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

People Get Ready
The Blind Boys Of Alabama Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

People get ready
There's a train a-coming
You don't need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear the diesels humming
Don't need no ticket
You just thank the Lord

People get ready
For the train to Jordan
Picking up passengers
From coast to coast
Faith is the key
Open the doors and board them
There's room for all
Among the loved the most

There ain't no room
For the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind just
To save his own
Have pity on those
Whose chances are thinner
'Cause there's no hiding place
From the Kingdom's throne

So people get ready
For the train a-comin'
You don't need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear the diesels humming

Don't need no ticket
You just thank, you just thank the Lord

Overall Meaning

The Blind Boys of Alabama’s iconic song “People Get Ready” is a spiritual call to faith and action. The lyrics invite listeners to prepare for a journey on a train that is a metaphor for the journey of life. The song begins with the proclamation that a train is coming and that there is no need to bring any baggage along. The idea of baggage here can be seen as a reference to the weight of one’s past sins or emotions that can prevent an individual from being able to move forward. When the song speaks of the “key,” it emphasizes the importance of faith as the means of entry to the train of life. The train is described as being bound for Jordan, which is symbolic of the Promised Land or Heaven.

The song incorporates an important message of social justice in its lyrics, warning against the dangers of selfishness and bigotry. It cautions that there is no room on the train for those who are hopeless sinners, who will hurt others just to save themselves. Instead, the song advices compassion for those who are marginalized or vulnerable, emphasizing that there is no hiding place from God’s judgment for those who mistreat others. The song encourages those who are listening to open their hearts and minds and to be ready to board the train that will take them to salvation.

Line by Line Meaning

People get ready
Get prepared for a life-changing journey

There's a train a-coming
A new opportunity is approaching

You don't need no baggage
Leave behind your burdens and fears

You just get on board
Be brave and take a chance

All you need is faith
Believe in yourself and in a higher power

To hear the diesels humming
Trust that the journey will be successful

Don't need no ticket
This journey is free for all

You just thank the Lord
Be grateful and appreciate every moment

For the train to Jordan
This journey is a metaphor for salvation and redemption

Picking up passengers
Everyone is welcome to come along

From coast to coast
This opportunity is available for everyone, everywhere