Oak Ridge Boys

[Mallrat]

Oak Ridge Boys Invited to Join the Grand Ole Opry

Posted Jul 11th 2011 3:00PM by Vernell Hackett

The Oak Ridge Boys will be inducted as Grand Ole Opry members on August 6. Duane Allen, William Lee Golden, Richard Sterban and Joe Bonsall were invited to join the Opry this past Friday night (July 8) by Little Jimmy Dickens, who took the Opry stage dressed like William Lee, complete with long beard and sunglasses!

Jimmy surprised the Oaks after their performance of their hit, 'Y'all Come Back Saloon,' walking onstage in the William Lee get-up and deadpanning, "All my life I've wanted to be a little bitty Oak Ridge Boy. On August 6th, I will become the newest member of the Oak Ridge Boys, and at that time, you will become the newest members of the Grand Ole Opry!"

The group members were caught by surprise by the announcement, with Joe recovering first. "Jimmy, that's the funniest thing we've ever seen. This is a brotherhood and sisterhood unlike any other. We have been friends of the Opry for a long time. We will get on our bus later and let this process -- and I guess we have until August 6 -- to let it sink in."

Duane tells The Boot that while they knew the invitation might be forthcoming, they had no idea it was going to happen Friday night. "About a year ago, I was backstage talking with [Grand Ole Opry manager] Steve Buchanan and [Vice President and General Manager] Peter Fisher and one of them asked if there was anything else in our career that we would want to happen.

"I have always been known for just speaking honestly and without reservations, sometime at my own peril, so I said, 'Yes, I would love to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry and I would love to one day be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. I feel like those two things would be huge honors for the Oak Ridge Boys.'

"We were all totally surprised when Jimmy invited us the other night, but I would not be totally truthful if I said I did not know it was in the works."

Duane says there had been discussion about 20 years ago regarding the quartet becoming Opry members. "At that time, we felt we could not meet the required obligation for the amount of dates that the Opry would want us to perform there, so the discussion did not progress," he explains.

After they accepted the invitation Friday night, the Oaks concluded their set with their smash hit 'Elvira,' then came back onstage to join Larry Gatlin in singing his classic 'All The Gold in California.'

Duane says the night was made even more special because Jimmy was the Opry member who invited them. "Little Jimmy Dickens is one of my longtime dear friends. I call him the 'gentleman' of country music. For all the years I have been in the business, Little Jimmy has always been known as a man of integrity. It is from legends like him that I have studied to achieve a high standard of doing business."

The Oaks' lead singer says they have long been known for playing pranks and jokes on other acts, so he thought at first that was what was happening when Jimmy walked out.

"When I turned around and saw him dressed as William Lee, that had to be one of the funnest sights I've ever seen, with that beard down past his waist, sunglasses, hat, designer suit -- what a sight! Then when I understand that he was asking us to become Opry members, I was speechless for the next hour or two. What a huge honor to be asked by my hero to join the Grand Ole Opry!"

Duane says he has a photo of the original Oak Ridge Boys on the stage of the Ryman, taken in November 1948, when the group sang gospel music. "My father-in-law and his brother and sister are on that stage because they sang on that same show. My wife, Nora Lee, who is now one of the backup singers on the Opry, was an infant at the time, and was in the audience in her mother's arms. So our history with the Opry goes all the way back to the '40s."

Duane recalls the Oaks performing on the Opry in the late 1960s, after he had joined the group. "We were on Bill Anderson's portion of the Opry at the Ryman," Duane remembers. "We sang a song written by Bill, 'There's Gonna Be a Great, Great Day.' To this day we are still friends with Bill, and we are still recording his great songs.

"We have always been received by the Opry with great response. These are our type of people. We have always loved working the Opry. It is a huge honor to walk on that stage, which is the stage of legends. The Grand Ole Opry is truly an American institution, the Mother Church of Country Music."

The Oak Ridge Boys will be inducted as Grand Ole Opry members on Saturday, August 6.[/b][/color][/font]

[grg_straitfan]

The ‘Magic’ of the Oak Ridge Boys


Just like a fine wine, the Oak Ridge Boys are one musical act that seems to get only better with time. Their latest album, It’s Only Natural, has benefited from a marketing agreement with Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, and the album’s current single, “Whatcha Gonna Do,” has become their most played new single in quite some time.
The legendary group made an appearance last week in Nashville at the Country Radio Seminar to promote the new music.

