[Vintage-Audio] Re Oakridge Boys

[Gerry Steffens]

Allen began with them in 1966.  He is still there. Here is captured text
from their website.





Theirs is one of the most distinctive and recognizable sounds in the music
industry. The four-part harmonies and upbeat songs of The Oak Ridge Boys
have spawned dozens of country hits and a #1 pop smash, earned them Grammy,
Dove, CMA and ACM awards and garnered a host of other industry and fan
accolades. Every time they step before an audience, the Oaks bring 15 years
of hits and 50 years of tradition to bear on a stage show widely
acknowledged as among the most exciting anywhere. And, each remains as
enthusiastic about the process as they have ever been.

"When I go on stage, I get the same feeling I had the first time I sang with
The Oak Ridge Boys," says lead singer Duane Allen. "This is the only job
I've ever wanted to have."


"Like everyone else in the group," adds bass singer extraordinaire Richard
Sterban, "I was a fan of the Oaks before I became a member. I'm still a fan
of the group today. Being in The Oak Ridge Boys is the fulfillment of a
lifelong dream."


The two, along with tenor Joe Bonsall and baritone William Lee Golden,
comprise one of country's truly legendary acts. Their string of hits
includes the pop chart-topper "Elvira," as well as "Bobbie Sue," "Dream On,"
"Thank God For Kids," "American Made," "I Guess It Never Hurts To Hurt
Sometimes," "Fancy Free," "Gonna Take A Lot Of River" and many others.
They've scored ten gold, three platinum and one double platinum album, one
double platinum single, and had more than a dozen national #1 singles.


The Oaks represent a tradition that extends back to 1943, before Hank
Williams had a career. The original group, based in Knoxville, TN, began
performing country and gospel music in nearby Oak Ridge where the atomic
bomb was being developed. They called themselves the Oak Ridge Quartet, and
they began regular Grand Ole Opry appearances in the fall of '45. In the
mid-'50s, they were featured in Time magazine as one of the top drawing
gospel groups in the nation.


By the late '60s, with more than 30 members having come and gone, they had a
lineup that included Duane Allen, William Lee Golden, Noel Fox and Willie
Wynn. Among the Oaks' many acquaintances in the gospel field were Bonsall, a
streetwise Philadelphia kid who embraced gospel music wholeheartedly, and
Sterban, who was singing in quartets and holding down a job as a men's
clothing salesman. Both admired the distinctive, highly-popular Oaks.


"They were the most innovative quartet in gospel music," says Bonsall. "They
performed gospel with a rock approach, had a full band, wore bell-bottom
pants and grew their hair long ... things unheard of at the time."


The four became friends, and when the Oaks needed a bass and tenor, in '72
and '73 respectively, Sterban and Bonsall got the calls. The group remained
a highly popular mainstay on the gospel circuit, and it was there they
refined the strengths that would soon make them such an across-the-board
attraction.


"We did a lot of package shows," said Bonsall, "and there was an incredible
amount of competition. You had to blow people away to sell records and get
invited back."


Their gospel sound had a distinct pop edge to it, and while it made for
excitement and popularity, it also ruffled purist feathers and left
promoters unsure about the Oaks' direction. Then, in 1975, the Oaks were
booked to open a number of dates for Roy Clark, whose manager was floored by
their abilities.


"He came backstage and told us we were three-and-a-half minutes ' meaning
one hit record ' away from being a major act," says Bonsall. "He said we had
one of the most dynamic stage shows he'd ever seen, but that we had to start
singing country songs."


They took his advice, and the result was a breakthrough.


"Those who came to country music with or after the New Traditionalists of
the mid-'80s cannot possibly imagine the impact the Oaks had in 1977 when
they lit up the sky from horizon to horizon with "Y'All Come Back Saloon,"
said Billboard's Ed Morris, who added "... the vocal intensity the group
brought to it instantly enriched and enlivened the perilously staid country
format. These guys were exciting."


Within a year, Paul Simon would tap them to sing backup for his hit "Slip
Slidin' Away," and they would go on to record with George Jones, Brenda Lee,
Johnny Cash, Roy Rogers, Billy Ray Cyrus and others. They would appear
before three presidents, produce one of the first country music videos
("Easy," in 1977, which wasn't released in the U.S. but hit #3 in
Australia), take part in the first headline tour of the USSR, and become one
of the most enduringly-successful touring groups anywhere.


They did it with a consistently upbeat musical approach and terrific
business savvy.


"We always look for songs that have lasting value and that are uplifting,"
says Allen. "You don't hear us singing 'cheating' or 'drinking' songs, but
'loving' songs, because we think that will last. We also don't put music in
categories, except for 'good' or 'bad.' When we get through with it, it's
probably going to sound like an Oak Ridge Boys song no matter what it is."


They proved their business acumen in any number of ways, including such
steps as declining the chance to sit on the couch during their many
appearances on the Tonight Show.


"We said, 'If you're going to give us four minutes on the couch with Johnny,
we'd rather have four minutes to give you another song that lets people know
what got us here,'" says Allen. "We didn't get here talking; we got here
singing," They also proved themselves to be capable and tireless advocates
of charitable and civic causes, serving as spokesmen and/or board members of
fundraisers for the Boy Scouts of America, the National Committee for
Prevention of Child Abuse, Feed The Children, and many more.


The group's first personnel change in many years occurred in 1987 when Steve
Sanders, who had been playing guitar in The Oaks Band, replaced William Lee
as the baritone singer. Late in '95, Steve resigned from the Oaks and
exactly one minute after midnight on New Year's Eve, Duane, Joe and Richard
surprised the packed house at Holiday Star Theatre in Merrillville, IN, by
welcoming William Lee on stage and back in group. The hitmakers were finally
together again!

The Oaks' high-energy stage show remains the heart and soul of what they do,
and they refine it several times a year, striving to keep it fresh well into
the future.


"We're not willing to rest on our laurels," Golden says. "That gets boring.
As a group, we do things constantly to challenge ourselves, to try to do
something different or better than the last time we did it."


"I feel like I can do what I do on stage just as good now as I could 20
years ago," says Bonsall. "in fact, if anything, I'm in better shape now
than I was 20 years ago. I plan to be rockin' my tail off out there as long
as I'm healthy and don't look stupid doing it. The people who come out, who
bring their families to see us, deserve everything I've got."


"We've experienced a lot of longevity," adds Sterban, "and I think the
reason is the love we have for what we do - the desire, the longing to
actually get up there and do it. We love to sing together ... to harmonize
together. It's what our lives are all about."