For over 50 years, the Grammy-award winning Oak Ridge Boys have traveled the world sharing their uplifting music. While they are best known for their country hits, they began as a top-tier gospel group before segueing into the Nashville scene in the late 1970s. Despite their genre change, they never lost sight of their gospel roots. Their faith has kept them on rock solid footing—as a band and as individuals—through life’s twists and turns. Against a backdrop of a half a century of music-making, sharing messages of faith remains the group’s top priority.
The Georgia Clodhoppers
The Oak Ridge Boys have technically been around since the 1940s, when they performed throughout East Tennessee as “Wally Fowler and The Georgia Clodhoppers.” Original bandmate Wally Fowler suggested they change their name to the Oak Ridge Quartet when they began performing regularly for employees of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which oversaw the production of materials for the making of the atom bomb.
Cover of the 2013 compilation CD of "Wally Fowler With His Georgia Clodhoppers and The Oak Ridge Boys." (Wally Fowler)
The group relentlessly performed for decades, becoming one of the country’s top gospel groups. As far back as the 1940s, some of the musicians were members of the Grand Ole Opry. As they became a nationally known group, they went through many lineup changes, including the departure of founding member Wally Fowler.
In the early 1960s, the band experimented with another name change—this time permanent. By 1966, they were officially known as the Oak Ridge Boys. The vocal group also finalized their permanent lineup: The Oak Ridge Boys’s key members have included Duane Allen as the lead singer, Joe Bonsall as a tenor vocalist, William Lee Golden as a baritone, and Richard Sterban as a bass vocalist. Their four-part harmonies became one of country music’s most distinctive sounds.
Despite their enduring success, the group’s first 20 years were met with constant change. Yet, the men leaned on their faith for guidance and support through life’s ups and downs. They never shied away from singing about their love for God with each new album.
At the request of their promoter and manager Jim Halsey, the Oak Ridge Boys switched music genres from gospel to country in the late 1970s. They didn’t want to become just another commercial success so incorporated their gospel roots into their new material. Their authenticity shone through their music. Their upbeat, positive songs about love were welcomed by country music fans with open arms.
Though the 1980s marked a significant upswing for the band, their endless touring in the previous decades hadn’t been without hardships. During a particularly trying time in the 1970s, the band thought about quitting music all together. However, musician Johnny Cash offered them some encouraging words and said, “there’s magic in the four of you. I can feel that magic. I know there is magic there. Don’t break up.”
Renewed by their friend and fellow musician’s belief in their unique brand of music, “the Oaks,” as they’ve long been called, leaned into their vision of gospel-country fusion more than ever. From the 1980s on, they released several gospel-themed country albums, including the highly regarded “Rock of Ages.” This 2015 release features some of the band’s favorite gospel hymns and songs recorded with their unforgettable angelic harmonies. Bandmate Joe Bonsall once remarked this album in particular was a “cool project,” adding that “where the light really shines is when we sing gospel songs. ... It’s fun to sing about “the old story” in four-part harmony.”
Cover of the 2015 album "Rock Of Ages: Hymns & Gospel Favorites" by the Oak Ridge Boys. (Gaither Music Group)
Another album release, “The Gospel Collection,” contains fan favorites and some of gospel and country music’s most enduring, faith-based hits like “This Little Light of Mine,” “How Great Thou Art,” and Hank Williams’s “I Saw The Light.”
On the Road With the Oak Ridge Boys
The Oak Ridge Boys always enjoyed challenging themselves musically, striving to become better musicians than they were for their last album, performance, or hit single. They believe one of the keys to their success is their work towards releasing spiritually enriching music with a positive message. Mr. Bonsall said, “We are always on the lookout for positive music,” and followed it up jokingly with, “We are just not very good at not being positive.”
In 2015, Mr. Bonsall directed that positivity and sturdy faith towards another challenging project, a biographical book that chronicles his time spent living out his dream job with a band he’s called family for several decades.
Cover of "On the Road with The Oak Ridge Boys: Forty Years of Untold Stories and Adventures," 2015, by Joe Bonsall. Earlier this year, Bonsall announced his retirement from the band due to a neuromuscular disorder.
“I think this book is a fun and very insightful look into the world of an American music act that has endured over decades of song. I try to take readers into our world and make them a fly on the wall. And along the way I do my best to be a strong witness for Jesus Christ and give him the constant praise and glory. If you’re a fan of The Boys you’ll love it. If you’re a music student of some sort … this is a road map. If you need a laugh and a blessing here and there? It’s all here.”
The Secret to Longevity
In 2011, the Oak Ridge Boys were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. In 2015, they were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The Oak Ridge Boys being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Oct. 25, 2015 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tenn. (Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
When asked about the secret to their longevity, bandmate Richard Sterban said, “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.”
Duane Allen also offered his opinion on the recipe for their continued success:
“We always look for songs that have lasting value and that are uplifting.” He stated that “loving songs” are a big part of what they do, “because we think that will last.”
Mr. Allen continued, “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.”
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Rebecca Day is an independent musician, freelance writer, and frontwoman of country group, The Crazy Daysies.
