JOE BONSALL, RENOWNED SINGER AND MEMBER OF
THE OAK RIDGE BOYS, PASSES AWAY AT 76
Joe Bonsall, famend tenor and member of the legendary group the Oak Ridge Boys handed away July 9, 2024. He was 76.
The historical past of the Oak Ridge Boys stretches again to the Nineteen Forties. Wally Fowler, who got here to be often known as “Mr. Gospel Music,” modified the identify of the Georgia Clodhoppers to the Oak Ridge Quartet, as a result of the Knoxville, TN, group carried out usually in close by Oak Ridge.
Fowler moved the Oak Ridge Quartet to Nashville, the place, in 1946, the group turned regulars on the Grand Ole Opry. Singing in a four-part concord fashion, they made frequent appearances on the Opry’s “Prince Albert Present,” broadcast nationally on NBC Radio, from 1939 to 1957.
In 1962, the group started experimenting with calling themselves the Oak Ridge Boys, and in 1966 they made the change everlasting. Alabama native William Lee Golden, a baritone, joined the group in 1965. The next 12 months Duane Allen, from Texas, turned lead singer. New Jersey native Richard Sterban, who sang with Elvis Presley as a member of gospel group J.D. Sumner & The Stamps, took over as bass singer in 1972. The next 12 months, when tenor Bonsall from Philadelphia signed on, the long-running, best-known lineup was set.
When Bonsall, a Philadelphia native and resident of Hendersonville, TN joined in 1973, the Oak Ridge Boys already ranked amongst gospel music’s most acclaimed acts. That they had gained three Grammy Awards and a number of other Gospel Music Affiliation Dove Awards. Additionally in 1973, the group signed with Columbia Information, with assist from Johnny Money, who had used them in his touring act and to offer concord on his single “Reward the Lord and Go the Soup.”
Esteemed Nation Music insider Jim Halsey started managing the group, convincing group members that they had been one hit away from being Nation stars. The Oak Ridge Boys moved to ABC/Dot (quickly absorbed by MCA Information) and had the breakthrough Halsey had envisioned. “Y’all Come Again Saloon” turned a No. 3 Nation hit in 1977. The successes piled up rapidly after that, amongst them the No. 1 hits “I’ll Be True to You,” “Leaving Louisiana within the Broad Daylight,” “Making an attempt to Love Two Girls,” and “Fancy Free.”
The blockbuster “Elvira” turned the group’s first crossover hit, in 1981, when it climbed to No. 1 in Nation and No. 5 in pop. The Oak Ridge Boys had been named CMA Vocal Group of the 12 months in 1978 and obtained CMA Single of the 12 months in 1981 for the smash hit. The group additionally gained a 1981 Grammy for Finest Nation Vocal Efficiency by a Duo or Group, considered one of 5 Grammys the Oak Ridge Boys have gained. The next 12 months, the doo-wop-influenced “Bobbie Sue,” one other No. 1 Nation report, reached No. 12 on the pop charts.
The Oak Ridge Boys additionally turned welcome friends on the recordings of different artists. Paul Simon enlisted the group’s harmonies on his 1977-78 worldwide pop hit, “Slip Slidin’ Away.” The quartet’s voices additionally might be heard on Brenda Lee’s Grammy-nominated “Damaged Belief” in 1980; George Jones’s traditional “Similar Ole Me” in 1982; and on recordings by Ray Charles, Billy Ray Cyrus, Invoice Monroe, Leon Russell, and plenty of others.
In 1987, Golden left the group, changed by Steve Sanders, who had been enjoying acoustic guitar within the Oak Ridge Boys’ band. Sanders took an occasional lead vocal, together with the 1988 No. 1 hit “Gonna Take a Lot of River.” In January 1996, after Sanders resigned, Golden returned to the fold.
The Oak Ridge Boys had been inducted into the Gospel Music Corridor of Fame in 2000. Bonsall and Sterban had been enshrined within the Philadelphia Music Alliance Stroll of Fame in 1994, and the group was elected to the Nation Music Corridor of Fame in 2015.
An writer and author, Bonsall had written 11 books, together with a memoir to be revealed in November 2024 titled “I See Myself.”
Bonsall is survived by his spouse, Mary Ann, daughters Jennifer and Sabrina, sister Nancy, granddaughter Breanne, grandson Luke, and nice grandsons, Probability and Gray.