R.I.P Clarence Fountain
Clarence Fountain, a founding member of the gospel group Blind Boys of Alabama, has died. His manager Charles Driebe confirmed to Pitchfork that Fountain died on Sunday in a Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was 88.
Throughout his nearly 70-year career, Fountain and the group worked with Lou Reed, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, k.d. Lang, Mavis Staples, Tom Waits, Tune-Yards, and many more. They’ve won the Grammy award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album for multiple records, including Spirit of the Century (2001), Higher Ground (2003), Go Tell It On the Mountain (2004), and others. Blind Boys of Alabama also received the Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award and were inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 2010.
