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The new Blind Boys of Alabama collection releases March 15. You can read up on it here, and download two wicked-cool MP3s here.
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The Blind Boys of Alabama-- new album 3/15!
MultiQuote
#3
Posted 11 March 2005 - 09:45 AM
On a tragic note from Realworld Records (Another, shorter article at Realworld's UK site)
George Scott, a founding member of the Blind Boys of Alabama, died in his sleep Wednesday morning, March 9, 2005 at his home in Durham, NC. He was 75.
Scott was the booming baritone voice of the group, which formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in the late 1930s.
Since then, Scott and his bandmates traveled the world spreading their unique brand of soulful gospel music.
While Scott - an acknowledged master of the jubilee style of gospel singing - retired from the rigors of touring in 2004, his voice remained strong, as evidenced by his stirring lead vocals on several key tracks for the Blind Boys' forthcoming album Atom Bomb. His singing on the album is the last testament in a career that spanned over six decades.
Born George Lewis Scott in Notasulga, Alabama, on March 18, 1929, George met the other founding members of the Blind Boys, Clarence Fountain and Jimmy Carter, at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in 1936. They formed a singing group in 1939, for which Scott also played guitar, their only instrumental accompaniment in those early days. The group became a gospel sensation in the 1940s and '50s, and spent more than 40 years working mostly in the traditional gospel circuit.
The Blind Boys have attracted a new generation of fans in recent years via their recordings for Real World Records. During this time, they also collaborated with a number of disparate artists including Lou Reed, Ibrahim Ferrer, Solomon Burke, and, most recently, Ben Harper. Just last month they won their fourth consecutive Grammy award in the Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album category for the CD they recorded with Harper. Scott sang the lead along with Harper on the opening track to that album, and later performed the song live with Harper and the Blind Boys on The Late Show with David Letterman.
It's fitting that one of the last people George Scott spoke with before his death was the group's leader, Clarence Fountain. "I spoke to him last night," Fountain said Wednesday, "and he was feeling fine. It just goes to show you never know when you may be talking to someone for the last time, so always be thankful for the people you have in your life. We're grateful to the Lord for letting us have George for as long as we did. He and I grew up together and sang together from little boys to old men. George was a great singer, he could sing any part in a song. We loved him and he was one of the 'Boys.' He lived a life of service and now he's gone on to his reward."
A spokesman for the Blind Boys said that when Scott retired from touring last year he urged the band to continue on and there are no changes planned in the band's touring schedule. Scott is survived by his wife Ludie Lewis Mann Scott, his mother Hassie Lou Scott, and his sister Benzie Jackson. The funeral service will be held at 1pm on Tuesday, March 15 at Monumental Faith Church. The family has asked that mourners either make donations to the American Diabetes Association or send flowers to Holloway Funeral Home in Durham.
George Scott, a founding member of the Blind Boys of Alabama, died in his sleep Wednesday morning, March 9, 2005 at his home in Durham, NC. He was 75.
Scott was the booming baritone voice of the group, which formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in the late 1930s.
Since then, Scott and his bandmates traveled the world spreading their unique brand of soulful gospel music.
While Scott - an acknowledged master of the jubilee style of gospel singing - retired from the rigors of touring in 2004, his voice remained strong, as evidenced by his stirring lead vocals on several key tracks for the Blind Boys' forthcoming album Atom Bomb. His singing on the album is the last testament in a career that spanned over six decades.
Born George Lewis Scott in Notasulga, Alabama, on March 18, 1929, George met the other founding members of the Blind Boys, Clarence Fountain and Jimmy Carter, at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in 1936. They formed a singing group in 1939, for which Scott also played guitar, their only instrumental accompaniment in those early days. The group became a gospel sensation in the 1940s and '50s, and spent more than 40 years working mostly in the traditional gospel circuit.
The Blind Boys have attracted a new generation of fans in recent years via their recordings for Real World Records. During this time, they also collaborated with a number of disparate artists including Lou Reed, Ibrahim Ferrer, Solomon Burke, and, most recently, Ben Harper. Just last month they won their fourth consecutive Grammy award in the Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album category for the CD they recorded with Harper. Scott sang the lead along with Harper on the opening track to that album, and later performed the song live with Harper and the Blind Boys on The Late Show with David Letterman.
It's fitting that one of the last people George Scott spoke with before his death was the group's leader, Clarence Fountain. "I spoke to him last night," Fountain said Wednesday, "and he was feeling fine. It just goes to show you never know when you may be talking to someone for the last time, so always be thankful for the people you have in your life. We're grateful to the Lord for letting us have George for as long as we did. He and I grew up together and sang together from little boys to old men. George was a great singer, he could sing any part in a song. We loved him and he was one of the 'Boys.' He lived a life of service and now he's gone on to his reward."
