Original Five Blind Boys Of Alabama

Biography

The Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama formed in 1939 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Deaf and Blind in Talladega, Alabama, initially as the Happy Land Jubilee Singers (also known as Happyland Singers). Founding members Clarence Fountain (visually impaired), Jimmy Carter, and George Scott, along with others like Johnny Fields and Velma Bozman Traylor, were students who drew inspiration from the Golden Gate Quartet's CBS radio broadcasts, applying Braille music skills learned at school to arrange gospel songs. They performed locally, including on Birmingham radio station WKAX, before dropping out in 1944 to tour the segregated South professionally.[1][2][3][4][5]

The group officially became the Blind Boys of Alabama in 1948 following a promotional 'Battle of the Blind Boys' event in New Jersey against the Jackson Harmoneers (later Blind Boys of Mississippi), a name that stuck after the event's success. They achieved their first hit with 'I Can See Everybody’s Mother but Mine' that year, launching a career with over 50 albums, worldwide tours, and a pioneering hard-driving gospel style distinct from jubilee traditions. Active through the civil rights era—performing for Martin Luther King Jr.—they sustained relevance into the 21st century, earning a 2024 Grammy for Best Gospel Roots Album for Echoes of the South, with lineup changes including later members like Joey Williams and Ricky McKinnie.[3][4][5]

Their legacy endures as one of the longest-performing groups in music history, over eight decades, embodying traditional gospel's soulful energy while influencing broader audiences through Broadway appearances in the late 1980s and collaborations blending gospel with diverse genres.[1][3][4]

Fun Facts

• Jimmy Carter (the gospel singer, not the president) was invited by founders Fountain and Scott to join professionally in 1944 at age 12, but his mother refused, deeming him too young; he later joined the Blind Boys of Mississippi before reuniting with Alabama in 1982.
• The name 'Blind Boys of Alabama' originated from a 1948 promotional gimmick billing their show against the Jackson Harmoneers as the 'Battle of the Blind Boys,' leading both groups to adopt similar names.
• Founder Clarence Fountain grew up in a musical family in Selma, Alabama, and struggled with lifelong hunger from harsh school conditions, which fueled their drive; most original members developed diabetes.
• Not all original members were fully blind—Clarence Fountain was visually impaired, and early member J.T. Hutton was sighted.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Golden Gate Quartet - Primary stylistic inspiration via weekly CBS radio broadcasts (Radio performances that prompted the group to form and arrange songs) [1930s]

Key Collaborators

• Clarence Fountain - Founding member and co-leader (Original lineup and numerous albums) [1939-2010s]
• Jimmy Carter - Founding member and lead singer (Happy Land Jubilee Singers through modern lineup) [1939-present]
• George Scott - Founding member (Early recordings and tours) [1939-1980s]
• Johnny Fields - Early founding member (Initial school-based group) [1939-1940s]

Artists Influenced

• Blind Boys of Mississippi - Rival group in 'Battle of the Blind Boys' event, which named both groups (Shared billing in 1948 Newark show) [1948]

External Links

• Spotify