A Symphony Celebration: The Blind Boys of Alabama with Dr. Henry Panion, III

Announcer: Major funding for this program comes from UAB Medicine, providing comprehensive medical care to more than 1.5 million patients every year, educating medical professionals, and performing critical research.

UAB Medicine believes in the transformative power of the arts to uplift our community and promote overall well-being and from Medical Properties Trust, dedicated to investing in the future of healthcare.

Across the nation, Medical Properties Trust is working to change the face of hospitals and other facilities that meet the growing demand for decentralized healthcare.

Also, from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, championing cultural vibrancy and fostering excellence in Alabama's creative communities since 1967.

[Indistinct conversations] Dr. Henry Panion: The Blind Boys of Alabama.

For decades, they have entertained, persevered, and inspired.

[Singing indistinctly] They've risen from the humblest of beginnings to the great stages of the world, to Broadway and the White House.

The members of the group have changed over the years, but the name goes on-- the Blind Boys of Alabama.

[Music] Panion: Alabama was celebrating its bicentennial, its 200th anniversary, and in thinking about the artists, the presentations that we would have, there was just no better choice than having a group such as the Blind Boys.

But we also brought along a representation of the historically black colleges and other universities along to make up this one large 300-member choir to support the Blind Boys.

So, to have that strong representation of music and artists at that concert, it was just really unbelievable.

They are ambassadors throughout the world.

They perform over 200 dates a year still and always have a positive look on the State of Alabama.

And I'm so very happy and fortunate, and won't you join me in giving a rounding, thunderous applause in welcoming to our stage the Blind Boys of Alabama!

[Cheering and applause] [Piano playing] [Louder cheering] Ha ha ha.

Thank you, my friends.

Thank you so much.

Panion: I may have this number wrong, but I believe that the Blind Boys have been formed close to 70 years.

Am I correct?

[Applause] Jimmy?

On June the 10th of this year will be the 74th year.

[Applause] Panion: So, when you look up the word "legacy," just kind of synonymously look up Blind Boys of Alabama.

So, they've been serving us so well for 74 years, I figure we could just wait on them, don't you think?

Ha ha ha!

In a way, the whole world had to wait for the Blind Boys.

Because their origin was a slow process, there was never an organized plan or anyone to lead the way.

But it happened like this-- in the late 1930s, some of the teenage boys at the Tuskegee Institute for the Negro Blind would get together and sing.

They drew their inspirations from gospel groups they had heard either on the radio or at church, like The Golden Gate Quartet and Wings Over Jordan.

And after a while, they decided they had a sound they could share with the world.

But there were several obstacles, and their being blind was not the biggest one.

See, in Alabama in those days, there weren't many public places where their singing would be welcome and even fewer where they'd get paid to perform.

But when World War II broke out, Clarence Fountain, the leader of the group, had the idea of taking the boys to a nearby Army camp to sing for the soldiers, and those soldiers rewarded the Blind Boys with the loose change in their pockets.

Now, that's a humbling beginning indeed, but it was all the start the Blind Boys needed.

They were getting ready.

[Playing "People Get Ready"] People get ready There's a train coming Don't need no baggage You just get on board All you need is faith To hear the diesels humming You don't need no ticket You just thank the Lord People get ready For the train to Jordan Picking up passengers from coast to coast Faith is the key To open all doors and board 'em There is hope for all... Who are loved the most Yeah There ain't no room For the hopeless sinner Who would hurt all mankind Just to save his own So, have pity on those Whose chances grow thinner Because there's no hiding place Against the kingdom's throne We're gonna say it one more time.

Listen.

People get ready 'Cause there's a train coming You don't need no baggage Oh, you just get on, yeah All you need is just a little bit of faith To hear those diesels humming You don't need no ticket Oh, you just... Thank the Lord I believe I believe... I said, I believe I believe... I believe in the Father Oh, yes, I do, y'all I believe in the Son I believe in the Holy Ghost Oh, they make three in one Look here, I believe Jesus hung on the cross From the sixth to the ninth hour And I believe in my heart That He's coming back one day King of kings, Lord of lords He's coming back I believe...

