Blind Boys of Alabama to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

From Saguaro Road Records:

(Fairfax, VA) January 15, 2009 – The Blind Boys of Alabama will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by The Recording Academy as part of the 51st Annual Grammy Awards this February.

The prestigious honor comes just weeks after the quartet was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Gospel Album category for their 2008 release Down In New Orleans. A companion concert DVD, Live in New Orleans, will be released on February 24th via Saguaro Road Records.

The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes honorees for their tremendous artistic accomplishments and impact on music. Already winners of four Grammy Awards, the group enters a venerated club that includes the likes of Bob Dylan, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra and Miles Davis. We are very thrilled to be receiving this prestigious award,” said member Clarence Fountain. “We’ve worked a long time for this and are thankful to be recognized.”

The forthcoming Live In New Orleans DVD was filmed at the city’s historic club Tipitina’s during the 2008 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Inspired by the Blind Boys’ critically acclaimed album Down in New Orleans, the DVD continues their heartfelt tribute to the Crescent City and includes guest appearances by old friend Susan Tedeschi as well as New Orleans-born acts the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Dr. John, Henry Butler and Marva Wright.

Live in New Orleans combines new songs and old favorites, with selections from the Down in New Orleans disc performed alongside songs from the Blind Boys’ four Grammy-winning CDs as well as several classic gospel tunes.

The DVD also features bonus material: “The Making of Down in New Orleans” program which aired on BET earlier this year, and the music video for “Free at Last,” filmed in the city.