The Blind Boys of Alabama: a life in music

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Jimmy Carter is a titan in the world of gospel music. He's the last surviving original member of The Blind Boys of Alabama – America’s ultimate octogenarian boyband. The group has won several Grammy Awards and even had an audience at the White House, performing for Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama. Jimmy was just a child when he met the fellow founding members at a school for the blind in the 1930s. It was in the segregated American South, but from there, they sang their way to stardom. Outlook’s Emily Webb met Jimmy, and the current percussionist, Ricky McKinnie. Professor Patricia Wiltshire is a forensic ecologist and botanist who uses microscopic traces of pollen and spores to solve some of the UK’s most serious crimes. Picture: The Blind Boys of Alabama circa 1970 Credit: Getty Images