“A lot of good people have come to town to promote their radio stations,” says Oaks tenor singer Joe Bonsall. “I think CRS is a magical thing. It’s still exciting to come out and talk with people about our new single and new album. It’s been a while since we’ve heard radio guys come up and tell us about playing the new music.”

The new single features a prominent bass line on the last line of the chorus of the track from Richard Sterban. Of course, it’s his licks on songs like “Bobbie Sue” and “Elvira” that still keep fans excited all these years later. Just how many have asked for those famous words, “Ooom Papa Mow Mow?”

“You lose track of that after a while,” said Sterban, smiling. “People also come up and ask for ‘Bo-Bo-Bo Bobbie Sue.” But “Ooom Papa Mow Mow” is still the one. If I’m doing a radio interview, they will still ask for it.”

Spend any amount of time with the “Mighty Oaks,” and you will come away respecting them even more. They definitely respect their past, but love plowing ahead for the future. On this particular afternoon, Bonsall shares a story about one of his biggest pastimes – tweeting.

“Shooter Jennings and I were Tweeting back and forth about fast food restaurants. He starts about In And Out Burgers. He says ‘I’m in California, and we’ve got them here, but I’ve still got to get to Tennessee to have Krystal. We are kindred brothers with him,” he says of the man who wrote the theme song from their 2009 album The Boys Are Back.

But, it’s not all fun and games. The Oak Ridge Boys are one of the greatest at using the social media world to promote their current projects. Bonsall cited a recent chat hosted by Internet queen Jessica Northey as an example. “She does a great job with CMChat. I finally got to meet her in person after all this time this week. CMChat gets millions of impressions, and one Monday night, they featured the Oak Ridge Boys. It was really cool. The response was astounding.”

As has the results from their partnership with Uncle Herschel and the folks at Cracker Barrel. Duane Allen says the relationship works because they are one of them.

“First of all, we’re Cracker Barrel fans. We go in there to eat, and we always look around at the things in the store while we wait on our table. You hear music playing on the intercom system, and we were the featured artists for about four months. Our flyers hang from the ceiling, you go to the bathroom, and you hear us. It’s awesome. It’s amazing to see how much work they do in promoting their artists.”



The album debuted in the top twenty on the Billboard Country Albums chart, and has sold steadily since its’ release, a fact that pleases the group’s lead singer. “Joe said, ‘We came in at 16, and everyone else is 16.’ It doesn’t bother us to be the age we are. We embrace that. But, by embracing it, we’re also old enough to realize how fortunate we are to be played with all these other acts.”

Bonsall admits that there’s a special feeling that goes along with being a member of the group. “There’s an Oak Ridge Boy ‘thing.’ It was here long before any of us joined this group. At one point in each of our lives, one of us wanted to become a part of it. It’s bigger than Richard Sterban, Joe Bonsall, Duane Allen, or William Lee Golden. It’s history. There’s energy. There’s integrity. It’s a magical thing.”

One artist who got that “thing” was Johnny Cash, who gave the group some encouraging words during the time they were trying to establish themselves as Country artists.

“One time, we were in Las Vegas, and about to starve to death. We were fortunate to get some dates with Johnny Cash to open his show. He knew we were hurting. We were in the room where Elvis shot out the television. He had a party, and got us all in a huddle and said ‘There’s magic here in the Oak Ridge Boys. You gotta stay together, because if you don’t other people will not know how I feel.”

Flash forward a few years later – to October 1978. The group had just been announced as winners of the Vocal Group of the Year award at the 12th Annual CMA Awards. The host of the telecast? You guessed it. The “Man In Black.”

“When they introduced us to get that award, we went to Cash and hugged him,” recalled Bonsall. “He said to us ‘I told you so.’ We went out of that room in Vegas with our heads held high because Johnny Cash said we would make it.”

And, all these years later, the beat goes on for the Oak Ridge Boys!

[Kim]

The Oak Ridge Boys Serenade President George H.W. Bush


As President George H.W. Bush continues to recover from a bout of bronchitis that left him hospitalized in Houston during the holidays, the Oak Ridge Boys played a special part in his recovery. They band received a message from Barbara Bush, asking them if they could call and sing for her husband. While the group is currently enjoying some time off, they headed to their office to sing a couple of tunes as soon as the request came in.

