Music
After 60 years, gospel group still seeks higher ground
By MATT STOULIL
With the release of “Higher
Ground,” the Blind Boys of Alabama roll over another tick on the odometer
of a 60-plus year career as a gospel music powerhouse. In light of the Grammy
awarded to the group for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album in 2001 for
“Spirit of the Century,” the Blind Boys follow up with this record,
taking its name from a Stevie Wonder track on the album.
“Higher Ground” is similar to the group’s 2001
release, mixing secular songs with sacred hymns.
Founded in 1939 at the Talladega Institute for the Blind in
Alabama, this group has been singing gospel music continuously since that time.
Three founding members still remain: Clarence Fountain, Jimmy Carter and George
Scott. Newer arrivals Joey Williams, Ricky McKinnie and Bobby Butler add their
soulful harmonies on the record.
Robert Randolph and his Family Band provide the music behind the
voices. Randolph is a 24-year-old performer of “sacred steel” music.
Sacred steel refers to Pentecostal church services where pedal steel guitar is
the bedrock of the music liturgy, in lieu of a pipe organ. Vocalist and
guitarist Ben Harper also lends his talents throughout the album, notably on
the opener, a rendition of the Curtis Mayfield classic “People Get
Ready.” The Blind Boys also perform a tune penned by Harper, titled
“I Shall Not Walk Alone,” a tender song of redemption, with the feel
of a contemporary, yet classic, gospel number:
And when I’m tired and weary
And a long, long way from
home
I just reach for Mother Mary
And I shall not walk alone
This gospel group has become known for reinventing material by
artists from the world beyond the church. Their Grammy-winning “Spirit of
the Century” contained songs by Tom Waits and the Rolling Stones.
“Higher Ground” boasts numbers written by Aretha Franklin, Curtis
Mayfield, Prince and Stevie Wonder.
Wonder’s “Higher Ground” is a great centerpiece and
namesake for the record. “When we leave here, we will meet Jesus in the
air, we will meet him on the higher ground,” Fountain, the group’s
baritone, told NCR. “It’s all about the words you’re
singing. When we made this record, the producers had a pile of songs and we
picked the ones we could sing. If the lyrics are right, we’ll sing
it.” Fountain is partial to “Many Rivers to Cross,” an old Jimmy
Cliff reggae tune that is inherently prayerful:
Many rivers to cross
But I just can’t seem to
find
My way over
The Blind Boys have blurred the line between religious and popular
song, exposing gospel music’s relation to rhythm-and-blues, blues and to
rock music. They have performed as an opening act for the likes of Merle
Haggard and Tom Petty. Petty said the Blind Boys “shook the building every
night” that they opened his 1999 tour.
More than six decades and 21 albums after their beginning, the
Blind Boys of Alabama seem to be finding their stride. On keeping the music
fresh, Fountain said: “Keep your ears open and listen, and keep up with
the style of singing.” Not a bad perspective from a man in his 70s.
Fountain told NCR he foresees 150-plus performance dates, with some
overseas, for 2003, and he says the group will do “one more CD and
that’s it!”
Matt Stoulil is NCR layout assistant. His e-mail address
is mstoulil@natcath.org
National Catholic Reporter, October 25,
2002
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