All you got to do is wait Jesus is coming back I believe I know for myself I believe I believe I believe Oh, yeah I believe I do believe Whoo!

[Cheering and applause] Panion: The years went by.

They found more and more places to perform, more and more people who would pay them to perform.

Members came, and members went.

Then, in 1948, a big step forward.

They released their first record, something they had all dreamed about back when they were little boys at the Negro School for the Blind.

And the next year, they had a national hit with the song "I Can See Everybody's Mother But Mine."

Then something unexpected happened.

After those first recordings, the Blind Boys were encouraged again and again to move out of gospel into more mainstream music.

In the 1950s, a lot of the gospel groups decided to go in another direction, in a more commercial, pop direction.

Had good offers.

One man, I was in his record studio, and one man told me, "Name your price."

I said, "I don't have a price.

I'm gonna sing gospel."

I think what made them really do the gospel, they heard the gospel.

They liked what they were doing, and they could feel what they were doing.

So, by being around it and it's all around you, that's what they wanted to do.

So, they decided, when the Lord gave them an opportunity to go out and sing and people enjoyed their singing, and the Word says, "If I be lifted up, I'll draw all men."

And they had started drawing people.

People wanted to hear the Blind Boys.

And so they decided that "This is where we need to be, right here, "singing to the church people and doing what we love."

I decided to stay where I was.

I wasn't going nowhere.

Ha ha ha.

My theory was-- always had been-- I'm gonna stay with God.

That has been my theory all my life-- Stay with God.

He'll stay with you.

You remember, Clarence and Jimmy would always say, "We made a promise that we would never deviate from gospel."

And they kept that promise.

It brings another level of authenticity, uh...genuineness to what they are, what they're singing about.

It's kind of hard to be convincing if you aren't authentic.

You know the beginning Right from the start He knows, he knows the ending And the pain in your heart He knows when you're weary, yes, he do At the end of, of the day He knows in the nighttime You have to kneel down to pray I want to let you know one thing, y'all God Knows Everything I know for myself that He do Oh, yes, he do Lord, He knows everything And it's to Him I sing this song It's to God I sing my song When you're lost on a highway Cold as a stone He knows where to find you And carry you home He knows when you're losing And he knows when you win He knows where you're going, boy And He knows where you've been That's why I can stand here right now and tell you God knows God knows... The Lord knows Knows... Everything, yes, he does Everything Yes, God knows God... God knows God knows Everything Everything That's why For Him I sing For Him I sing I sing my song Ah, forgive my sins I sing my song I sing my song for Him At the end of my journey Ooh...

I look back and say Look back and say He's always been beside me Every step of the way When I take my last, my last bow And I've sung, sung my last chord Sung my last chord... I know I'll be at peace at last In the arms of the Lord Yes, I will, and I can stand here And tell you that God knows God God knows Knows Everything, yes, he does Everything Ah, so God knows God... God knows Knows God knows everything Yes, he does Everything Of that, I can stand here to tell you that God knows God knows God knows Knows Everything, yes, he does Everything That's why For Him I sing For Him I sing I sing my song I... I...

I... I... I-I-I... I sing, Oh, I sing Oh, I sing, I sing, I sing, I sing my song For him Whoo!

[Song ends] [Applause] [Cheering] Panion: Now, Jimmy Carter-- and, yes, his name is Jimmy Carter-- is the front man.

But when the group first went out on the road, he couldn't go with them.

He was too young.

See, when the other young men who formed the group were in their early teens, Jimmy was just seven years old.

This next song from the...[Ahem]... from the new record is called "Let My Mother Live Till I Get Grown."

There's a story behind that song.

I don't have really time to tell it.

Tell it, boy.

Tell it.

You want me to tell it?

Ha ha.

All right.

