The Blind Boy and the President

Telluride, Colo. -

Jimmy Carter and Jimmy Carter.

The former president and the gospel singer.

Let compare them, see who comes out ahead.

Jimmy Carter, the former president, is a deeply Christian man.

Jimmy Carter, the vocalist for the gospel group the Blind Boys of Alabama,
is too.

“We are Christian people,” says the singer. “We not perfect but we’re
Christian. We all were raised up in Christian
homes. God has been good to us and we decided to dedicate our lives to
Him.”

For the Blind Boys, who play Sunday at 11 a.m., that dedication stretches
back nearly 70 years and more than 60
albums. It finally paid off this decade, when they won four Grammys in a
row, from 2002 to 2005.

“God is fair,” says the singer. “He says, ‘If you work for me, I will pay
you.’”

President Jimmy Carter, 83, is an aging elder statesmen regarded by the
younger generation as a trailblazer.

Singer Jimmy Carter, ditto. He won’t say how old he is, except to say “I’m
old enough to drink.”
But he’s the last original member of the Blind Boys, who were formed in
1939 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro
Blind. The group was first called the Happyland Jubilee Singers, and they
started at a time when white and Negro
music were almost totally separate. Carter, his bandmates, and his musical
talent helped break down those old
barriers even though they never stopped singing traditional gospel songs.
Now that they team with all kinds of
musicians, from Allen Toussaint to Ben Harper.

President Jimmy Carter has worked tirelessly for Habitat for Humanity
putting up homes in New Orleans.

Singer Jimmy Carter can’t hammer a nail — “I might hit my finger,” he says
— but his group’s new album “Down in
New Orleans” aims to capture the spirit of drowned New Orleans — and help
lift it.

“We told the people of New Orleans, you know, most of us being unable to
see, we couldn’t take out a hammer and
nail to help you build a house,” singer Jimmy Carter says from his
Birmingham home, “but we could give you
encouragement and hope through our music.”

President Jimmy Carter can see.

Singer Jimmy Carter can’t, and neither can three of the other members. And
while that means he can’t see Telluride’s
knockout scenery, it also might mean he’s a better musician.

“When you’re blind, you have to use your imagination,” singer Jimmy Carter
says. “We have been together long
enough that we can sorta feel one another — we know what it takes to make
us click, so that’s what we do.”

The president and the gospel singer met only once, briefly shaking hands.
Singer Jimmy Carter has said he didn’t
think the president knew who he was.

President Jimmy Carter’s record: one term, a botched hostage crisis,
stagflation, malaise.

Singer Jimmy Carter’s records: soulful, spiritual, beautiful.

And president Jimmy Carter, far as I know, can’t sing for squat.

So, as far as booking festivals goes, signer Jimmy Carter wins hands down.

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