The group originated in 1936[1] as a quartet of students from the Piney Woods School for the blind[2] near Jackson, Mississippi. The students -- Brownlee, Joseph Ford, Lawrence Abrams, and Lloyd Woodard -- originally sang under the name "the Cotton Blossom Singers", performing both jubilee quartet and secular material, to raise money for the school. Their teacher, Martha Louise Morrow Foxx,[3] helped organize the blind singers at the behest of the school founder Laurence C. Jones. ...show more

The group originated in 1936[1] as a quartet of students from the Piney Woods School for the blind[2] near Jackson, Mississippi. The students -- Brownlee, Joseph Ford, Lawrence Abrams, and Lloyd Woodard -- originally sang under the name "the Cotton Blossom Singers", performing both jubilee quartet and secular material, to raise money for the school. Their teacher, Martha Louise Morrow Foxx,[3] helped organize the blind singers at the behest of the school founder Laurence C. Jones.

On March 9, 1937, Brownlee and the others recorded sacred tunes (as the Blind Boys) and three secular numbers (as Abraham, Woodard, and Patterson) for Library of Congress researcher Alan Lomax. After graduation in the early forties, they began performing professionally singing pop music as the Cotton Blossom Singers and religious material under the name the Jackson Harmoneers. They were often backed by a female jazz band which originated from the same country school known as "The International Sweethearts of Rhythm." In the early 40s, Melvin Henderson, also known as Melvin Hendrix[4], joined the group making them -- like many so-called quartets -- actually a quintet. In the mid-40s, Brownlee and the others relocated to Chicago, and changed their name to the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi.

Under the influence of R.H. Harris of the Soul Stirrers, Brownlee moved away from the jubilee style of singing and towards a more popular hard gospel style. Even though Harris' influence was pervasive -- the Blind Boys at first covered Soul Stirrers songs almost exclusively -- Brownlee's high voice, which could move from a sweet croon to a devastating scream, was one of the most recognizable in gospel. His dynamic stage presence also became legendary: though blind from birth, he would sometimes leap from a stage into the screaming audiences below. ...show less