The Oak Ridge Boys

History

The Oak Ridge Quartet

The core group that eventually led 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, Wynn, Gatlin, 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" was too old-fashioned.

1962–1973

When Page left in 1962, Gary McSpadden, who had filled in for Jake Hess in the Statesmen Quartet, took over 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 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 for Skylite. Hamill did not get along with the other Oaks, 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's exit in 1964, Golden joined as baritone.

The group recorded an album for Starday and another on Skylite before Gatlin left in 1966. On Golden's recommendation, Duane Allen, former baritone of the Prophets, was hired as their new lead singer. With Willie Wynn and Herman Harper still on board, the group made another album for Skylite and one for United Artists before making a dozen albums between 1966 and 1973 for Heart Warming. They also had an album on Vista (Heart Warming's budget label) consisting of unreleased songs from previous sessions. When 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 a Jerry Reed song, "Talk About the Good Times"; Reed played guitar on the track.

Late in 1972, Richard Sterban, a member of the Stamps Quartet, joined the Oak Ridge Boys after the exit of Noel Fox. As a result, the quartet appearing on Hee Haw that year 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 Oak Ridge Boys on the country charts for the first time. After completing their first Columbia album, Wynn departed and was succeeded by Joe Bonsall in October of 1973. (Bonsall replaced Wynn's vocals on half of the album.) The lineup remained constant for the next 14 years.

1974–1986

In 1975, the Oak Ridge Boys, after a brief flirtation with pop music, signed 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 also to present themselves as a singing quartet rather than as an eight-man band.

The group's move to Columbia resulted in three albums and several singles. In 1976, they toured Russia in support of Roy Clark. They were not a label priority, 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. 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 being tapped by Paul Simon to sing backup on "Slip Slidin' Away", the group asked to be released from their contract after "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, for sale at their concerts.

In 1977, the Oak Ridge Boys hit it big in country with their first ABC Records album, Y'all Come Back Saloon. The cover photo was the last to depict them as an eight-man group, although the band did not play on the album as on prior releases. Room Service broadened their reach into pop music while yielding three more country hits, including "I'll Be True to You", which was carried over from the previous album and became their first of seventeen number-one singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The Oak Ridge Boys Have Arrived provided three more hits, two of which crossed over, in 1979. After MCA Records bought out ABC, Together came out in 1980, followed by a compilation in the autumn, Greatest Hits, with ten hits from their first four ABC/MCA albums.

Their next project, 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" was recorded by other artists, including Frazier himself in the late 1960s and Kenny Rogers and the First Edition in 1970, but the Oak Ridge Boys were the first to make it a major hit. Their version sold platinum, hit number one on the country chart, and number five on the pop chart. In 1984, they became the first country act to be honored with the RIAA’s multi-platinum award, recognizing double-platinum sales for their album Fancy Free.

1987–1999

After several years of conflict within the group generally, exacerbated by Golden's solo album in 1986 (which coincided with Bonsall's solo hit with Sawyer Brown), Allen, Sterban, and Bonsall chose to stay together, but went 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. His place was taken by the band's guitarist, Steve Sanders, who was featured on most of their later hits.

The Oaks released three more albums at MCA and another greatest-hits project. In hopes of elevating their career, they moved to RCA Nashville for their next two albums, plus another 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. As was the norm for older acts in the early 1990s, the Oaks fell 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, 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 also replaced J.P. Pennington as lead singer of Exile a few years earlier. At midnight on New Year's Day 1996 in Chicago, Golden returned to the act. 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 and sluggish (or worse) sales, they were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2000, and their fortunes improved when they signed with Spring Hill Records that same year. Over the next six years with producer Michael Sykes, they were nominated for four Grammy awards. The quartet released two gospel albums, two Christmas albums, and three frontline albums, concluding with Front Row Seats in 2006, an unsuccessful attempt to marry a message album to mainstream country with modern, aggressive arrangements and song selection, including the single "It's Hard to Be Cool in a Mini-Van".

In 2007, they appeared on Shooter Jennings' The Wolf, which led to their own album, The Boys Are Back, in 2009. Named for the title song written by Jennings, it 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' "Seven Nation Army".

In 2011, they became members of the Grand Ole Opry, making them the only group inducted twice, albeit in two different incarnations (the Fowler group was inducted in 1945). 2011 also brought It's Only Natural, which 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, five re-recordings of hits from the Sanders era, a new version of Golden's 1990 solo single, "Louisiana Red Dirt Highway", and a 30th-anniversary updating of "Elvira".

In 2015, they were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame by Kenny Rogers, with whom the Oaks often toured during their peak years. Though featured on most of their later hits, Sanders was not inducted.

In 2018, they 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 in 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 left the group at the end of their annual Christmas tour and was replaced by Ben James. James, previously of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, debuted as the Oaks' new tenor on December 30 in Biloxi, although Bonsall did not publicly announce his retirement until January. Bonsall was dying of what was subsequently revealed to be amyotropic lateral sclerosis, to which he succumbed on July 9, 2024, aged 76.

In October 2024, the group released Mama's Boys, their first album with James. It was initially expected that Bonsall would be included in some way; ultimately he took no part in the project. Dedicated to Bonsall, the album features a guest appearance from Willie Nelson. The addition of James to the lineup led the group to cancel its retirement plans and continue performing.

Under treatment for pancreatic cancer, Sterban stopped touring in May 2025. Bass singers Aaron McCune, formerly of Dailey & Vincent, and Tim Duncan, formerly with Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, finished out the year. McCune is singing bass for them in 2026 with Sterban taking a limited role when the group performs in Nashville.

Personnel

Current members

William Lee Golden – baritone (1965–1987, 1996-present)

Duane Allen – lead, occasional rhythm guitar (1966–present)

Richard Sterban – bass (1972–present; not touring since 2025)

Ben James – tenor (2024-present; touring 2023-2024)

with

Aaron McCune - bass (touring substitute 2022-present)

Awards and honors

Grammy Awards

American Music Awards

1982: Best Country Group

1985: Best Country Video – "Everyday"

Academy of Country Music Awards

1978: Top Vocal Group

1979: Top Vocal Group

1979: Best Album – Y'all Come Back Saloon

1982: 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)

Other honors

2000: Inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame

2015: Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame