Pepperdine Univ Presents THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA CHRISTMAS SHOW

Pepperdine University Center for the Arts presents "Go Tell It on the Mountain: The Blind Boys of Alabama Christmas Show" at Pepperdine's Smothers Theatre at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, December 13.

Opening for the Blind Boys will be special guests Sara and Sean Watkins, formerly of Nickel Creek.

Limited tickets, priced at $65, $55, or $40 for the public and $10 for full-time Pepperdine students, are available now by calling (310) 506-4522. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster at (800) 982-2787. More information: http://arts.pepperdine.edu/ or http://www.blindboys.com/

The Blind Boys of Alabama are recognized worldwide as living legends of gospel music, having attained the highest levels of achievement in a career that spans over 70 years and shows no signs of diminishing. They have been celebrated by the Grammys and the National Endowment for the Arts with Lifetime Achievement Awards, been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, sung for two presidents in the White House, and won five Grammy Awards.

Longevity and major awards aside, the Blind Boys have earned praise for their remarkable interpretations of everything from traditional gospel favorites to contemporary spiritual material by acclaimed songwriters such as Curtis Mayfield, Ben Harper, Eric Clapton, Prince, and Tom Waits.

Their performances have been experienced by millions on The Tonight Show, Late Night with David Letterman, the Grammy Awards telecast, 60 Minutes, and their own PBS holiday special.

The Blind Boys' live shows are rafter-raising musical events that appeal to audiences of all cultures, as evidenced by an international itinerary that has taken them to virtually every continent.

The Blind Boys of Alabama formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in 1939. The group toiled for nearly 40 years almost exclusively on the black gospel circuit, playing in churches, auditoriums, and even stadiums across the country.

Their recorded output, reaching back to 1948 with their hit "I Can See Everybody's Mother But Mine" on the Vee-Jay label, is widely recognized as being influential for many gospel, R&B, and rock 'n' roll artists. The Blind Boys had their own chance to cross over to popular music in the 1950s, along with their gospel friend and contemporary Sam Cooke, but stayed true to their calling.

In the 1960s they joined the Civil Rights movement, performing at benefits for DR. Martin Luther King. They "toiled in the vineyards" all through the 1970s as the world of popular music began to pass them by, but in 1983 their career reached a turning point with their crucial role in the smash hit and Obie Award-winning play The Gospel at Colonus, which brought the Blind Boys' timeless sound to an enthusiastic new audience.

In the 1990s they received two Grammy nominations and performed at the White House. In recent years the Blind Boys were awarded five Grammy Awards, and their musical brethren have paid homage to their legacy and continued relevance by asking them to contribute and collaborate on new projects. They have appeared on recordings with Bonnie Raitt, Randy Travis, k.d. lang, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Charlie Musselwhite, Susan Tedeschi, Solomon Burke, Marty Stuart, Asleep at the Wheel, and many others. The Blind Boys have profoundly influenced an entire generation (or two) of gospel, soul, R&B, and rock musicians and are still blazing trails after all these years.

Much in the world has changed since the original version of the Blind Boys of Alabama first raised their voices together in 1939. Today, more than 70 years later, founding member Jimmy Carter can look back on a career far beyond what he and his colleagues could have imagined at that time.