The Oak Ridge Boys

One of the longest-serving and most celebrated vocal groups in gospel and country music history, the Oak Ridge Boys began their 80+ year career in 1943. Originally calling themselves Wally Fowler and the Georgia Clodhoppers, the Knoxville, Tennessee -based country and gospel outfit performed so often at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory that they changed their name to the Oak Ridge Quartet and focused on southern gospel music. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout the years and eventually signed to Cadence Records and released the self-titled album in 1958. Moving towards a contemporary gospel sound, the group changed their name to The Oak Ridge Boys in 1961. The best known line-up of the band consisted of baritone William Lee Golden (who joined in 1965), lead vocalist Duane Allen (joined in 1965), bass Richard Sterban (joined in 1972), and tenor Joe Bonsall (joined in 1973). By the time this line-up had solidified, the group moved away from gospel and focused almost entirely on country music. Although they were a well-known group with a string of albums – including their first Top 40 album, The Oak Ridge Boys (1874) - they didn’t score a proper country hit single until 1977’s “Y’All Come Back Saloon,” which hit number 3 in the US and number 2 in Canada. Their next single, “You’re the One,” climbed one place higher on both charts while 1978’s “I’ll Be True to You” was their first number 1 hit in the US. The Oak Ridge Boys’ string of number 1 singles continued over the next decade and included “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight” (1979), “Trying to Love Two Women” (1980), “Elvira” (their signature song, 1981), “Bobbie Sue” (1982), “American Made” (1983), “I Guess It Never Hurts to Hurt Sometimes” (1984), “Little Things” (1985), and “This Crazy Love.” After 22 years with the group, William Lee Golden left The Oak Ridge Boys to pursue a solo career and was replaced by baritone Steve Sanders, who had been playing rhythm guitar in the group since 1981. The Oak Ridge Boys scored a few more number 1 hits at the end of the 1980s, but their reign over the country music ended when a new breed of artists began to dominate the charts. In all, 17 of the group’s 63 singles reached the top of the singles chart. The group persevered and continued touring and recording, building a catalog that included 31 studio albums. Sanders left the band in 1995, and William Lee Golden rejoined his old bandmates. While not as prolific as their early days, the Oak Ridge Boys continued to release albums that made the Top 40 on Billboard’s Country Albums chart including albums that returned them to their gospel roots. The original quartet continued to perform together until December 2023 when Joe Bonsall was diagnosed with ALS and retired after 51 years with the group. He died on July 9, 2024.