{"id":7459,"date":"2022-07-11T13:20:56","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T18:20:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=7459"},"modified":"2022-07-11T13:20:58","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T18:20:58","slug":"blind-boys-of-alabama-meet-ricky-mckinnie-and-like-he-says-dont-miss-it-when-the-boys-are-back-in-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=7459","title":{"rendered":"Blind Boys of Alabama &#8211; Meet Ricky McKinnie, and like he says, Don&#8217;t Miss It When the Boys are Back in Town!"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--powerpress_player--><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_3907\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-7459-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/BlindBoysOfAlabama.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/BlindBoysOfAlabama.mp3\">https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/BlindBoysOfAlabama.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Podcast Summary:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Our guest today on Blind Abilities is Ricky McKinnie. Ricky is a longtime member of the iconic gospel singing group, The Blind Boys of Alabama. Winners of five Grammy awards and the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award. They have also been&nbsp;inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and performed at the White House for three different presidents<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Blind Boys of Alabama have the rare distinction of being recognized around the world as both living legends and modern-day innovators.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>.&nbsp; Since the original members first sang together as kids at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in the late 1930s, the band has persevered through seven decades to become one of the most recognized and decorated roots music groups in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>the blind boys have gained a stellar reputation with their professional careers beginning with their first single released in 1944, followed by many more over the decades. They have &nbsp;recorded and released 25 &nbsp;albums, some featuring collaborations with other well-known artists, including&nbsp;Ben Harper, Robert Randolph, Aaron Neville, Mavis Staples, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Allen Toussaint, and Willie Nelson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;. In 2017, the group released a milestone album entitled almost home. This record consists of a series of songs submitted by songwriters in response to a solicitation by the band and its management team for songs which celebrate the epic story of the lives and &nbsp;history of the blind boys of Alabama, beginning with their childhood and moving forward to their present professional careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their most recent album, released in 2021 , entitled \u201cwork to do,\u201d, resulted from a collaboration between the blind boys and Mark Cohn, established singer, piano player and songwriter famous for his popular Composition \u201cWalking in Memphis\u201c.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our guest, Ricky McKinney, is a productive artist in his own right, leading his band called, \u201cthe Ricky McKinnie singers,\u201c based in Atlanta, Georgia, in the US. Ricky has also sung and played drums with various gospel groups, , bands, and choirs, initially having joined the blind boys of Alabama as their Business Manager in 1997, then as their drummer and eventually as one of the feature singers in 2000. Ricky shares his account of how he became blind, as well as his professional career in and outside the blind boys, along with his advice to transition-aged youth as they move from high school to college or the workplace.. Join Jeff and Pete for this fascinating and in-depth interview with this key member of the iconic gospel group.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, Blind Abilities blends in several music excerpts from tunes performed both in the recording studio and live by the band over the decades. Following is a list of song titles from which those excerpts were drawn, along with the times at which they appear in the podcast:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8211; 00:00, Introduction: I Can See\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8211; 9:20, \u201cLook Where He Brought Me From\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&#8211; 14:05, collaboration with Bela Fleck, Grammy Award nominated single: \u201cI &nbsp;Wish I Could Know What It\u2019s Like To Be Free&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8211; 17:17, \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8211; 20:35, &#8220;Singing Brings Us Closer&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8211; 21:58, collaboration with African pop duo, Amadou &amp; Marial, \u201cNetola\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8211; 22:50, collaboration with Mark Cohn, \u201cWork To Do\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8211; 27:28, &nbsp;closing: \u201cGo Tell It On The Mountain:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Blind Boys will be performing at the closing ceremony for The World Games on Sunday, July 17, 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama. Be sure to check them out there, , or during their current tour in the U. S.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This information, along with their discography and other interesting facts can be found on the group\u2019s web site:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.blindboys.com\/\">www.BlindBoys.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And check out Ricky\u2019s web site:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.therickymckinnieexperience.com\/\">www.TheRickyMckinnieExperience.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ricky wants to leave us all with these parting words of wisdom: &#8220;Don\u2019t miss it when The Boys Are Back In Town!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks for listening!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"contact-your-state-services\"><strong>Contact Your State Services<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Pre-ETS Program and Transition Services Manager Sheila Koenig by&nbsp;<a>email<\/a>&nbsp;or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"contact\"><strong>Contact:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can follow us on Twitter&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/blindabilities\">@BlindAbilities<\/a><br>On the web at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/\">www.BlindAbilities.com<\/a><br>Send us an&nbsp;<a>email<\/a><br>Get the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/app\/blind-abilities\/id1085849859?l=es&amp;mt=8\">Free Blind Abilities App&nbsp;on the App Store<\/a>and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.blindabilities.android.blind&amp;hl=en_US\">Google Play Store<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/607027582712671\/\">Blind Abilities Community<\/a>&nbsp;on Facebook, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BlindAbilities\/\">Blind Abilities Page<\/a>, and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/jobinsightsgroup\">Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired<\/a>&nbsp;group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<!