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Oak Ridge Boys Booking Agency

The Oak Ridge Boys have spawned dozens of country hits and a #1 pop smash, earned them Grammy, Dove, CMA and ACM awards. The Oak Ridge Boys bring years of hits and 50 years of tradition to bear on a stage show that is among the most exciting anywhere.

The Oak Ridge Boys were formed in 1943 in Knoxville, Tennessee. They often performed at the atomic energy plant in Oak Ridge, where, in the midst of a war, their optimistic gospel songs were welcomed, and hence they were renamed the Oak Ridge Quartet. They recorded their first records in 1947 with a line-up featuring leader Wally Fowler, Marshall Lon Freeman, Curly Kinsey, and Johnny New. Handled by Fowler, they recorded their first records in 1947, moving their base to Nashville. Various members came and went during this period, with Fowler the one constant before he elected to disband the group in 1956. A year later, they re-formed in a revised line-up organized by a long-serving member, Smitty Gatlin. They became full-time professionals in 1961 and the album on which they changed from the Oak Ridge Quartet to the Oak Ridge Boys included strings and horns. William Lee Golden, who had admired the group since he saw them as an adolescent, became their baritone in 1964.

When Gatlin decided to become a full-time minister, Golden recommended Duane David Allen, who became the group’s lead vocalist in 1966. With bass singer Noel Fox and tenor Willie Wynn they established themselves as the best-loved gospel group in the USA and won numerous awards and Grammys. Further changes came in 1972 with bass singer Richard Anthony Sterban and in 1973 with tenor Joseph Sloan Bonsall becoming part of the group. Although most gospel fans enjoyed their high-energy performances, they were criticized for adding a rock ‘n’ roll drummer to their band. They recorded a single, ‘Praise The Lord And Pass The Soup’, with Johnny Cash and the Carter Family in 1973.

In 1975, the Oak Ridge Boys switched to country music, but their first secular single, ‘Family Reunion’, only reached number 83 in the U.S. country charts. Columbia Records dropped them, ironically at the same time as they were accompanying their labelmate, Paul Simon, on ‘Slip Slidin’ Away’, which featured sentiments diametrically opposite to gospel music. They opened for Johnny Cash in Las Vegas, played the USSR with Roy Clark, and had a major country hit with ‘Y’All Come Back Saloon’. They topped the U.S. country charts with ‘I’ll Be True To You’, the classic ‘Leavin’ Louisiana In The Broad Daylight’, and ‘Trying To Love Two Women’. In 1981, they made number 5 on the pop charts with the doo-wop novelty song ‘Elvira’ and followed it with ‘Bobbie Sue’. Ronald Reagan, in a presidential address, said: ‘If the Oak Ridge Boys win any more gold, they’ll have more gold in their records than we have in Fort Knox.’

Further country hits followed with ‘American Made’, ‘Love Song’, ‘I Guess It Never Hurts To Hurt Sometime’ (written by Randy Vanwarmer), ‘Make My Life With You’, and ‘Come On In (You Did The Best You Could)’. Golden, who stopped cutting his hair and beard in 1979, became a mountain man, going bear hunting and sleeping in a teepee. He released a solo album, American Vagabond, also in 1986, and went on to form a family group called the Goldens. His replacement was their rhythm guitarist, Steve Sanders formerly a child gospel performer and Faye Dunaway’s son in the movie Hurry Sundown.

The Oak Ridge Boys continue with their philosophy to ‘keep it happy, keep it exciting’, and do nothing that might tarnish their image. They turn down beer commercials and only sing positive songs. To quote Joe Bonsall, ‘We’re just an old gospel group with a rock ‘n’ roll band playing country music.’ In 1996, Golden returned to the line-up when they signed to A&M Records. In 2000, the Oak Ridge Boys were inducted into the Gospel Music Association’s Gospel Hall Of Fame in Nashville.

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Having helped hundreds of clients, we’re your best agency to book and hire country and Gospel music singers the Oak Ridge Boys. We can help you book and hire any live country music singers and Gospel singers in addition to those you see here on our site. So call us now at 888-655-4575 and tell us about your event or show. A to Z Entertainment, Inc. is not the exclusive agency for any artists on this site, but we’re the best!

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