I don't want to tell it, but I... [Laughter] [Laughter] When I first went to school, I was seven years old, and picture this now.

A seven-year-old boy in a strange town, a strange environment, didn't know nobody.

And my mother left me up there.

That's why, when I heard that song, I thought the world had ended when she left me.

And I used to pray to God for God to let my mother live to see me through that little crisis that I was going through.

Now, to show you how good God is, He didn't only let my mother live till I get grown, she just passed away in 2009.

[Applause] She was 103 years old.

[Cheering and applause] That's why He let-- I love to sing "Let My Mother Live Till I Get Grown."

That's the story behind it.

"Let My Mother Live Till I Get Grown."

[Guitar playing] Let my mother live Till I get grown Let my mother live Till I get grown Don't leave me in this god-forsaken world all alone Let my mother live till I get grown I was just a boy when my daddy died He got killed down in the mines in 1945 I remember people talking How my mama cried I was just a boy when my daddy died Hey, let my mother live Till I get grown Let my mother live till I get grown Don't leave me in this god-forsaken world all alone Let my mother live till I get grown The Lord puts nothing on you that you can't bear The burdens that you carry just don't seem fair Heartache and misery are everywhere But the Lord puts nothing on you That you can't bear Let my mother live till I get grown Let my mother live till I get grown Don't leave me in this god-forsaken world all alone Let my mother live Hey, let my mother live Oh, let my mother live Till I get grown [Song ends, applause] Panion: In the 1980s, the Blind Boys of Alabama found themselves somewhere they had never dreamed of being, onstage in a Greek tragedy.

The Blind Boys were in a play called "Gospel at Colonus."

Panion: It's an ingenious telling of the classic play "Oedipus at Colonus," reimagined as an African-American spiritual.

And the creators of the show had the wild idea of having the central role of Oedipus played by The Blind Boys of Alabama, all five of them.

Jimmy stepped up when Clarence bowed out, and he stepped up and took over the lead role effortlessly.

He just went through like he'd been doing it the whole time.

And I had to learn the same way.

I had never had any kind of experience with anything like that stage, but I learned a lot from Lee Breuer and the whole cast.

They would come and help me and tell me how I should stand onstage.

And when Sam Butler, who was one of the main characters, well, he was out, and then I had to take his place for some reason.

And they taught me how to, you know, face the audience and turn this direction and hit your spots and find your marks and all this kind of stuff.

We never did that.

We'd just stand onstage...

I'm telling you.

And just do it.

And then we went to Broadway, and we also took it overseas, too-- Paris and all that.

Panion: Sharing the stage with the original Soul Stirrers and a promising young actor named Morgan Freeman, the Blind Boys of Alabama were suddenly being talked about everywhere.

And it...it took us to another level.

It...it brought the Blind Boys from just being singers to the forefront of music, and it let people know that the Blind Boys were a group, a singing group to be reckoned with.

Panion: This led to more recordings and more collaborations and more concerts.

The Blind Boys of Alabama had arrived, just in time, however, for one of their songs to create something of a controversy.

Jimmy: One song we did was "Amazing Grace."

Now, you know "Amazing Grace."

That's a powerful song.

But this producer wanted...ha ha.

He wanted to put it into the tune of another secular song.

In the beginning, when we had a producer by the name of John Chelew, he came in, he said, "I got a song for you guys."

He said, "But I don't know.

You might do it, and you might not."

He wanted to put it into the tune of "The House of the Rising Sun."

Now, I'm sure you know what "The House of the Rising Sun" represents.

We told him, "No way.

We're not gonna do that."

Jimmy, George, and Clarence just was adamant about not doing it.

They said, "We're not doing that.

We are not gonna do the song."

Jimmy said, "It's sacrilegious.

We can't do it.

We can't do it."

And he begged and begged and begged, and John Chelew said, "Well, let's just try, and if you don't like it, we just...we'll scratch it."

Ha ha.

