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Ricky McKinnie
(October 2005 Issue)
Drumming With The Blind Boys Of Alabama When drummer Ricky
McKinnie lost his sight from
glaucoma in 1975, he was never going to
let it stop him from doing what he loves most. He had been playing
drums since the
age of twelve and was given the "most talented
musician" award in high school, after which he attended Decamp College
in
Atlanta. Then, fifteen years ago, McKinnie found his perfect musical
outlet - working with the Grammy award-winning Gospel act
The Blind Boys
Of Alabama, a group with four blind members.
"I just kept doing
what I was doing," says McKinnie in
regards to his joining The Blind
Boys. The drummer had been playing with another Gospel group at the
time he joined. "Even
though I couldn't see, I could feel the beat,"
McKinnie says. "It's pretty much all in the touch. I have what is
called
phantom sight, which means I had sight long enough that I can
imagine things in my head. All of that works together to help me
play."
Although McKinnie did not record The Blind Boys' latest album, Atom Bomb, he can be heard on
the band's live recordings and on their Go Tell It On The Mountain
DVD. "In order to be a good Gospel drummer," he
says, "you have to be
steady with your beat. I've also learned to adjust the feel to take the
music where it needs to
go."
McKinnie is a positive soul. "My
motto is, I'm not blind - I just can't see," he insists. "I've
always
told people that I've been able to take a disability and turn it into
an ability. Tough times don't last,
but tough people do."
Robyn Flans
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