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Revision as of 10:35, 25 February 2005 by 24.126.41.116 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi is a gospel group that featured the powerful vocals of Archie Brownlee, whose ability to switch from crooning to an impassioned scream caused gospel audiences to "fall out", the black church's term for the convulsive emotional reaction to a singer's or preacher's message. Brownlee's hard gospel style took its toll on him as well: he died on February 8, 1960 at the age of 39.
The group began in the 1930s when Brownlee and three other blind students — Joseph Ford, Lawrence Abrams, and Lloyd Woodard — at the Piney Woods School near Jackson, Mississippi formed a quartet. They originally sung under the name "the Cotton Blossom Singers", performing both jubilee quartet and secular material, to raise money for the school. They became a professional group after graduation, singing pop music as the Cotton Blossom Singers and religious material under the name the Jackson Harmoneers".
After several changes in the makeup of the group, most notably the addition of Percell Perkins and J.T. Clinkscales, they rechristened themselves the Five Blind Boys in the mid-1940s. They had a series of hits with the Peacock Records label, starting with "Our Father", recorded in their first session with Peacock. They were often paired with the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, led by Clarence Fountain; their joint concerts often became competitions to see which group could wreck the house more completely; concert promoters often stationed ambulances at the venue for those members of the audience overcome by their singing.
The group, and Brownlee in particular, were heavily influenced by R.H. Harris of the Soul Stirrers; Brownlee gave Harris credit for his style. The group continued touring and recording after Brownlee's death, although they never reached the same heights thereafter.
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