So, he said, "Well, let's...let's...let's try it, "and if you don't like it, we'll just... we just won't... we'll just do away with it."

So, we went through maybe a couple of verses, and to those changes of "House of the Rising Sun."

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound And by the time we did the second one, it was undeniable.

You know, we had chills, everybody.

You know, we got out of there.

As much as they wanted to say no and that "we can't do it," it was undeniable.

It just fit like a glove.

It came out to be the song, I think, that won the Grammy-- "Amazing Grace."

And it is now our signature song.

We sing that song every night.

And so, you know, he knew what he was doing.

This is the Blind Boys' signature song.

We sing this song everywhere we go-- "Amazing Grace," because had it not been for "Amazing Grace," the Blind Boys wouldn't be here.

Can I get a witness?

Audience members: Yeah!

Had it not been for "Amazing Grace," you wouldn't be sitting out there right now.

Can I get a witness, everybody?

[Cheering and applause] God has been with the Blind Boys for a long time.

We've been around.

But look at us right now.

We are still standing up for Him.

We are still standing up because we promised Him a long time ago that we would serve Him till we die.

Can I get a witness?

Ain't He good?

Ain't God good?

[Applause] Audience members: Yeah!

All right.

Come on, Blind Boys.

[Orchestra playing "House of the Rising Sun"] Amazing grace How sweet the sound That saved a wretch Like me I once was lost But now I'm found Was blind but now I see Well, it was grace that taught Yeah, my heart, my heart to fear And grace my fear, my fear relieved How precious, oh, did that, that grace That grace appear Oh, the hour I first believed Yeah [Orchestra playing] When we've, we've been there Ten thousand years Bright, shining As the sun We have no less days Just to sing God's praise Than when, when we first When we first begun Hey, yes, sir Amazing grace How sweet the sound That saved a wretch Like me I once was lost But now I'm found Was blind but now I see Jimmy: Lord Ooh ooh... My Lord Ooh ooh Jimmy: Lord My, my, my Lord Ooh I'm talking about grace Amazing grace I'm talking about grace Amazing grace Talking about grace Amazing grace Talking about grace Amazing grace Ooh ooh... Talking about grace Amazing grace Ooh ooh Yeah... Ooh...

Whoo!

[Cheering and applause] Panion: That's how they proved to themselves and to the world that they could use secular music but still be true to their gospel roots.

So, when the producers of this gritty TV series called "The Wire" wanted their theme song to be "Way Down in the Hole" by Tom Waits, they knew it needed a pure gospel sound, and they knew who needed to sing it.

Jimmy: All right.

All right.

[Cheering] Ha ha ha!

This next song was introduced through a thing on TV called "The Wire."

"Down in the Hole."

Listen to it.

[Orchestra playing] If you walk through the garden You'd better watch your back Hey, well, I beg your pardon Walk the straight and narrow track And if you're walking with Jesus He'll save your soul But you've got to keep the devil Down in the hole Hey!

He's got the fire and the fury Uh-huh.

At his command But you don't have to worry If you hold Jesus' hand We'll all be safe from Satan When the thunder rolls But you got to keep the devil Hey, hey, down in the hole Hey, hey, hey, hey!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Ha ha ha!

Hey, hey Hey, hey Da da da-da da da da da Hey, hey, hey All the angels sing, yeah Of Jesus' mighty sword But they'll shield with their wings Keep you close to the Lord Don't take heed to temptation For his hands are cold Well, you've got to keep the devil Hey, hey, down in the hole Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey Hey Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey Down in the hole Way down in the hole Down in the hole, hey Down in the hole [Song ends] [Cheering and applause] Narrator: So, that brings us up to the year 2017, when Clarence and Jimmy work with singer/songwriter Randall Bramblett to create the song "Almost Home."

But if you're on the road 200 nights a year, where exactly is your home?

Well, when music critic Jim Allen reviewed the album, so titled "Almost Home," he said the answer is made very clear, through their music.

