MUSIC

Dosey Doe Coffee House presents Blind Boys of Alabama. This gospel group from Alabama first formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind at Talladega in 1939. Won - Grammy for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album four years in row between ’02 and ’05. In 2009 they were awarded Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. With Sara & Sean Watkins(Nickel Creek).

The Blind Boys of Alabama formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in 1939. The group toiled for almost 40 years almost exclusively on the black gospel circuit, playing in churches, auditoriums, and even stadiums across the country. Their recorded output, reaching back to 1948 with their hit “I Can See Everybody’s Mother But Mine” on the Veejay label, is widely recognized as being influential for many gospel, R&B and rock ‘n’ roll artists.

The Blind Boys had their own chance to “cross over” to popular music in the 1950′s, along with their gospel friend and contemporary Sam Cooke, but stayed true to their calling. In the 1960′s, they joined the Civil Rights movement, performing at benefits for Dr. Martin Luther King. They toiled in the vineyards all through the 1970′s as the world of popular music began to pass them by. But in 1983, their career reached a turning point with their crucial role in the smash hit and Obie Award-winning play “The Gospel at Colonus,” which brought the Blind Boys timeless sound to an enthusiastic new audience. In the 1990′s they received two Grammy nominations and performed at the White House.

In recent years the Blind Boys were awarded five Grammy Awards and their musical brethren have paid homage to their legacy and their continued relevance by asking them to contribute and collaborate on new projects. The Blind Boys have appeared on recordings with Bonnie Raitt, Randy Travis, k.d. lang, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Charlie Musselwhite, Susan Tedeschi, Solomon Burke, Marty Stuart, Asleep at the Wheel and many others. The Blind Boys of Alabama have profoundly influenced an entire generation (or two) of gospel, soul, R&B and rock musicians and are still blazing trails after all these years.