Oak Ridge Boys

Oak Ridge Boys
The Oak Ridge Boys 2017, left to right Bonsall, Allen, Golden and Sterban
General information
Genre (s)	Gospel , country
founding	1940 as the Oak Ridge Quartet
Website	http://www.oakridgeboys.com/
Founding members
singing	Wally Fowler (until 1956)
singing	Curly Kinsey (until 1949)
singing	Johnny New (until 1949)
singing	Lon Freeman (until 1949)
Current occupation
singing	William Lee Golden (since 1964–1986, 1996-present)
singing	Duane Allen (since 1966)
singing	Joe Bonsall (since 1973)
singing	Richard Sterban (since 1972)

Oak Ridge Boys is the name of an American vocal quartet that began with gospel music in the 1940s and enjoyed tremendous success with country and pop music in the 1970s and 1980s.

Beginnings

The later Oak Ridge Boys were founded by Wally Fowler as the Harmony Quartet in the early 1940s . Forerunners were the Georgia Clodhoppers, who played under Fowler's direction since the mid-1930s. Since the group performed regularly in the nuclear factories of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory , in 1945 they adopted the name Oak Ridge Quartet .

In 1949 there was a complete reshuffle. Bandleader Fowler fired all members and replaced them with Bob Weber and his Calvary Quartet . 1956 Fowler dissolved the Oak Ridge Quartet and sold the naming rights to Smitti Gatlin. He hired new musicians and renamed them Oak Ridge Boys in 1961 . In 1963 a record deal was signed with the Warner Brothers label.

Career

An initially cautious reorientation towards country music was initiated in 1964 by the entry of William Lee Golden and in 1966 by Duane Allen, who replaced Gatlin. The hair grew longer, and the backing band expanded with a drummer. Initially, this did not detract from its popularity among fans of gospel music. In 1971 they even received a Grammy for the song Talk About The Good Times . In 1972 Richard Sterban replaced bassist Noel Fox, and a year later Joe Bonsall was hired for Willie Wynn. Thus the line-up had come together, which was to produce numerous top hits over more than a decade.

The reorientation to country music was mainly driven by Duane Allen. There was little approval in the gospel scene and a long dry spell began. A first small success came in 1973 when they were hired by Johnny Cash for a single recording. A little later they were signed by Columbia. The sales of their records fell so much that the group was close to giving up. However, there were other gospel Grammys, including for the single The Baptism Of Jesse Taylor .

The final turn to country music came in 1977 after switching to the ABC / MCA label. Her first single for the new label, Y'All Come Back Saloon , reached number three on the country charts. With I'll Be True To You they had their first number 1 hit in 1978. That same year, the Oak Ridge Boys were named Singing Group of the Year by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music .

In the following years there was a long series of other top 10 placements and number 1 hits. There were also a number of other awards. Her biggest hit was Elvira in 1981 , which reached number one on the country charts and number five on the pop hit parade. Since their records also sold in the pop warehouse in many cases, sales were correspondingly high. It was not until the mid-1980s that sales figures and chart placements declined.

In 1986 the longest-serving group member, William Lee Golden, was kicked out of the band by his colleagues. The overweight Golden, who had been looking unkempt for some time, and whose long beard had decisively shaped the visual image, had become a burden not least because of his stubborn behavior. Steve Sanders came for him. For a while it was possible to build on the old successes. Further top hits were recorded until the beginning of the 1990s.

In 1990 they switched to the RCA label. In 1996 Sanders stopped working. For him, William Lee Golden returned. The group continued to make numerous appearances. There were no more hit parades. A new generation had displaced the now aging Oak Ridge Boys.

On the album The Boys Are Back , released in 2009, you can hear a cover version of the song Seven Nation Army by the American rock band The White Stripes .

On December 6, 2018, they performed at the state funeral for George HW Bush .

