Dave's Top Eight

1. Jerry Reed...Revisited by Darrell Toney (reviewed 6/07) (5 Stars)
2. Sounds Like Sunday by Janet Paschal (reviewed 5/07) (5 Stars)
3. True To The Call by Kingdom Heirs (reviewed 3/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
4. Revival by Gold City (reviewed 10/06) (4 1/2 Stars)
5. Get Away Jordan by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (reviewed 2/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
6. Breakin' Chains by Three Bridges (reviewed 5/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
7. Big Sky by The Isaacs (reviewed 4/07)
8. Skywriting by Mercy's Well (reviewed 7/07)

Click title to purchase at CBD.com...click artist name to read Dave's Review. A CD will automatically fall out of the Top Eight after twelve months if no CD surpasses it before then.

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June 11, 2005

Oak Ridge Boys Biography

Oak Ridge Boys
(1943-present)
The Oak Ridge Boys grew out of Wally Fowler’s Georgia Clodhoppers. The town of Oak Ridge, TN drew national attention after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan in August 1945. Fowler, whose group had been popular in the area since 1943, subsequently re-named the group after the town. At first they were known as the Oak Ridge Quartet, but they also referred to themselves using the “Boys” moniker dating back to the early 1950s.

Starts and Restarts
Over the next 20 years, more than 30 members passed through the group including Calvin Newton, Joe Allred, Cat Freeman, and a teen-aged Glen Allred who played guitar and sang baritone whenever Fowler didn’t appear with the group. Fowler actually started a group called the Oak Ridge Quartet at least four times. The first group left Fowler to form the Stone Mountain Quartet. Fowler hired a new group, which he sold to Bob Weber in 1952. It folded in a couple of years. Fowler reclaimed the group name with a third lineup in 1956. Smitty Gatlin was the group manager/lead singer and Ronnie Page sang baritone with the 1956 group. The group members secured the ownership from Fowler in 1958 and with the addition of tenor Willie Wynn, bass Herman Harper, and pianist Tommy Fairchild, they became one of the more popular quartets in the early 1960s.

The 1960s: Success In Gospel Music
During the 1960s, the Oak Ridge Boys had their own television program, which was geared for youth. The program was called It’s Happening. They also popularized a stage routine called “Go Out To The Program” which featured the Oaks mimicking the popular songs of other artists. (The routine was actually originated in 1953 by the Dixie Hummingbirds, a popular black gospel group.) In one skit, for example, tenor Willie Wynn and the rest of the Oaks would sing the song “Higher” in the style of Rose Carter with the Chuck Wagon Gang. This was especially popular on multi-artist events, because the artist they were spoofing would often join them on stage to the delight of the crowd.

By this time, the group was known and marketed as the Oak Ridge Boys, so Fowler started a fourth group and again named it the Oak Ridge Quartet. A lawsuit filed by Gatlin and the other Oak Ridge Boys forced Fowler to stop using the name, though. When Gatlin left the group a few months after the resolution of the lawsuit in 1966, Duane Allen was hired to take his place. William Lee Golden was already singing with the group by this point, succeeding baritone Jim Hamill in 1965 (who succeeded Gary McSpadden in 1964). Noel Fox replaced Herman Harper in 1969.

The 1970s: Moving From Gospel To Secular
Allen and Golden got to know Joe Bonsall and Richard Sterban over the next few years. When the bass slot came open in 1972, Sterban was hired. He had been singing backup bass for J. D. Sumner in the Stamps and touring with Elvis Presley previously. Bonsall joined in 1973, replacing the 15 year veteran tenor Willie Wynn. The group continued to sing gospel music until 1975, but their increasingly progressive stage presence had begun to worry some promoters. Many fans were bothered as well. 200 people stood and marched out in protest when they performed in Roanoke, VA in 1975, an act the Oaks accused the Kingsmen of putting into motion, but the Kingsmen denied. Jim Hamill was particularly outspoken about the direction the Oak Ridge Boys were going at this time, referring to them as a “night club act.” Les Beasley would also speak positively about the image of the Statler Brothers, saying they weren’t “Oak Ridge types.”

The turning point came when they were booked to open a tour for Roy Clark and were told they were just “three minutes” away from making it big in Country music…that is to say, they had everything they needed to succeed in terms of talent and stage presentation except one hit song. After a couple of lean years attempting to break in the Country industry and failing on the Columbia label, they had success with their 1977 MCA album called Y’all Come Back Saloon. Any doubts about whether or not the Oaks were switching to secular were resolved at that point.

The 1980s and 1990s: Secular Successes
A string of hits in the late 1970s and 1980s established the Oaks alongside the Statler Brothers as Country music’s top male vocal groups. With novelty songs like “Elvira” and “Bobbie Sue” and a Gospel/Christmas/Country genre-crossing classic in “Thank God For Kids,” their popularity reached new heights. After Bonsall joined the group in 1973, their only change in membership came in 1987 when William Lee Golden was voted out of the group for failing to modify his “mountain man” appearance among other issues. Band member Steve Sanders took Golden’s place, and Golden sued the group for $40 million. The suit was ultimately settled out of court. Golden returned to the group at the beginning of 1996, still a mountain man. Sanders died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1998.

Back To Roots
For most of their secular career, the Oak Ridge Boys recorded for MCA and RCA. In 2001, the Oak Ridge Boys signed a recording contract with Spring Hill and released From The Heart, an all gospel project containing new material. With several Spring Hill recordings now under their belt, the Oaks have won their way into the hearts of gospel fans again, although they still receive criticism from some for continuing to appear at questionable venues such as casinos. The group has been featured on the Gaither Homecoming videos in recent years and has a daily show at the Grand Palace in Branson, MO.


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posted by David Bruce Murray @ 5:35:00 PM


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