# The Oak Ridge Boys

The Oak Ridge Boys are an American vocal quartet. Since 2023, the group consists of Duane Allen (lead), Ben James (tenor), William Lee Golden (baritone), and Richard Sterban (bass). The group was founded in 1943 as the country and gospel act Wally Fowler and the Georgia Clodhoppers but were soon known as The Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in southern gospel in the 1950s and their name was changed to the Oak Ridge Boys in the 1960s, and they remained a southern gospel quartet, slowly moving from traditional southern gospel to contemporary gospel and contemporary christian music until the mid-1970s, when they went into popular music.
The lineup that produced their most well-known hits ― such as "Elvira", "Bobbie Sue", and "American Made" ― included Allen, Golden, Sterban, and tenor vocalist Joe Bonsall. Golden and Allen joined the group in the mid-1960s, and Sterban and Bonsall in the early 1970s. After years of acrimony, Golden was dismissed in 1987 and replaced by Steve Sanders until 1995; Golden rejoined the group at the end of that year. Bonsall retired near the end of 2023 and was succeeded on tour by Ben James, who officially became a permanent member upon Bonsall's death in 2024.
The group was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015.

## History
### The Oak Ridge Quartet

The core group that would eventually lead to the Oak Ridge Boys was a country group called Wally Fowler and the Georgia Clodhoppers, formed in 1943 in Knoxville, Tennessee. They were requested to perform for staff members and their families restricted during World War II at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in nearby Oak Ridge, Tennessee. They were asked to sing there so often that, eventually, they changed their name to the Oak Ridge Quartet, and because their most popular songs were gospel, Fowler decided to focus solely on Southern gospel music. At the time, the quartet was made up of Wally Fowler, Lon "Deacon" Freeman, Curly Kinsey, and Johnny New. This group began recording in 1947. Wally Fowler and the Oak Ridge Quartet were members of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1940s. In 1949, the other three men split from Fowler to form a new group, Curley Kinsey and the Tennessee Ridge Runners, so Fowler hired an existing group, the Calvary Quartet, to reform the Oak Ridge Quartet. Walt Cornell sang baritone for the Oak Ridge Quartet in the early 1950s. In 1957, Fowler sold the rights to the "Oak Ridge Quartet" name to group member Smitty Gatlin in exchange for forgiveness of a debt. As a result of more personnel changes, the group lost its tenor, so they lowered their arrangements and had Gatlin sing tenor, while the pianist, Tommy Fairchild, sang lead. They recorded an album for Cadence Records, then in 1958, they hired Willie Wynn to sing the tenor part, and Fairchild moved back exclusively to the piano. At this point, the group consisted of Fairchild at the piano, Wynn, Gatlin (singing lead), baritone Ron Page, and bass Herman Harper. They recorded an album on the Checker Records label, one on Starday, and three on Skylite. In 1961, Gatlin changed the group's name to "the Oak Ridge Boys" because their producer, Bud Praeger, thought "Oak Ridge Quartet" sounded too old-fashioned for their contemporary sound.

### 1962–1973

In 1962, Ron Page left, and the group hired Gary McSpadden (who had filled in for Jake Hess in the Statesmen Quartet) as baritone with the understanding that when Hess was ready to start a group, he would recruit McSpadden. They recorded another album on Skylite, and then two groundbreaking albums on Warner Bros. Records. When Hess followed through, McSpadden quit to join the Imperials. Jim Hamill (who later became a mainstay in the Kingsmen Quartet) was hired as his replacement. They made one album for Festival Records, one for Stateswood (Skylite's budget label), and two more for Skylite. Hamill did not get along with the rest of the group, and William Lee Golden, a relative newcomer to the music industry, felt Hamill was hurting the act and suggested himself as a replacement. After Hamill exited the group in 1964, Golden joined as baritone.
The group recorded an album for Starday and another on Skylite in 1965. In 1966, Gatlin left, and on Golden's recommendation, Duane Allen, former baritone of the Prophets, was hired to replace him. With Willie Wynn and Herman Harper still on board, the group made another album for Skylite and one for United Artists and then began recording on the Heart Warming label. From 1966 to 1973, they made 12 albums at Heart Warming, and the company also released compilation albums on which they were included during those years. The group also had an album on Vista (Heart Warming's budget label) that included unreleased songs from previous sessions. Harper departed in 1968 to join the Don Light Talent Agency, before starting his own company, the Harper Agency. Noel Fox, formerly of the Tennesseans and the Harvesters, took over the bass part. In 1971, the Oak Ridge Boys earned their first Grammy Award for their version of a Jerry Reed song, "Talk About the Good Times".
Late in 1972, Richard Sterban, a member of J. D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, left that act to join the Oak Ridge Boys after the exit of Noel Fox. As a result, the quartet that appeared on Hee Haw in 1972 consisted of Allen, Wynn, Golden, and Sterban, and they took part in a single with Johnny Cash and the Carter Family, "Praise the Lord and Pass the Soup" that put the Oaks on the country charts for the very first time, in 1973. After completing their first Columbia album, Wynn departed and was succeeded by Joe Bonsall in October of that year. (Bonsall replaced Wynn's vocals on several tracks.) Bonsall and Sterban were members of the Keystones in the late 1960s, covering much of the ORB's material, often for Duane Allen's Superior label. The Oak Ridge Boys lineup would remain constant for the next 14 years.

