The Blind Boys of Alabama first sang together in the school chorus in 1939 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in Talladega, Alabama. All around nine years old at the time, the founding members were Clarence Fountain, Jimmy Carter, George Scott, Velma Bozman Traylor, Johnny Fields, Olice Thomas, and the only sighted member, J. T. Hutton. The earliest version of the group was known as “The Happyland Jubilee Singers” and originally performed for World War II-era soldiers at training camps in the South. The group’s first professional performance was on June 10, 1944. In 1945, the members dropped out of school and began touring the gospel circuit.

In 1948, a Newark, New Jersey promoter booked two sets of blind gospel singers - the Happy Land Jubilee Singers from Alabama and the Jackson Harmoneers from Mississippi - and advertised the program as "Battle of the Blind Boys." A friendly rivalry sprouted between the two groups and continued henceforth. The two acts soon changed their names to the Five Blind Boys of Alabama and the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi and often toured together, occasionally swapping members. In 1948, The Blind Boys of Alabama recorded their first single, “I Can See Everybody’s Mother But Mine” on the Veejay label. It was a hit and led to a series of recordings on various record labels.1950s: The Black Gospel Years

During the 1950s black gospel music was popular, and the Blind Boys were one of the better known groups. Artists from pop and rock genres began to include aspects of black gospel music in their arrangements and black gospel artists began 'crossing over' to pop and rock music.

1960s–1970s: Staying true to their roots

During the 1960s and 1970s, soul music gained favor as a new type of secular black music. As a traditional gospel group, the fortunes of The Blind Boys of Alabama waned during these decades. Soul music was spiritual and socially engaged pop music, and its sales soon exceeded those of its gospel forerunners. Although soul music became a more financially successful route for many gospel artists, the Blind Boys of Alabama remained purely gospel singers. Fountain attributed their resistance to selling out to their lack of need, noting that they were happy and well-fed as they were and wanted to enjoy performing the music they sought to perform, as opposed to recording popular music solely for a paycheck.

In spite of shifting societal trends, The Blind Boys continued to be active in the 1960s and 1970s, releasing thirteen more albums through several labels, including the Vee-Jay label from 1963 to 1965. In the 1960s, the group's hard-driving gospel sound was imitated by others including Bobby "Blue" Bland and Marvin Gaye.[citation needed] In 1969, Fountain left the group for a decade to try to make it on his own, and the group re-formed with all the original members in the late 1970s.

The band also joined the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s, performing at benefits for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.1980s–1990s

Up until this point, the Blind Boys of Alabama had primarily played for black church audiences. The group performed at the World's Fair in Knoxville in 1982 and again in 1983. At that time the Five Blind Boys of Alabama began appearing collectively as Oedipus in the musical theater production "The Gospel at Colonus." The play was acclaimed as a landmark in American Musical History, receiving two OBIE Awards and nominations for a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. This production brought the Blind Boys to the attention of a mainstream audience. And Victor Brown who owned a nightclub that had been a church.. The Church House Inn in Providence, Rhode Island who assisted them in getting off the chitlin circuit and playing other venues in the USA and Europe....With this exposure, the Blind Boys began working in several genres and alongside more popular artists.

The Blind Boys released an album, Deep River in 1992, which was nominated for a Grammy Award. The album was produced by Booker T. Jones, and featured a version of Bob Dylan's "I Believe In You." The Blind Boys continued experimenting with contemporary popular music with 1995's live album I Brought Him With Me and 1997's funk-leaning Holding On," both originally released on the House of Blues label.