“Words cannot properly express how much The Oaks’ special performance meant to the President and the Bush family,” the President’s office said in a statement. “This friendship goes back many years, and what happened yesterday gave the President a real shot in the arm as he, thankfully, continues to improve. The Bushes continue to feel so blessed to have so many friends like The Oaks, and wish to thank one and all for their prayers and good wishes.”

“Brenda and I consider Pres. George H.W. Bush, Barbara and their entire family some of our most treasured friends,” William Lee Golden said. “My partners and I were so honored to help lift spirits by singing yesterday over the phone to him and his family. We wish him speedy recovery.”

“Duane Allen called with the word that President Bush would love to hear a few songs from The Oak Ridge Boys and his family all agreed that this just may lift his spirits, as he has been hospitalized for over a month,” Joe Bonsall said. “The main request came from Barbara Bush so Duane was calling around in hopes that everyone was in town during this off time. Well, he found us all and within about 45 minutes we had converged at our office and were calling OUR President. We asked what song he would like to hear and he said ELVIRA so we blasted some ‘oom pop a mau mau’s’ in the direction of Houston, Texas.”

The Oaks also serenaded the President with a verse of “Amazing Grace.”

[topgsfan]

Such a sweet gesture by the Oak Ridge Boys....to sing for George H.W. Bush while he was recuperating. I knew he always loved them and they loved him.

I've seen the Oak Ridge Boys several times back when they were Gospel singers and had Noel Fox on Bass and "Little" Willie on Tenor. Willie Wynn,("Little Willie" as he went by) would sing so high sometimes that his face would turn "beet" red. He could really hit some HIGH notes! Believe it not..William Lee (Bill) Golden was very good-looking and so clean cut....no beard.....and dressed in a business suit as they all were.

That's Bill Golden on the left on this LP album , but it didn't do him justice. This is not one of my albums. Noel Fox and Little Willie are not on this album.


If my desktop wasn't "down" I'd scan my LP's we bought from them when we saw them in concert in 1969 in Monroe, Louisiana. Noel Fox and "Little" Willie are on them along with Duane Allen and Bill Golden. Those 4 guys sounded wonderful! Noel Fox was a great bass singer. He and Little Willie are both deceased now.

[topgsfan]

OAK RIDGE BOYS BIO

Formed: 1961 in Oak Ridge, TN
Years Active: 40 's, 50 's, 60 's, 70 's, 80 's, 90 's, 00's
Genre: CTRY

One of the longest-running groups in country music, the Oak Ridge Boys started life as a gospel quartet before gradually modernizing their style and moving into secular country-pop. Yet even at the height of their popularity in the late '70s and early '80s -- when they were big enough to cross over to the pop charts -- their sound always remained deeply rooted in country gospel harmony. Their existence dates all the way back to World War II, circa 1942-1943, when a Knoxville, TN, group began performing gospel songs in nearby Oak Ridge, the home of an atomic bomb research facility. The group's members also performed in a larger aggregation called Wally Fowler & the Georgia Clodhoppers, which recorded for Capitol. However, lead singer Fowler decided to focus on gospel music in 1945. Dubbed the Oak Ridge Quartet, the group first appeared at the Grand Ole Opry that year and made their first recordings in 1947 with a lineup of Fowler, Lon "Deacon" Freeman, Curly Kinsey, and Johnny New.


Numerous personnel shifts ensued over the next few years, particularly in 1949, when the entire group split from Fowler; at that point, he hired a completely different group, the Bob Weber-led Calvary Quartet, to assume the Oak Ridge name. With a core of Fowler and Weber, plus a revolving-door cast of supporting vocalists, the group became one of the top draws on the Southern gospel circuit, continuing up to the end of 1956. At that point, Fowler disbanded the quartet and sold the name to group member Smitty Gatlin, who organized a new lineup in early 1957. In 1961, Gatlin changed their name to the Oak Ridge Boys, made them a full-time professional act, and started to modernize their sound on record with fuller arrangements and elements of country and folk. Future mainstay William Lee Golden joined as the group's baritone vocalist in 1964, and when Gatlin retired to become a full-time minister two years later, the group, acting on Golden's recommendation, hired ex-Southernairs singer Duane Allen as his replacement on lead vocals.