### 1974–1986

In 1975, the Oak Ridge Boys, after a brief flirtation with pop music, became involved with country music promoter Jim Halsey, who as their new manager, encouraged them not only to leave gospel music behind by becoming a country act—the most fundamental change in their history—but to present themselves as a singing quartet rather than as an eight-man band.
The group's move to the Columbia label resulted in three albums and several singles. In 1976, they toured Russia with Roy Clark. They were not a priority at Columbia, and their musical direction (pop, gospel, country) was unclear. While promoting the single "Heaven Bound", the Oak Ridge Boys made appearances on The Mike Douglas Show and The Merv Griffin Show, both nationally broadcast in the United States and Canada. In an attempt to widen their appeal, they backed up Jimmy Buffett on "My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink, And I Don't Love Jesus." Despite having been tapped by Paul Simon to sing backup on "Slip Slidin' Away", the group asked to be released from their contract after the single "Family Reunion," written by David Allan Coe, was not a hit. Columbia complied, and the band immediately made an album that was a mix of gospel, pop, and country on their own label.
In 1977, the Oak Ridge Boys fully switched to country with the release of their first ABC Records album, Y'all Come Back Saloon. Two songs from that album reached the top five on the country charts. Their next album, Room Service, in 1978, broadened their musical reach toward pop music but yielded three more country hits, including their first number-one, "I'll Be True to You", which was carried over from the previous album. The Oak Ridge Boys Have Arrived provided three more hits in 1979. After MCA Records bought out ABC, Together was released in 1980, followed by a compilation album in the autumn, simply titled Greatest Hits, with 10 singles from the previous four albums. That same year, the Oaks appeared on The Dukes of Hazzard (season two, "Granny Annie").
The group's seventh album, Fancy Free, released early in 1981, contained the Dallas Frazier song "Elvira". This remains their most widely known record, and Fancy Free their best-selling album. "Elvira" had been recorded by other artists, including Frazier himself in the late 1960s and the First Edition in 1970, but the Oak Ridge Boys were the first to make it a hit. Their version went to number-one on the country charts, and in July 1981 reached number five on the pop charts.
The doo-wop-style title track from Bobbie Sue, their eighth album, was another crossover hit, reaching number one on the country charts and number 12 on the pop charts. That album also spawned the group's first U.S.-released music video, for their minor hit "So Fine". (A video was made for "Easy", from the Y'all Come Back Saloon album, but was never released in the U.S.) The group also recorded one of their biggest sellers, The Oak Ridge Boys Christmas album, featuring their smash hit "Thank God for Kids" in 1982. An all-pop outing, their ninth album, American Made, released in January of 1983, and the hits continued. The title track was used as a TV advertisement for Miller Beer, although the Oaks did not sing in the ad.
Their new MCA contract was among the biggest of its era in the music industry, and there were three new albums over the next four years. The late-1983 Deliver provided two hit singles, one of which was their last major hit. "I Guess It Never Hurts to Hurt Sometimes", was written by Randy VanWarmer, best known for his soft rock classic "Just When I Needed You Most". They paused for a compilation album, Greatest Hits 2, in 1984. Unlike their first such album, Volume Two included two new songs, "Everyday" and "Make My Life With You", both of which became number-one hits.
In 1985, they released their 11th album, Step on Out, the title cut of which was written by ex-Byrd Chris Hillman. Although it was a hit, Step On Out was their first ABC/MCA album to indicate declining sales, despite the success of the lead single, "Little Things". After "Little Things," only a few of their hit songs in the coming years would match the quality of their earlier work; the others, regardless of chart position, would make no commercial impact. In 1986, the group put out one more Top 10 album, Seasons, which brought with it two minor hit singles (one of them written by Kix Brooks, and the more successful of the two by Orleans members Larry Hoppen and John Hall), as well as a second holiday album, which did not match the popularity of their first. In 1987, they recorded "Take Pride in America" for television public service announcements as part of an anti-litter campaign.

