The Five Blind Boys of Alabama
Five Blind Boys Of Alabama
St. Clair, 2007
1 CD
Catalogue #: 2672
EAN: 0777966626727
UPC: 777966626727
You save: 20%
Part of Calvin Records' enormous THIS IS GOSPEL series of vintage black gospel recordings, this 20-track compilation provides a near-perfect introduction to the original Five Blind Boys of Alabama. A hugely important precursor to the R&B vocal group (and a major influence on Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers, among many others), the Five Blind Boys of Alabama have a raucous sound that will be immediately familiar to fans of 1950s R&B. Lyrically, however, this is pure bedrock gospel, a mixture of traditional hymns and original, topical material like "The War In Vietnam."
Tracklist
Five Blind Boys Of Alabama
One of the most influential and long-lived of the gospel groups to come to prominence in the 1940s, the Five Blind Boys of Alabama had a long-standing rivalry with the similarly named Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, with whom they often toured. Founding member Clarence Fountain went on to a successful solo career in the late '60s, but returned a decade later. The group's standing grew with each passing decade; still in operation in the 2000s, they recorded some high-profile albums featuring guest stars from the pop world, still featuring Fountain and original member George Scott. Yet more new fans were exposed to the Blind Boys when their version of Tom Waits's elegiac "Way Down in the Hole" was used as the theme for the cult sensation cop show THE WIRE in 2001.
