Gospel icons Blind Boys of Alabama still going strong, offering their thanks to the Lord

Gospel icons the Blind Boys of Alabama, playing Saturday, Jan. 28 in Olympia, have a history few bands can match.

In 1939, the original members sang together at a school for the blind in Talladega, Alabama, and the group’s current leader, 90-year-old Jimmy Carter, was there when the troupe got its start. (Carter shares a name with the 39th president of the United States, who is 98.)

More than eight decades later, the Blind Boys of Alabama continue to innovate and collaborate. The ensemble has made music with Prince, Peter Gabriel and Willie Nelson, among many others.

One of their longtime collaborators, harmonica virtuoso Charlie Musselwhite, will be joining them on stage in Olympia. “We met Charlie when we did our first Grammy-winning record, ‘Spirit of the Century,’ ” said the group’s Ricky McKinnie.

The group has played at the White House three times (for George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama) and won five Grammy Awards plus a Lifetime Achievement Grammy. The Blind Boys were recently nominated for another Grammy, a Best Americana Performance award for “The Message,” recorded with Black Violin.

The people singing in the group has changed over its 83 years, of course, but there’s lots of history there, too. Band leader Carter was there when the group got its start at what was then called the Alabama Institute for the Negro Deaf and Blind. McKinnie began drumming with the Blind Boys about 50 years ago and joined the group as a vocalist 34 years ago.

Rounding out the singing quintet are Paul Beasley, Sterling Glass and Joey Williams, who also serves as music director and lead guitarist. (The vocalists travel with a full band, but only those who sing are considered “Blind Boys.”)

Though the group’s name is a relic of its start, most of the singers over the years have been are blind or visually impaired. Of the current lineup, only Williams is sighted.

“It’s not a requirement,” McKinnie told The Olympian. “Things have changed since the way it was back in the day.

“The Blind Boys’ goal is to let people know that a disability doesn’t have to be a handicap,” he said. “It’s not what you can’t do that’s important; it’s what you can do.”

Of course, the Blind Boys have other goals, too — including lifting audiences’ spirits.

“If you’re feeling bad and you come to the concert, I guarantee you you’re going to leave feeling glad,” McKinnie said, emphasizing the rhyme. “We’re going to have a wonderful time.”

Critics agree, describing the Blind Boys as “national treasures” and “glorious.”

McKinnie, 70, found his passion for gospel at an early age. “My mother, Sarah McKinnie Shivers, was a professional gospel singer,” he said. “And I’ve always been in church. That’s how I got started.”

He was touring with the Texas-based Gospel Keynotes when he lost his sight to glaucoma at age 23. “My motto is ‘I’m not blind; I just can’t see,’ ” he said. “I lost my sight, but I never lost my vision.”

And like his singing brethren, he has no desire to stop performing .

In a 2017 interview with Billboard’s Chuck Dauphin, Carter spoke of the members’ passion for their work.

“People ask me, ‘Jimmy, what keeps you going? You’ve been doing this for such a long time,’ ” he said. “I say, ‘When you love what you do, that keeps you going.’ God has been good to us, and we just want to thank him by keeping on going.”

Blind Boys of Alabama with Charlie Musselwhite

• What: Living legends who continue to innovate, the Blind Boys are teaming up with harmonica master Musselwhite.

• When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28

• Where: The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia

• Tickets: $39-$84

• More information: 360-753-8586, https://www.washingtoncenter.org