### 1987–1999

After several years of conflict within the group generally, exacerbated by Golden's solo album in 1986, Allen, Bonsall, and Sterban chose to stay together, but to go forward without their senior member. Shortly after releasing their first album with label boss Jimmy Bowen as producer, Golden was out of the act. Where the Fast Lane Ends included guest appearances by Patti LaBelle and Joe Walsh, both of whom were brought into the project by Golden. He was replaced by the band's guitarist, Steve Sanders, who would be the featured vocalist on most of their later hits.
The group released three more albums at MCA, along with another Greatest Hits album. In hopes of jumpstarting their career, they moved to RCA Nashville for their next two albums, plus a compilation, Best of the Oak Ridge Boys, which included their minor hit cover of "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" from the My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys soundtrack. The move to RCA did not work out because like most older acts in the early 1990's, they were out of favor with country radio, and the hits stopped by the end of 1991. They switched labels again and signed with Liberty Records, later Capitol Nashville, for which they made their third Christmas album, which was their final project with Sanders.
When Sanders quit the group late in 1995, he was replaced for the rest of the tour first by Dee Allen, and later by Paul Martin (Duane Allen's son, and son-in-law, respectively). Martin had previously replaced J.P. Pennington as lead singer of Exile a few years earlier. At midnight on New Year's Day 1996, Golden returned to the stage. After being dropped by Capitol, they made a two-disc set, Revival (their first gospel album since 1976) with Leon Russell producing, for TV and mail order distribution, in 1997. Sanders took his own life in 1998.
Over the next few years, the group toured, hosted their own Las Vegas variety series for TNN, collaborated on an album with polka instrumentalist Jimmy Sturr and made a one-off album for Platinum Records titled Voices.