--powerpress_player--><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_3909\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-7459-3\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/BlindBoysOfAlabama.mp3?_=3\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/BlindBoysOfAlabama.mp3\">https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/BlindBoysOfAlabama.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p>https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/BlindBoysOfAlabama.mp3 Podcast Summary: Our guest today on Blind Abilities is Ricky McKinnie. Ricky is a longtime member of the iconic gospel singing group, The Blind Boys of Alabama. Winners of five Grammy awards and the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award. They have also been&nbsp;inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and performed at the White [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bapresents"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6rcRg-1Wj","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7624,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=7624","url_meta":{"origin":7459,"position":0},"title":"\ufffcRicky Ties is Living His Best Life Training for Competitive Sport. Member of Team USA VI Judo, All-American Wrestler and a Masters in Sports Psychology&#8230; Can You Say, Psych?","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"September 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Podcast Summary: Ricky Ties is a member of the Team USA Visually Impaired Judo Team. Ricky wrestled in high school and was a 2 time participant in the state tournament and was a National Highschool Coaches Association All-American. Ricky went on to college and\u00a0\u00a0qualified for Nationals 2 times and Regional\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9401,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=9401","url_meta":{"origin":7459,"position":1},"title":"Fear Less &#8211; Do More! Envision Blind Sports Is Here!","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"February 22, 2026","format":"audio","excerpt":"Podcast Summary: Envision Blind Sports\u00a0is expanding to Minnesota\u2014and that means more chances for blind and low vision youth to move, compete, and discover what they\u2019re capable of. In this episode, Jeff talks with Minnesota Regional Manager Ricky Ties and Program Director Jillian Stringfellow about how adaptive sports build confidence, independence,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"Envision blind Sports Logo Fear Less. Do More.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/EnvisionBlindSportsLogo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/EnvisionBlindSportsLogo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/EnvisionBlindSportsLogo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/EnvisionBlindSportsLogo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/EnvisionBlindSportsLogo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5231,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=5231","url_meta":{"origin":7459,"position":2},"title":"The Complete Story of Johnny Hiland: Legendary Guitarist, , Legally Blind and a Chicken Pickin\u2019 Good Person, Too!","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Show Summary: Blind Abilities presents another epic podcast featuring an in depth interview with an amazing guest. Johnny Hiland is a highly successful and well-respected musician, a fantastic country guitarist who is widely recognized as one of the fastest \u201cchicken pickers\u201d in the world. But his musical expertise\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6782,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=6782","url_meta":{"origin":7459,"position":3},"title":"Musician Spotlight Series: The Complete Story of Johnny Hiland: Legendary Guitarist, , Legally Blind and a Chicken Pickin\u2019 Good Person, Too!","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"June 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Show Summary: As part of the Musician Spotlight Series we are proud to bring you Johnny Hiland. Johnny is one of the fastest guitar pickers in the world and his playing will surely reinforce that thought. Here is our interview with Johnny Hiland recorded in 2019. We hope\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5613,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=5613","url_meta":{"origin":7459,"position":4},"title":"That Blind Tech Show: To Aira or Not to Aira? Is Soundscape and Bose Dancing or Not? What OCR is in Your Pocket? Drum Roll Please, KNFB and Tivo Get Updates!","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"December 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Show Summary The boys got anxious while Serina was out saving the world, so Lori Thompson jumped into the studio and kept an eye on these boys and kept them to task. Brian and Jeff along with Lori skip on through the latest news, apps and updates along with sharing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=467"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/That-Blind-Tech-Show-Mic-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/That-Blind-Tech-Show-Mic-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/That-Blind-Tech-Show-Mic-2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/That-Blind-Tech-Show-Mic-2.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/That-Blind-Tech-Show-Mic-2.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/That-Blind-Tech-Show-Mic-2.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4269,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=4269","url_meta":{"origin":7459,"position":5},"title":"That Blind Tech Show: What Tech is Living on a Prayer? Mac SmackDown with PC\u2019s, Aira Boxing, Narrator Climbing the Ranks, Microsoft the New Apple? And Who\u2019s Singing Apple Music Now?","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"December 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Show Summary: Ed and Brian are back together and Jeff just keeps hanging out counting the days. That\u2019s days until New years 2019! The boys hit the studio hard with nothing but true stories and nothing but the facts. Ed and Jeff keep Brian in-line somewhat and maybe Brian is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=467"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/That-Blind-Tech-Show-Mic-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/That-Blind-Tech-Show-Mic-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/That-Blind-Tech-Show-Mic-2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/That-Blind-Tech-Show-Mic-2.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/That-Blind-Tech-Show-Mic-2.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/That-Blind-Tech-Show-Mic-2.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7459"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7460,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7459\/revisions\/7460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}