Music

Since the group’s beginnings in the 1930s, as fellow students at the Talladega Institute for the Deaf and Blind, in Alabama, to the present, they’ve had one goal–to sing gospel. From one century to the next, they’ve traveled the distance, They adopted the style of gospel singing known as jubilee and took their show to the road, playing in such small venues as tent shows and also playing in the Grammy Awards ceremony. Along the way they’ve changed and added members, but remained true to their goals.

Their sense of survival is reflected in the title of their 2002 album, “Holdin’ On.” The original group was called the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, and consisted of Fountain, Johnny Fields, JT Hutton, Ollice Thomas, George Scott, and the late Velma B. Traylor.

All but one member of The Blind Boys of Alabama was visually impaired, and the group turned that into a huge selling point. The group began recording in 1948, and has released albums regularly since then. In the 1950s, The Blind Boys had gospel hits with “Oh, Lord Stand by Me,” and “I Can See Everybody’s Mother But I Can’t See Mine.” They didn’t taste mainstream success until 1988, when they starred in the Obie Award winning Broadway musical, “Gospel at Colonus.”

That exposure opened new avenues for The Blind Boys of Alabama, and brought them a wider audience. In 1994, the group was awarded the NEA National Heritage Fellowship, presented by First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton. From this success, they were able to sing on the bills of such high profile festivals as the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the King Biscuit Blues Festival, the Beale Street Music Festival, and more. On television they were featured on the BET series, “On Jazz.” They have even been seen on Beverly Hills 90210. Their most recent release is “Holdin’ On.” From cut to cut, it takes the listener on a new inspirational experience.

The Blind Boys of Alabama was awarded its first Grammy at the February 27, 2002 ceremony, when “Spirit of the Century” won in the Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album category.

Reference:
ACSAP Biographical Dictionary
R. R. Bowker Co., Copyright 1980
ISBN 0-8351-1283-1
Albert King
On this date Albert King was born in 1923. He was an American blues musician who created a unique string-bending guitar style that has influenced three generations of musicians.

April 25

Albert Nelson was one of 13 children born to an itinerant preacher and his wife in Indianola, Mississippi. When he was eight years old, his widowed mother moved the family to eastern Arkansas, where he worked as a farmhand on a cotton plantation and later as a bulldozer operator. He was left-handed but he taught himself how to play a right-handed guitar upside down by pulling the strings down. In the early 1950s King moved to Gary, Ind., joined the Chicago-based music scene, and made his first recording, Bad Luck Blues (1953) for the Parrot label.

He performed in St. Louis, Mo., from 1956 before joining Stax Records in Memphis, where he released such albums as Born Under a Bad Sign (1967) and Live Wire/Blues Power (1968). His blends of simple, declamatory vocals with the distinctive wailing of his trademark Gibson Flying V guitar, “Lucy,” were widely imitated by such performers as Jimi Hendrix, Joe Walsh, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Eric Clapton. King toured extensively and made an acclaimed appearance at the Montreux, Switz., Rock/Blues Festival in 1975.

He reemerged in the 1980s, capturing a new generation of fans with the albums San Francisco ‘83 (1983), Laundromat Blues (1984), and I’m in a Phone Booth, Baby (1984). Albert King, the brother of B.B. King died on Dec. 21, 1992 in Memphis, Tenn.

Reference:
Nothing But the Blues The Music and the Musicians
Edited by Lawrence Cohn
Copyright 1993 Abbeville Publishing Group, New York
ISBN 1-55859-271-7

April 20

Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross was born on this date 1951. He is an African-American singer and composer.

Luther Vandross

From a Brooklyn, NY, family deep in gospel and soul singing, Vandross had plenty of singing guidance as a child. He formed his own group while still in high school and later worked with the Musical Theatre Workshop. After a brief break from the music scene in the 70s, an old friend and workshop colleague, Carlos Alomar, invited him to join him in the studio with David Bowie for the recording of Young Americans.

Vandross impressed Bowie and was invited to arrange vocals and sing background vocals for the album. Bowie’s US tour also featured Vandross as the opening act. His vocal talent was recognized and session credits with Chaka Khan, Ringo Starr, Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer and others prompted Cotillion records to sign him. His albums Luther and This Close To You (1976) both flopped, partly due to the disco backing as opposed to allowing Vandross to express his romantic, soul style. He drifted back to session work for Quincy Jones, Patti Austin, Gwen Guthrie, Chic, and Sister Sledge.

Composing advertising jingles also financed this work. His performance with the group Change on 1980’s The Glow Of Love earned him two UK Top 20 hits in Glow Of Love and Searching. This led to a solo career with Epic/CBS Records. Never Too Much earned him an R&B number 1, while singles, including duets with Cheryl Lynn (If This World Were Mine) and Dionne Warwick (How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye), strengthened his popularity. Then came Stop To Love (1986) and There’s Nothing Better Than Love (1987). Later releases included Here And Now (1989), Power Of Love/Love Power and Don’t Want To Be A Fool (1991).

In 1992 Vandross collaborated with Janet Jackson, BBD, and Ralph Tresvant on The Best Things In Life Are Free. Endless Love, a duet with Mariah Carey, reached UK number 3 in September 1994. Vandross has won countless awards and he has worked with Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and Whitney Houston. Grammy-winner Luther Vandross had a stroke in April 2003.

On July 1, 2005, Vandross died at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, N.J. At the time hospital spokesman did not release the cause of death but said in a statement that Vandross “never really recovered from” the 2003 stroke.

Reference:
ACSAP Biographical Dictionary
R. R. Bowker Co., Copyright 1980
ISBN 0-8351-1283-1

Heart & Soul
A Celebration of Black Music Style in America 1930-1975
by Merlis Davin Seay, Forward by Etta james
Copyright 2002, Billboard Books
ISBN 0-8230-8314-4

Booker T New Album Potato Hole

Drive-By Truckers perform with Booker T. in support of his upcoming album Potato Hole.

Booker T. w/ DBT:

Track 1 – Pound It Out
Track 2 – Green Onions
Track 3 – Nan
Track 4 – Warped Sister
Track 5 – Space City
Track 6 – Born Under A Bad Sign
Track 7 – Native New Yorker
Track 8 – Reunion Time
Track 9 – Potato Hole
Track 10 – She Breaks
Track 11 – Hey Ya
Track 12 – Time Is Tight
Track 13 – E:) Get Behind The Mule

Drive By Truckers

dbt album photo

Track 14 – Lookout Mountain
Track 15 – 3 Dimes Down
Track 16 – Ronnie And Neil
Track 17 – Uncle Frank
Track 18 – Goode’s Field Road
Track 19 – I’m Sorry Huston
Track 20 – Women Without Whiskey
Track 21 – Sink Hole
Track 22 – The Company I Keep
Track 23 – Gravity’s Gone
Track 24 – Steve McQueen
Track 25 – E:) Home Field Advantage*
Track 26 – Zip City*
Track 27 – Let There Be Rock*
Track 28 – Angels And Fuselage**

* w/ Booker T.
** also w/ Kelly Hogan

FLAC files are here [permanent archive.org link]

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