"The Blind Boys stare eternity down," he wrote, "Seeing not an endless abyss, "but a warm welcome on the other side.

"When you get down to it, that's the real prize all Gospel-singers' eyes are fixed upon."

[Orchestra playing] I'll always remember That sad, sad day I thought the world had ended When that train pulled away I was just a little boy Scared and alone I had to put my faith In God But I've come a long Long way From Alabama Been a long time, long time gone I've been up, I've been down I've been the whole world 'round Ah, but I'm almost Yes, I'm almost home I went to a school Where I learned to read and write It was hard sometimes Just to get by But I began to sing That's when I found my way Out of the troubles, troubles of the world Hey, hey I've come a long, long way Yes, I did, from Alabama Been a long time, long time gone I've been up, I've been down I've been the whole world 'round Hey, but I'm almost Yeah, hey, hey!

Almost home I always stayed on the gospel side Where I knew every one of my needs Would be supplied He's been there with me All these years, y'all He's not about to leave, leave me now Hey, hey I've come a long, long ways From Alabama Been a long time, time gone I've been up, I've been down Yeah, hey, home, hey, hey But I'm almost Yes, I'm almost, I'm almost home What you say, Blind Boys?

Almost Hey!

Home [Cheering and applause] I'm "Almost Home."

That's the newest effort of the Blind Boys of Alabama.

Thank you.

[Applause] And now, when the storms of life are raging, I want you to stand by me.

[Cheering] [Orchestra playing] When the storm of life is raging Stand by me Stand by me When the storm of life is raging Stand by me, Lord Stand by me When this whole world is tossed at me Just like a ship out on the sea Thou who knowest all about it Stand by me Stand by me Oh, Lord, won't you stand by me?

Every day Every day, walk with me Jimmy: Stand by your child Oh, Lord, won't you stand by me?

As I walk As I walk, please stand with me Well, when I'm down, pick me up Help me to drink this bitter cup Hey, Lord Hey, Lord Hey Stand by me Hey, yeah, every day Every day let me walk with Thee Stand by me Yeah, as I walk, Lord, yeah, you're with me And when I'm down, pick me up Help me to drink this bitter cup Hey, now!

Oh, Lord Yeah My father Father Oh, yeah, my Father I know you I said, I know you You've been my water, you've been my bread Been my doctor on my sickbed Hey, hey Hey, hey Stand by me, stand by me When I get in trouble, stand by me Oh, yeah Yeah Good God almighty Stand by me Stand by me Yes, sir Oh, Lord, won't you stand by me?

Every day Every day, won't you walk with me?

Stand by me, yeah As I walk As I walk this narrow path When I'm down, pick me up Help me to drink the bitter cup Hey, Lord, hey, now O Lord Lord, stand by me [Song ends] [Applause] Joey: "Aren't you tired of doing this?"

Because I've been doing this since I was a little boy.

And, "Aren't you tired of it?"

I was like, "Actually, no."

I actually love traveling.

I don't get tired of it.

You know, I love performing.

I don't get tired of doing music.

I love playing, singing, playing with other people.

I just love it.

Thank God.

Ha ha!

I don't know.

It's just...it's fun to me.

It's just... Yeah, right, it's in me.

Been doing this for 50 years, and I love it.

I love the people.

I love being able to come out and be able to know that people still love what we do, and that's what makes the difference.

Panion: Here are a group of men who have their own physical challenges, um, but have grown up and seen every significant change in the 20th century, just about, through to the 21st century, and have been able to endure that but yet keep themselves and not have it affect their great personalities, their love for mankind.

And I want Alabama to know that when the Blind Boys are onstage, everywhere we go, we tell them that we are proud to be an Alabamian.

It's really unbelievable in many ways when you think about having to grow up like they did, singing and being invited to sing at the White House and other places throughout the world, the State Department sending them throughout the world as ambassadors, but not be able to get a good hot meal in certain restaurants in certain places in our country.