With bass singer Noel Fox and tenor singer Willie Wynn, the Oak Ridge Boys continued to broaden their appeal by adapting their sound to the times, adding a drummer to their backing band and incorporating bits of pop and even rock into their country gospel style. As a result, they grew into one of the most popular gospel acts of the late '60s, despite purist criticism over their secular influences and increasingly long-haired image. They even won their first Grammy in 1970 for "Talk About the Good Times." Fox and Wynn were replaced by Richard Sterban (ex-Keystone Quartet) and Philadelphia native Joe Bonsall in 1972 and 1973, respectively, and this lineup would remain intact for the next decade and a half. In 1973, they recorded a single with Johnny Cash and the Carter Family called "Praise the Lord and Pass the Soup," which brought them their first appearance on the country charts. In 1975, they opened a series of tour dates for Roy Clark, whose manager was highly impressed and encouraged them to try their hands at secular country.


The Oak Ridge Boys signed with Columbia later that year but found the initial transition a rough one: they split their time between country and gospel, and without a strong identity their sales dropped. The resulting financial problems nearly forced them to disband, and a discouraged Columbia gave up on them after the 1976 single "Family Reunion" barely charted, even though labelmate Paul Simon had tapped them to sing backup on his hit "Slip Slidin' Away." Fortunately, they got another chance with MCA and scored a breakout Top Five hit in 1977 with "Y'all Come Back Saloon," the title song from their label debut. The follow-up, "You're the One," reached number two, and their next album, 1978's Room Service, gave them their first number one hit in "I'll Be True to You" as well as two more Top Five hits in "Cryin' Again" and "Come on In."}


Thus established as country hitmakers, the Oak Ridge Boys embarked on a run of chart success that would last through the '80s. Golden stopped cutting his hair and beard altogether, giving the group a hugely recognizable visual signature as well. They hit number one again in 1980 with "Trying to Love Two Women," but it was the following year that would make them a genuine phenomenon. Their recording of "Elvira," an obscure, doo wop-style novelty song from the '60s, became a major, Grammy-winning crossover smash. Not only did it hit number one on the country charts, but its infectious "oom-pop-a-mow-mow" bass vocal hook boosted it into the Top Five on the pop charts. Its accompanying album, Fancy Free, became their first to top the country charts, not to mention their biggest seller ever. The title cut of their chart-topping 1982 follow-up, Bobbie Sue, also went number one country and nearly made the pop Top Ten as well. American Made's title track also topped the charts in 1983, as did its follow-up, "Love Song." In early 1984 Deliver became their third number one country album, and they landed two more number one singles that year with "Everyday" and "I Guess It Never Hurts to Hurt Sometimes." 1985 brought three number ones: "Little Things," "Make My Life with You," and "Touch a Hand, Make a Friend."}


The Oak Ridge Boys' sales began to slow a bit in the latter half of the '80s, but they still produced big hits with regularity. They hit number one in 1987 ("It Takes a Little Rain," "This Crazy Love"), 1988 ("Gonna Take a Lot of River"), and 1990 ("No Matter How High"), giving them a total of 16 career country chart-toppers (and 29 Top Ten hits). However, by that point, the group's longtime lineup had split -- Golden, whose mountain-man appearance was increasingly supported by his rugged lifestyle, was given the boot in 1987 in an attempt to remake the group's image. He was replaced by longtime backing-band guitarist Steve Sanders and sued his former bandmates, eventually settling out of court. In 1991, the Oak Ridge Boys parted ways with MCA and signed with RCA, but after just two albums, it was apparent that their commercial prime had passed, and the relationship ended. The group returned to traditional-style country gospel on occasion during the '90s and continued to tour.


Meanwhile, Sanders' marital problems worsened, causing him to leave the group in late 1995; Golden and the other members resolved their differences, and he returned at their New Year's Eve show that year; they still performed often, notably in Branson, MO. Sadly, Sanders shot and killed himself in 1998. Fox, who moved on to run the group's publishing arm and later became a high-ranking music executive, passed away in April 2003. The group, with its classic 1970s lineup of Sterban, Bonsall, Golden, and Allen, released a new studio album, The Boys Are Back, which featured re-imagined versions of songs by John Lee Hooker, Neil Young, and the White Stripes, in 2009. Steve Huey & Steve Leggett, Rovi

www.starpulse.com/Music/Oak_Ridge_Boys,_The/Biography/