Legendary gospel group The Blind Boys of Alabama have been singing for more than 60 years. NPR's Farai Chideya talks with the members about their new CD Atom Bomb.
Farai Chideya is a multimedia journalist who has worked in print, television, online, and radio. Prior to joining NPR's News & Notes, Chideya hosted Your Call, a daily news and cultural call-in show on San Francisco's KALW 91.7 FM. Chideya has also been a correspondent for ABC News, anchored the prime time program Pure Oxygen on the Oxygen women's channel, and contributed commentaries to CNN, Fox, MSNBC, and BET. She got her start as a researcher and reporter at Newsweek magazine. In 1997 Newsweek named her to its "Century Club" of 100 people to watch.
Before making her upcoming sixth album, the country star returned to her small-town Texas home and discovered the power of in-between spaces. "I found a lot of clarity there," she says.
There are two clear frontrunners in this year's best original song race, either of which would be a worthy Oscar winner. Diane Warren is also nominated, for the 17th time.
The singer-songwriter and producer has had one of the more distinguished and multifaceted careers in modern music. He talks about following an unconventional path from Tony! Toni! Toné! to Sinners.