The group was founded in 1939 in Talladega, Alabama, and has featured a changing roster of musicians over its history, the majority of whom are or were vision impaired.

[4][8][9] Since then, the group has toured internationally and has performed and recorded with such artists as Prince, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Bonnie Raitt, Ben Harper, Bon Iver, and Amadou & Mariam.

[4] The founding members were Clarence Fountain (1929–2018), George Scott (1929–2005), Velma Bozman Traylor (1923–1947), Johnny Fields (1927–2009), Olice Thomas (b.

)[4][17][note 1] Early influences of the Blind Boys include the Golden Gate Quartet, The Soul Stirrers and The Heavenly Gospel Singers.

[22] While the boys were not allowed to sing black gospel music at their school (which was run by an all-white faculty), they were able to hear it on the radio.

[22] The earliest version of the group was known as The Happy Land Jubilee Singers and their first performances were for World War II soldiers at nearby encampments, where the boys sang for pocket change.

[4][10] In 1948, a Newark, New Jersey, promoter booked the Happy Land Jubilee Singers along with a gospel act from Mississippi known as the Jackson Harmoneers, whose members were also visually impaired, and advertised the program as the "Battle of the Blind Boys.

[10][23] Hard gospel often involved a shrieking and screaming style of singing and during performances some audience members reportedly would get so excited that some would have to be sent to the hospital.

[4][17] Ray Charles's manager offered the Blind Boys a big touring deal if they would cross over to other genres, but the group decided to stick to their gospel roots.

In an interview with Ebony magazine in 2003, Fountain stated that they signed contracts that took advantage of them and that they were each paid $50 per album side and the record company kept the rest.

[4][10] The play's success led to the Blind Boys' exposure to a wider mainstream audience and marked a turning point for the group.

[7][30] The Blind Boys released Deep River in 1992, which was nominated for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards.

[34] In 1995, the Blind Boys became the first artists to be signed to the new House of Blues gospel label, for which they recorded their first live album I Brought Him with Me.

[9] In December 1996, the group appeared in the Christmas episode of TV series Beverly Hills, 90210 titled "Gift Wrapped".

Their songs were featured on soundtracks of television series, such as Boston Public, Lost, and Criminal Minds, as well as films, such as Madea Goes to Jail, Alpha and Omega, and Hop.

[32] The Blind Boys made an appearance in the film The Fighting Temptations and were featured on such television series as 60 Minutes II and The Colbert Report, as well as on multiple episodes of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with David Letterman.

[25] The title song is a rendition of the Stevie Wonder hit, but some of the lyrics were changed to make it a gospel song—for example, the line "Lovers, keep on lovin'" became "Prayers, keep on prayin.

[41] The album contains renditions of mostly Christmas-related gospel songs and features guest artists Solomon Burke, Tom Waits, Michael Franti, Chrissie Hynde, Richard Thompson, Aaron Neville, Mavis Staples, Shelby Lynne, George Clinton, Robert Randolph, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Les McCann.

[42] They also contributed to the soundtrack of the Disney animated film Brother Bear, performing the song "Welcome" alongside Phil Collins.

[51] Tracks include a jazzy version of the popular gospel song "Uncloudy Day", backed by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band; blues song "Make a Better World" written by musician Earl King), backed by the Hot 8 Brass Band; as well as a bluesy version of "If I Could Help Somebody" by Mahalia Jackson with Allen Toussaint on piano.

[10] The songs on the album were written for the Blind Boys by writers including Marc Cohn, Phil Cook, John Leventhal, and Valerie June.

[65] Written by Leventhal, the song is about Carter as a young boy at the Alabama Institute and "how scared I was, and that I wanted my mother to live until I got grown.

"[64] On August 28, 2020, Single Lock Records released the Blind Boys' album Almost Home to all platforms, including a bonus track: previously unreleased Bob Dylan song, "See By Faith."

"[67] The album also featured cover songs by such artists as Steven Tyler, Willie Nelson, Grace Potter, Chris Stapleton, and Kid Rock.

[70][71] Seven of the tracks are recordings from their performance on The Kate earlier that same year, including Cohn's hit "Walking in Memphis", as well the Blind Boys' version of "Amazing Grace" to the melody of "The House of the Rising Sun".

[77][78] In May 2020, Woodstock legend Wavy Gravy included the Blind Boys in his virtual music festival celebrating his 84th birthday.

[80] Later that year, the Blind Boys teamed up with Béla Fleck to release a new version of "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" for Record Store Day.

[83] In July 2022, the Blind Boys were featured as performers at the closing ceremonies of the World Games at the Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama.

[84] In September 2022, the Blind Boys released two collaborative tracks with Black Violin titled "We Are One" and "The Message", the latter of which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Americana Performance.

[85][86] The View featured the Blind Boys on Martin Luther King Jr Day 2023, including an interview and multiple performances.