GRAMMY Winners for Best Traditional Gospel Album 2008
Recipients of the GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award 2009
2009 GMA DOVE AWARD: Traditional Gospel Recorded Song: "Free At Last"
2009 GMA DOVE AWARD: Traditional Gospel Album: "Down In New Orleans"
"A superweapon of roots-music uplift" - Rolling Stone
"Borders on the miraculous." - The Washington Post
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UPDATE FEB 8, 2009: "Down In New Orleans" WINS Grammy for Best Traditional Gospel Album UPDATE DEC 5, 2008: "Down In New Orleans" Receives 2009 GRAMMY Nomination for Best Traditional Gospel Album
The Blind Boys of Alabama
by Ben Harper
Close your eyes for a few moments, and with them closed imagine the mid-1930's - the Great Depression, the dust bowl, silent movies and deep-rooted segregation with no end in sight. Envision with closed eyes a town called Talladega, Alabama, home to a school named the Alabama School for the Negro Deaf and Blind - a school where weaving baskets and caning chairs were considered the highest possible vocations. This was the birthplace of the greatest gospel tradition in American history. This was the birthplace of The Blind Boys Of Alabama.
From the invention of television to the invention of the internet, through world wars and cold wars, from FDR to Barack Obama, and now well into their eighth decade of touring, writing and recording, the Blind Boys have not only faithfully remained, endured and persevered, they have evolved, thrived, and flourished as the premier purveyors of gospel music the world over. When you hear the Blind Boys singing it is as instantly recognizable as it is original, inhabiting a place in the soul no others can. Having the opportunity to write, sing, record and tour with The Blind Boys of Alabama has been the highest musical privilege in my lifetime. I still sit in humble disbelief when I hear my voice singing with theirs. The memories of our time and friendship are as sacred as the sound that comes from their voices.
From the famed Capitol Studios to the Apollo Theater in Harlem - where I had, respectively, the great privilege of recording and performing with them - from the floor of the United Nations to the White House, The Blind Boys of Alabama have triumphantly carried soul gospel music into the 21st century, producing a timeless body of work that will inspire generations to come. Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama performed together on the GRAMMY-winning album, 'There Will Be A Light'.
The Blind Boys of Alabama's standout new album 'Down In New Orleans' is out today on Time Life, just a week shy of Mardi Gras. It's the first new album in three years for the four-time GRAMMY-winning Gospel greats. Here's what we're reading from critics:
"On the heels of an unparalleled run of four Grammy Awards in four consecutive years, the Blind Boys of Alabama return with a guest list of historically definitive artists and a repertoire of serious, traditional gospel music as nourishing to the soul as it is pleasing to the palette. "Down in New Orleans" is an alternately rollicking and goose-bump-raising ride that arrives already bearing the imprimatur of the best of a truly venerable, still-vital and always exciting American art form." --Billboard 2008
"...this meld of styles and eras is Heaven-sent, an album of heavy duty testifyin' to chase the demons from your soul." --Q Magazine
“a superweapon of roots-music uplift....(that) will raise goose bumps even on the tatted-up arms of resolutely futurist hipsters”--Rolling Stone 2008
"A superweapon of roots-music uplift... Full-throated versions of standards such as 'I'll Fly Away' and 'Down By The riverside' will raise goose bumps even on the tatted-up arms of resolutely Futurist hipsters." – Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, February 7, 2008
"Jaunty keyboards, sassy horns and willed optimism propel 'Down in New Orleans' (Time Life). Their gutsy lead vocals and rough-and-ready harmonies adapt to rolling New Orleans grooves." – NY Times, Jon Pareles, January 20, 2008
"Inspired and relevant... borders on the miraculous." – Bill Friskics-Warren, The Washington Post, January 29, 2008
"[Group leader Jimmy Carter] hopes the group was able to express the emotions its members encountered in the city where people are fighting to bounce back. They nailed it... a rewarding mix" – Steve Hochman, LA Times, January 27, 2008
"There's no denying the power of spirit that suffuses the legendary gospel quintet's latest disc. Typical gusto, honest, soulful music."--Mojo
"A rousing musical tribute to New Orleans." – Steve Jones, USA Today, January 29, 2008
"A spicy shot of gospel-fortified gumbo." – Esquire, February, 2008
"Four stars... Inspiring... smart gospel quartet/NOLA blend." – Paul de Barros, DownBeat, February, 2008
"It is simply brilliant!" "...this is ideal to cleanse the excess of life and re-affirms in you the power of music. Fabulous!"--Blues Matters
"There's no denying the power of spirit that suffuses the legendary gospel quintet's latest disc. Typical gusto, honest, soulful music." – Mojo
"As nourishing to the soul as it is pleasing to the palette. 'Down in New Orleans' is an alternately rollicking and Goose-bump-raising ride." – Gordon Ely, Billboard
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