Christ the Lord
He is Christ and he is Lord

God of God
He is God from God

Light of light
He is the light from light

Lo, he abhors
He does not hate

Not the virgin's womb
He was born from the virgin's womb

Very God
He is truly God