A spokesman for the Blind Boys said that when Scott retired from touring last year he urged the band to continue on and there are no changes planned in the band's touring schedule. Scott is survived by his wife Ludie Lewis Mann Scott, his mother Hassie Lou Scott, and his sister Benzie Jackson. The funeral service will be held at 1pm on Tuesday, March 15 at Monumental Faith Church. The family has asked that mourners either make donations to the American Diabetes Association or send flowers to Holloway Funeral Home in Durham.
This post has been edited by morgan1098: 11 March 2005 - 10:32 AM
#5
Posted 14 March 2005 - 02:44 AM
that's sad news. i'm glad i got one last chance to see him last december.
he was survived by his mother? wow. no one should have to bury their 75-year-old son.
but to look at it another way, imagine how amazing it now is for him to be able to sing:
i once was lost, but now am found.
was blind, but now i see.
how sweet the sound, indeed.
he was survived by his mother? wow. no one should have to bury their 75-year-old son.
but to look at it another way, imagine how amazing it now is for him to be able to sing:
i once was lost, but now am found.
was blind, but now i see.
how sweet the sound, indeed.
#6
Posted 15 March 2005 - 09:48 AM
I've listened to one of the songs (Atom Bomb,) and as of now am really looking forward to the album. I was introduced (figuratively speaking,) to the Blind Boys by "There Will Be a Light" (through the reveiw, actually, on Mr. Overstreet's website.) I had never really listened to that type of music before, and was very plesantly surprised at how easily I adapted. (That's praise of the music, not me. 
) So I'll certainly be looking toward this release.
I haven't followed the Blind Boys enough to know exactly who George Scott is, but I am saddened by his loss.
) So I'll certainly be looking toward this release.I haven't followed the Blind Boys enough to know exactly who George Scott is, but I am saddened by his loss.
#7
Posted 16 March 2005 - 10:45 AM
I listened to this album a few times yesterday.
You gotta hand it to these guys... how many other seventy year-old musicians would be so willing to incorporate hip-hop and blues into their usual brand of traditional gospel music? Their willingness to explore new stylistic territory is remarkable, especially for a group of veterans who have had so much success with sticking to formula in the past.
And yet, in spite of the exploration and the invention, some of these tracks fall surprisingly flat. Their cover of "Spirit in the Sky" sounds almost like a carbon copy of the original, with the familiar guitar riff immitated verbatim. Songs like "Faith and Grace" and "I Know I've Been Converted" simply aren't as explosive as one would expect from the Blind Boys, never really rising above a simmer.
But when the album works, the results are magical. "Demons" is one of the most progressive and compelling examples of gospel/rap fusion I've ever heard, and is immediately one of the best songs of the year. The title track boasts lyrics so audacious that it's hard to believe anyone could pull them off, but the Blind Boys do it in such a way that it's sure to leave you with a smile on your face. And "Talk About Suffering" glides along on an irresistabley smooth, bluesy groove.
Overall, the collection is somewhat hit-and-miss, but even the less engaging tracks are pleasant enough to make this album a winner. I'd give it a solid B.
You gotta hand it to these guys... how many other seventy year-old musicians would be so willing to incorporate hip-hop and blues into their usual brand of traditional gospel music? Their willingness to explore new stylistic territory is remarkable, especially for a group of veterans who have had so much success with sticking to formula in the past.
And yet, in spite of the exploration and the invention, some of these tracks fall surprisingly flat. Their cover of "Spirit in the Sky" sounds almost like a carbon copy of the original, with the familiar guitar riff immitated verbatim. Songs like "Faith and Grace" and "I Know I've Been Converted" simply aren't as explosive as one would expect from the Blind Boys, never really rising above a simmer.
But when the album works, the results are magical. "Demons" is one of the most progressive and compelling examples of gospel/rap fusion I've ever heard, and is immediately one of the best songs of the year. The title track boasts lyrics so audacious that it's hard to believe anyone could pull them off, but the Blind Boys do it in such a way that it's sure to leave you with a smile on your face. And "Talk About Suffering" glides along on an irresistabley smooth, bluesy groove.
Overall, the collection is somewhat hit-and-miss, but even the less engaging tracks are pleasant enough to make this album a winner. I'd give it a solid B.
#9
Posted 18 March 2005 - 05:25 PM
I haven't heard Atom Bomb yet, but I just heard the new Jars of Clay hymns CD and I must say that the Blind Boys sounded more energized and "on fire" singing backup on "Nothing but the Blood" than they did on either of their last two studio albums (Higher Ground, Go Tell it on the Mountain). The collaboration between Jars and the Blind Boys works surprisingly well.
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