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Country
1974	The Oak Ridge Boys	-	Country38 (5 weeks) Country
1977	Y'all come back saloon	US120 (9 weeks) US	Country8 (64 weeks) Country
1978	Room service	US164 (11 weeks) US	Country3 (63 weeks) Country
1979	The Oak Ridge Boys Have Arrived	-	Country5 (82 weeks) Country
1980	Together	US154 (6 weeks) US	Country10 (44 weeks) Country
1981	Fancy Free	US14th × 2 Double platinum (48 weeks)US	Country1 (72 weeks) Country
1982	Bobbie Sue	US20th gold (21 weeks)US	Country1 (40 weeks) Country
	Christmas	US73 gold (7 weeks)US	Country9 (12 weeks) Country	Christmas album
1983	American Made	US51 gold (23 weeks)US	Country2 (38 weeks) Country
	Deliver	US121 gold (14 weeks)US	Country1 (49 weeks) Country
1985	Step On Out	US156 (5 weeks) US	Country3 (53 weeks) Country
1986	Seasons	-	Country8 (24 weeks) Country
	Christmas Again	-	Country50 (3 weeks) Country	Christmas album
1987	Where the Fast Lane Ends	-	Country14 (33 weeks) Country
	Heartbeat	-	Country20 (43 weeks) Country
1988	Monongahela	-	Country9 (41 weeks) Country
1989	American Dreams	-	Country24 (30 weeks) Country
1991	Unstoppable	-	Country41 (17 weeks) Country
2001	From the heart	-	Country49 (12 weeks) Country
2002	An Inconvenient Christmas	-	Country58 (5 weeks) Country	Christmas album
2003	Colors	-	Country53 (8 weeks) Country
2005	Christmas cookies	-	Country73 (1 week) Country	Christmas album
2009	A gospel journey	US156 (1 week) US	Country28 (9 weeks) Country
	The Boys Are Back	US77 (1 week) US	Country16 (2 weeks) Country
2011	It's only natural	US70 (7 weeks) US	Country16 (18 weeks) Country
2012	Back Home Again: Gospel Favorites	-	Country29 (4 weeks) Country
	Christmas Time's A-Coming	-	Country50 (5 weeks) Country	Christmas album
2015	Rock of Ages, Hymns and Gospel Favorites	-	Country26 (8 weeks) Country
2016	Christmas Time's A-Coming	-	Country50 (5 weeks) Country	Christmas album
2018	Celebrate Christmas	-	Country43 (2 weeks) Country

More albums

• 1958: The Oak Ridge Quartet
• 1959: Sing and Shout
• 1959: The Oak Ridge Quartet
• 1960: Master Showman of Song
• 1960: Go Out to the Program
• 1961: You'll Never Walk Alone
• 1962: He Whispers Sweet Peace to Me
• 1962: With Sounds of Nashville
• 1963: Folk Minded Spirituals for Spiritual Minded Folk
• 1964: Together (with The Harvesters)
• 1964: Sing for You
• 1964: Singing the Gospel
• 1964: I Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now
• 1965: The Sensational Oak Ridge Boys from Nashville Tennessee
• 1965: The Solid Gospel Sound of the Oak Ridge Quartet
• 1966: River of Life
• 1966: Sing Serve Life (with Smitty Gatlin)
• 1966: Songs We Wish We'd Recorded First
• 1967: Duane Allen Out Front
• 1967: At Their Best
• 1967: A Great Day
• 1968: New Horizons
• 1969: It's Happening!
• 1970: Thanks
• 1971: Talk About the Good Times
• 1971: International
• 1972: Jesus Christ, What a Man!
• 1972: performance
• 1972: Light
• 1973: Street Gospel
• 1973: The Lighthouse & Other Gospel Hits
• 1973: Hymns
• 1975: Sky High
• 1976: Old Fashioned, Down Home, Hand Clappin ', Foot Stompin', Southern Style, Gospel Quartet Music
• 1977: Live
• 1992: The Long Haul
• 1995: Country Christmas Eve
• 1997: Revival
• 1999: Voices
• 2004: The Journey
• 2005: Common Thread
• 2006: Front Row Seats
• 2019: Down Home Christmas

Live albums

• 2014: Boys Night Out

Compilations

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Country
1978	The Best of The Oak Ridge Boys	-	Country22 (15 weeks) Country
1980	Greatest hits	US99 platinum (21 weeks)US	Country5 (157 weeks) Country
1984	Greatest Hits 2	US71 platinum (24 weeks)US	Country2 (69 weeks) Country
1989	Greatest Hits 3	-	Country22 (26 weeks) Country
2013	40th Anniversary: ​​1973-2013	-	Country38 (1 week) Country

More compilations

• 1975: The Sensational Oak Ridge Boys
• 1979: Sing for Him
• 1992: The Oak Ridge Boys Collection (US:gold)
• 1993: The Best of The Oak Ridge Boys
• 2000: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection
• 2006: The Definitive Collection
• 2007: gold