But yet that did not change them.

We still have a ways to go, but we have come a long, long way.

[Applause] It made them just, if anything, embrace who they were and develop a greater sense of love for our country and our people, and I think it's all about hope.

I think they represent what they saw and see as a great potential for our country and our people.

Jimmy: All right.

Audience: All right!

-All right!

-All right!

-Let me hear you say, "Yeah!"

-Yeah!

-Say, "Yeah!"

-Yeah!

Ha ha ha!

All right.

All right, now, friends, here's this little song, a little toe-tapping song that goes something like this.

[Orchestra playing] Everybody put your hands together.

[Indistinct] If I had a hammer I'd hammer in the morning I'd hammer in the evening All over this land I'd hammer out death I'd hammer out a warning I'd hammer out love between my brothers and sisters All over this land Yeah Oh, yeah I said, yeah Oh, yeah I have a song I'll sing it in the morning Sing it in the evening All over this land I'll sing out danger I'll sing about a warning I'll sing out love between my brothers and sisters All over this land Hey, yeah Oh, yeah Jimmy: Hey, hey Hey, hey Hey, hey, hey Yeah Yeah!

Oh, yeah Hey, hey Hey, hey, hey Oh, yeah Oh, yeah Talking about a hammer, a hammer of peace I'm talking about a hammer... I'm talking about a hammer A hammer of justice Talking about a hammer A hammer of freedom Talking about a hammer A hammer of love Oh, yeah Oh, yeah Oh, yeah Oh, yeah Oh, yeah Oh, yeah Jimmy: Oh, yeah Oh, yeah Oh, yeah Yeah!

Oh, yeah I said, yeah Whoo!

Let me ask you a question.

Tell them what you need to know.

Do you like this song?

Do you like this song?

I don't know if they can hear you.

Do you like this song?

I love this song.

Well, if you like it Here's what I want you to do Tell me what you want to do.

I want everybody that's sitting out there That's sitting out there - Everybody - Everybody That's sitting out there That's sitting out there I want you to stand up On your feet - Stand up - On your feet - Stand up - On your feet Are you standing up?

On your feet - Are you standing up?

- On your feet - I can't see you - On your feet - I need to hear you - On your feet - I can't see you - On your feet - I need to hear you - On your feet - Are you standing up?

- On your feet?

- Standing up now - On your feet Jimmy: Well, while you're standing On your feet Put your hands together A little bit louder - Clap your hands - Just a little bit louder - Clap your hands - Just a little bit louder - Clap your hands - Just a little bit louder - Clap - Just a little bit louder - Clap your hands - A little bit louder - Let me tell you - A little bit louder - I got something to tell you - Got something to tell you Jimmy: I got something to tell you Got something to tell you - I got something to tell you - I got something to tell you - What about this song?

- What about this song?

Jimmy: This song got a beat It's got a beat - This song got a beat - It's got a beat - What do you call it?

- It's got a beat - What do you call it?

- It's got a beat - What do you call it?

- It's got a beat - I got something to tell you - Got something to tell you - What about this beat?

- What about this beat?

- Hey, let me tell you - Let me tell you - What you came to do - If you're ready to do - Let me tell you - Let me tell you - What you came to do - If you're ready to do Jimmy: It'll make you Whoo!

[Cheering and applause] If you feel like jumping Jump, jump If you feel like jumping Jump, jump - If you feel like jumping - Jump, jump - Come on, jump with me - Jump, jump - Come on, jump - Jump, jump, jump - Come on, jump with me - Jump, jump, jump - Hey, hey - Hey, hey, hey Hey, hey Hey, hey Hey, hey Hey, hey Hey, hey Hey, hey Hey... Whoo!

Whoo!

Hey Hey I'll sing it in the morning Sing it in the evening All over this land All over this land Sing out... Oh... Sing out love, sing out Love to my brothers and sisters All over Over this land Land, land Land Land Whoo!

[Song ends] [Cheering and applause]