Blind Boys of Alabama bringing gospel sounds to Englert Theatre

Ricky McKinnie can’t see, but his perspective is sharp.

“I lost my sight but I never lost my vision,” McKinnie said while calling from his Atlanta home. “It’s about having the right attitude. My motto is; ‘I’m not blind, I just can’t see.’ ”

McKinnie, 71, has been handed the baton as the leader of The Blind Boys of Alabama.

“It’s a labor of love being in this group,” he said. “There’s nothing more I enjoy than being a part of this (collective). I love the music, the camaraderie and the history.”

Regarding the latter, the venerable gospel group formed before America entered World War II and cut its teeth in a segregated South. None of the original members of the band, which formed at the Talladega Institute for the Deaf and Blind in 1939, are alive.

The last remaining member, Clarence Fountain, died in 2018. However, McKinnie, a vocalist/drummer, who has played on and off with the band since the early 1970s before becoming a full-time member in 1989, shared a stage and the studio with Fountain.

“I enjoyed being in the group with Clarence and everyone else,” McKinnie said. “We have always been a tight-knit group. We’re like a family that goes way back.”

Finally, a book has been written, capturing the band’s rich and unique history. “Spirit of the Century: The Blind Boys Story” will hit shelves March 19.

“We’ve been working on the book for a couple of years,” McKinnie said. “People need to know the Blind Boys’ story.”

However, chapters still are being written, which is impressive since the group formed 85 years ago. The Blind Boys are still recording.

“Echoes of the South,” released in September, is an uplifting, but at times bittersweet, album, hearkening back to the group’s early days. A cover of Curtis Mayfield’s “Keep on Pushin,” the rocking Stevie Wonder tune “Heaven Help Us All” and Homer Bank’s soulful “Friendship” are among the highlights.

“ ‘Friendship’ is an important song for us, since it talks a lot about what kept us together for years,” McKinnie said. “Friendship has been the basis of this group. We’ve accomplished so much, partly due to our brotherhood.”

The Blind Boys ensemble, which also includes vocalists Joey Williams and the Rev. Julius Love, has won five Grammys, been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and has been invited to perform at the White House during the Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.

The list of icons who have worked with the Blind Boys is staggering. Willie Nelson, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Chrissie Hynde, Richard Thompson, Ben Harper and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon have each joined the Blind Boys in the studio.

“It’s been a wonderful experience working with all of those amazing musicians and receiving the recognition, but what’s most significant is being able to do what we love, which is all about music,” McKinnie said. “There’s just no greater joy than playing music and connecting with people.”

In Iowa

The Blind Boys, who will perform Feb. 29, 2024, at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City, show no signs of slowing down.

“How do you stop when you’re having as much fun as we are,” McKinnie said.

Part of the fun for the Blind Boys is being on the road. Whenever the band plays Iowa City, the group treks to Decatur City in the southwest part of the state, to visit Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague’s home.

“That’s always fun,” McKinnie said. “We got to know Bruce 20 years ago and we’re good friends. His mother cooks up an amazing meal. We have pigs feet, fried chicken, collard greens, cornbread and rice. We love it.”

Longtime member Jimmy Carter won’t be with the group, since at age 91, he retired. The Blind Boys dedicated “Echoes of the South” to Carter.

“I hope Jimmy is around for a long time,” McKinnie said. “His mother lived until she was 103. Jimmy is staying alive — and so is the music of the Blind Boys of Alabama.”