### 2000–2020

After almost a decade of dealing with labels that had little interest in promoting The Oak Ridge Boys, studio breakdowns, and sluggish (or worse) sales, their fortunes improved when they signed with Spring Hill Records in 2000. In their first five years of teaming with producer Michael Sykes, the quartet was nominated for four Grammy awards. They released a gospel album (From The Heart), their fourth Christmas album (An Inconvenient Christmas), a patriotic album (Colors), a bluegrass album (The Journey), and a quasi-compilation, titled Common Thread, containing newly recorded versions of older gospel songs, as well as re-using material from 2004's The Journey. Another Christmas album, Christmas Cookies, followed. In 2006, the group completed their 22nd album, Front Row Seats, an unsuccessful attempt to marry a message album to mainstream country music with modern, aggressive arrangements and song selection, including the single "It's Hard to Be Cool in a Mini-Van".
In June 2007, they returned to their namesake, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. They were the featured performers at the Secret City Festival and were given a tour of the Y-12 National Security Complex's historic Calutrons (used to separate the uranium 235 for Little Boy, the first atomic bomb used in warfare). While there, a street was renamed Oak Ridge Boys Way in their honor.
Also in 2007, the group appeared on Shooter Jennings' album The Wolf. This pairing led to The Boys Are Back in 2009. Named for the title song written by Jennings, the album debuted at number 16 on the Billboard Country chart and number 77 on the Top 200. The album was produced by Dave Cobb, who came to the project through Jennings. Reviews were mixed, but most praised their cover of The White Stripes song "Seven Nation Army".
During the July 8, 2011, performance of the Friday Night Opry, Little Jimmy Dickens announced that the Oak Ridge Boys would become the newest members of the Grand Ole Opry, effective August 6, 2011.
In September 2011, the quartet released It's Only Natural through Cracker Barrel Old Country Store's music label. The album debuted at number 16 on the Billboard Country albums chart, remaining in the country top 40 for almost two months. It contained five new songs, six re-recordings of the Sanders hits from the 1980s, a new version of Golden's 1990 solo single, "Louisiana Red Dirt Highway," and a 30th-anniversary updating of "Elvira".
In 2012, the group released two new albums. In May, they made a return to their Southern gospel roots with Back Home Again. Along with gospel standards, the group covered John Denver's "Back Home Again" and Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors". The album, featuring mostly acoustic arrangements, was produced by Ben Isaacs (of The Isaacs). In September, Christmas Time's A-Coming, their sixth Christmas project, featured traditional standards, both secular and spiritual, mixing covers from their previous albums with some new material.
In 2013, The Oak Ridge Boys celebrated the 40th anniversary of their most successful lineup with a special Anniversary Tour, commemorative CD, an Oak Ridge Boys-themed cruise, and a television special.
They released their first-ever live hits album Boys Night Out in April 2014 through Cleopatra Records. Bonsall said, "Here it is live and kicking with the audience singing with us. It's totally updated and different. I think for our real fans, this is going to be a gigantic treat, because our fans have clamored for a live album for years, and for people who don't know us or don't know us as well, to listen to this makes them go, 'Oh wow, these guys are still sounding great, holy cow.' I think it's going to be a good project for us all around."
In 2015, they revealed a collaboration recording of their hit "Elvira". This collaboration was recorded with Sing-Off-winning, country a cappella group Home Free, who uploaded the video to their YouTube channel. The video was an instant hit, reaching 90,000 views within the first 20 hours of it being uploaded.
On October 25, 2015, the Oak Ridge Boys were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame during the Medallion Ceremony, in the category of modern-era artists, presented by Kenny Rogers, a previous inductee, with whom the Oaks had often toured during their peak years.
In 2017, the Oak Ridge Boys joined Third Day at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to record a cover of Paul Simon's "Loves Me Like A Rock" for the Third Day album, Revival. This was the second time for the Oaks to record the song, having first covered it on their Columbia debut in 1974.
In 2018, the Oaks sang "Amazing Grace" at the funeral of the 41st President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, as he had requested.

### 2021–present: 50th anniversary tour, James succeeds Bonsall

On September 19, 2023, due to the rapid decline of Joe Bonsall's health, the Oak Ridge Boys hurriedly announced that all remaining dates on the tour marking their golden anniversary under the then-current lineup would be billed as a farewell tour. Bonsall's last appearance was less than three months later, on December 17th, 2023, although his retirement was not publicly announced until January. He was afflicted with what would later be revealed as ALS, to which he succumbed on July 9, 2024, aged 76. On December 30th, Ben James, previously a touring member of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and Dailey & Vincent, took over for Bonsall on the farewell tour. Even as James became an official member of the Oak Ridge Boys, it was expected that Bonsall would be included on the group's next album; ultimately he took no part in the project.
In September of 2024, the group announced the October release of their 24th album, dedicated to Bonsall, Mama's Boys, a concept album featuring James as tenor with a guest appearance from Willie Nelson. The addition of James to the lineup led the group to cancel its retirement plans and continue touring into 2025 and beyond.

## Personnel
### Current members

* William Lee Golden – baritone (1965–87, 1995-present)
* Duane Allen – lead, occasional rhythm guitar (1966–present)
* Richard Sterban – bass (1972–present)
* Ben James – tenor (2023–present)

### Former members

* Curly Kinsey – bass (1945–47)
* Lon "Deacon" Freeman – baritone, guitar (1945–49)
* Wally Fowler – lead (1945–52)
* Johnny New – tenor (1945–49, 1952)
* Monroe (Curley) Blaylock – bass (1947–49)
* Bob Weber – bass (1949–56)
* Pat Patterson – baritone (1949–52), lead (1952–53)
* Joe Allred – tenor (1949–52)
* Bob Prather – baritone (1952)
* Carlos Cook – lead (1952–53); baritone (1953–68)
* Calvin Newton – lead (1953–56)
* Cat Freeman – tenor (1954–56)
* Les Roberson – baritone (1955–56)
* Ron Page – bass (1956)
* Bill Smith – bass (1957)
* Ronnie Page – baritone (1957–62)
* Smitty Gatlin – lead (1957–58, 1959–66); tenor (1958–59)
* Hobert Evans – tenor (1957–58)
* Wallace "Happy" Edwards – tenor fill-in (1958)
* Bobby Clark – tenor (1958)
* Tommy Fairchild – lead (1958–59); piano (1959–60, 1961–72)
* Herman Harper – bass (1957–68)
* Willie Wynn – tenor (1958–73)
* Gary McSpadden – baritone (1962–63)
* Jim Hamill – baritone (1963–64)
* Noel Fox – bass (1969–72)
* Joe Bonsall – tenor (1973–2023)
* Steve Sanders – baritone (1987–95); rhythm guitar (1982–1987)
* Dee Allen – baritone fill-in (1995)
* Paul Martin – baritone fill-in (1995); bass guitar (1997-2002)
* Aaron McCune - bass fill-in

