I Saw the Light

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.