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Country
1976	Family Reunion The Best of the Oak Ridge Boys	-	Country83 (5 weeks) Country
1977	Y'all Come Back Saloon Y'all Come Back Saloon	-	Country3 (18 weeks) Country
	You're the One Y'all Come Back Saloon	-	Country2 (16 weeks) Country
1978	I'll Be True to You Y'all Come Back Saloon	-	Country1 (15 weeks) Country
	Cryin 'Again Room Service	-	Country3 (13 weeks) Country
	Come on in room service	-	Country3 (19 weeks) Country
1979	Sail Away The Oak Ridge Boys Have Arrived	-	Country2 (13 weeks) Country
	Dream On The Oak Ridge Boys Have Arrived	-	Country7 (13 weeks) Country
	Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight The Oak Ridge Boys Have Arrived	-	Country1 (15 weeks) Country
	Rhythm Guitar The Best of The Oak Ridge Boys	-	Country94 (151 weeks) Country	Re-release from 1975
1980	Trying to Love Two Women Together	-	Country1 (15 weeks) Country
	Heart of Mine Together	-	Country3 (16 weeks) Country
	Beautiful You Together	-	Country3 (17 weeks) Country
1981	Elvira Fancy Free	US5 platinum (22 weeks)US	Country1 (14 weeks) Country
	(I'm Settin ') Fancy Free Fancy Free	-	Country1 (15 weeks) Country
1982	Bobbie Sue Bobbie Sue	US12 (14 weeks) US	Country1 (15 weeks) Country
	So fine Bobbie Sue	US76 (4 weeks) US	Country22 (10 weeks) Country
	I Wish You Could Have Turned My Head (And Left My Heart Alone) Bobbie Sue	-	Country2 (19 weeks) Country
	Thank God for Kids Christmas	-	Country3 (16 weeks) Country
1983	American Made American Made	US72 (5 weeks) US	Country1 (16 weeks) Country
	Love Song American Made	-	Country1 (18 weeks) Country
	Ozark Mountain Jubilee Deliver	-	Country5 (19 weeks) Country
1984	I Guess It Never Hurts to Hurt Sometimes Deliver	-	Country1 (22 weeks) Country
	Everyday Greatest Hits Volume 2	-	Country1 (21 weeks) Country
	Make My Life with You Greatest Hits Volume 2	-	Country1 (21 weeks) Country
1985	Little Things Step On Out	-	Country1 (20 weeks) Country
	Touch a Hand, Make a Friend Step On Out	-	Country1 (21 weeks) Country
	Come On In (You Did the Best You Could Do) Step On Out	-	Country3 (19 weeks) Country
1986	Juliet Seasons	-	Country15 (15 weeks) Country
	You Made a Rock of a Rolling Stone Seasons	-	Country24 (15 weeks) Country
1987	It Takes a Little Rain (To Make Love Grow) Where the Fast Lane Ends	-	Country1 (24 weeks) Country
	This Crazy Love Where the Fast Lane Ends	-	Country1 (23 weeks) Country
	Time in Heartbeat	-	Country17 (15 weeks) Country
1988	True Heart Heartbeat	-	Country5 (22 weeks) Country
	Gonna Take a Lot of River Monongahela	-	Country1 (21 weeks) Country
	Bridges and Walls Monongahela	-	Country10 (20 weeks) Country
1989	Beyond Those Years Heartbeat	-	Country7 (22 weeks) Country
	An American Family American Dreams	-	Country4 (25 weeks) Country
	No Matter How High American Dreams	-	Country1 (26 weeks) Country
1990	Baby, You'll Be My Baby American Dreams	-	Country71 (3 weeks) Country
	(You're My) Soul and Inspiration My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys OST	-	Country31 (15 weeks) Country
	Lucky Moon Unstoppable	-	Country6 (20 weeks) Country
1991	Change My Mind Unstoppable	-	Country70 (5 weeks) Country
	Baby on Board Unstoppable	-	Country44 (13 weeks) Country
1992	Case, The Long Haul	-	Country69 (4 weeks) Country
1999	Ain't No Short Way Home Voices	-	Country71 (1 week) Country

More singles

• 1973: The Baptism of Jesse Taylor
• 1974: He's Gonna Smile on Me
• 1974: Loves Me Like a Rock
• 1975: Rhythm Guitar
• 1975: Heaven Bound
• 1976: Where the Soul Never Dies
• 1976: Whoever Finds This, I Love You
• 1978: Easy
• 1982: Christmas Is Paintin 'the Town
• 1999: Baby When Your Heart Breaks Down
• 2001: Write Your Name Across My Heart
• 2002: The Most Inconvenient Christmas
• 2003: Colors
• 2003: Glory Bound
• 2004: Bad Case of Missing You
• 2005: Someplace Green
• 2005: Ordinary Days
• 2006: It's Hard to Be Cool (In a Minivan)
• 2007: Closer to Home
• 2007: Did I Make a Difference
• 2009: Seven Nation Army
• 2009: Mama's Table
• 2011: Whatcha Gonna Do
• 2015: Sweet Jesus
• 2018: Brand New Star

Guest Posts

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Country
1973	Praise the Lord and Pass the Soup	-	Country57 (7 weeks) Country	with Johnny Cash & The Carter Family
1982	Same Ole Me Still the Same Ole Me	-	Country5 (19 weeks) Country	with George Jones
1986	When You Get to the Heart Get to Your Heart	-	Country20 (14 weeks) Country	with Barbara Mandrell

Awards (Country Music Only)

year	Org.	Award	title
1978	ACM	Album of the Year	"Y'all Come Back Saloon"
1978	ACM	Top vocal group
1978	CMA	Instrumental Group of the Year
1978	CMA	Vocal Group of the Year	"Oak Ridge Boys"
1981	ACM	Single of the year	"Elvira"
1981	CMA	Single of the year	"Elvira"
1981	grammy	Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group	"Elvira"
1982	TNN	Single of the year
1986	CMA	Instrumental Group of the Year
1988	TNN	Top vocal group
1989	TNN	Top vocal group

Web links

• http://www.oakridgeboys.com/

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Chart sources: US
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Music Sales Awards: US