#### Timeline
### Band
#### Current members

* Rex Wiseman – fiddle, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, guitar (2003–present)
* Scotty Simpson – bass guitar (2013–present)
* Austin Curcuruto – drums, percussion (2017–present)
* Darin Favorite – lead guitar (2021–present)
* Andrew Ishee – keyboard (2024–present)

#### Former members

* Boyce Hawkins – piano (1949)
* Bobby Whitfield – piano (1950–52, 1954–1956)
* Glen Allred – guitar, vocals (1951–52)
* Powell Hassell – piano (1957–58)
* Gary Trusler – piano (1960)
* James Goss – piano (1960)
* Mark Ellerbee – drums (1969–79)
* Don Breland – bass guitar (1969–87)
* John Rich – guitar, steel guitar (1972–75)
* Tony Brown – piano and keyboards (1972–75)
* Garland Craft – piano (1975–80)
* B James Lowry - lead guitar (1976), (1987-1990)
* Skip Mitchell – guitar (1976–87)
* Marty Twinkles Glisson – piano (1976)
* Michael Saleem – drums (1979)
* Fred Satterfield – drums (1980–98)
* Pete Cummings – lead guitar (1980–1982)
* Ron Fairchild – keyboard (1980–2001, 2002–09, 2013–2024; as substitute 2009–2012)
* Dewey Dorough – saxophone, harmonica (1982–1998)
* Paul Uhrig – bass guitar (1987–1988), (1995-1997)
* Dave Watson - bass guitar (1988-1994)
* Kent Wells - lead guitar (1991)
* Don Carr – lead guitar (1991–2014)
* Chris Golden – acoustic guitar, mandolin (1996-1998); drums (1998–2014)
* Jeff Douglas – guitar, dobro (1995–2021)
* Jimmy Fulbright – keyboard (2001); bass guitar (2003–12)
* Kyle Tullis - bass guitar (2002-2003)
* Chris Nole – keyboard (2009–12)
* David Northup – drums, percussion (2014–2017)
* Roger Eaton – lead guitar (2014–2021)
* James Watkins – lead guitar (2021)

## Awards and honors

Academy of Country Music Awards
* 1978: Top Vocal Group
* 1981: Single of the Year – "Elvira"
Country Music Association Awards
* 1978: Instrumental Group of the Year (Oak Ridge Boys Band)
* 1978: Vocal Group of the Year
* 1981: Single of the Year – "Elvira"
* 1986: Instrumental Group of the Year (Oak Ridge Boys Band)
GMA Dove Awards
* 1969: Album of the Year – It's Happening
* 1970: Male Group of the Year
* 1972: Male Group of the Year
* 1972: Album of the Year – Light
* 1973: Album of the Year – Street Gospel
* 2002: Country Album of the Year – From The Heart
* 2007: Country Song of the Year – "Jonah, Job and Moses"
* 2010: Long Form Music Video of the Year – A Gospel Journey
Grammy Awards
* 1971: Best Gospel Performance (other than soul) – "Talk About the Good Times"
* 1975: Best Gospel Performance (other than soul) – "Baptism of Jesse Taylor"
* 1977: Best Gospel Performance (other than soul) – "Where the Soul Never Dies"
* 1978: Best Traditional Gospel Performance – Just a Little Talk with Jesus
* 1982: Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal – Elvira
American Music Award
* 1985: Best Country Video - "Everyday"

### Other honors

* 2000: Inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame
* 2001: Received the Silver Buffalo award from the Boy Scouts of America
* 2015: Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame