Since the beginning at the Alabama School 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. Celebrated by both The Grammy Foundation and The National Endowment for the Arts with Lifetime Achievement Awards, inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and winners of five GRAMMY® Awards, they have attained the highest levels of recognition. The Blind Boys have been hailed as "gospel titans" by Rolling Stone, collaborated with everyone from Mavis Staples and Stevie Wonder to Prince and Lou Reed, been the subject of a feature length documentary film entitled How Sweet The Sound and performed on some of the world's most prestigious stages. The New York Times said that they "came to epitomize what is known as jubilee singing, a livelier breed of gospel music," adding that "they made it zestier still by adding jazz and blues idioms and turning up the volume, creating a sound…like the rock 'n' roll that grew out of it." The New Yorker simply calls them "legendary." Their collaboration with Bela Fleck I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free was nominated for a 2022 GRAMMY® (Best American Roots Performance) and their latest collaboration with Black Violin The Message has been nominated for a 2023 GRAMMY® (Best Americana Performance).