Country
Page: 186
When Joe Bonsall was asked to join The Oak Ridge Boys in October 1973, he quit his leadership role with gospel group The Keystones and threw his lot in with the Oaks, not entirely certain how long a gig like that might last.
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“I don’t know that I ever thought about it much, except for the fact that I love The Oak Ridge Boys and holy cow, they’ve offered me a job,” Bonsall reflects in 2023. “It was a big deal to me because I loved that group. They were a cutting-edge gospel group at that time.”
Fifty years later, it’s clear that Bonsall solidified his future. That particular lineup — Bonsall, Duane Allen, William Lee Golden and Richard Sterban — has anchored the Oaks for all but eight of those years, when the now-deceased Steve Sanders replaced Golden. The group transitioned from gospel to country in the mid-’70s, added crossover status to its efforts with the early-’80s hits “Elvira” and “Bobbie Sue,” and ultimately landed in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Bonsall is still the newest member of the quartet (Golden joined in ’65, Allen in ’66 and Sterban in ’72), but his blade-like tenor turned the Oaks’ blend into a sonic power tool.
“When we sing on a note, we’re not like barbershop harmony, which seems almost perfect harmony,” explains Allen. “When we sing, there’s an edge to it. Instead of harmonizing in perfect harmony, we’re more like four Peterbilt trucks headed right at you on an interstate highway.”
Over 30 years after their last top 10 Country Airplay single, 1991’s “Lucky Moon,” it’s easy to forget the power they exerted in another era of country. Their 1979 concert trek with headliners Kenny Rogers and Dottie West is considered the first full-fledged country arena tour, while their shows aggressively employed lighting technology and staging that were previously unseen in the genre, and their audacious mix of those big harmonies and singalong choruses created an unprecedented energy level.
“Now everybody uses the moving, computerized light system,” Bonsall reflects. “But back then, nobody’d seen it before, and I’ll tell you what: When we were out there singing on that stage with the lights moving and the smoke flying and the lasers hitting, that was big-time rock’n’roll.”
When the Oaks segued from gospel to country, they faced significant pushback. Country music already had a gospel-sounding group, The Statler Brothers, and record executives were generally nervous about bands — it’s more challenging to market a group concept than a single personality, and if the band breaks up, it instantly makes investments obsolete.
As the Oaks celebrate their 50-year anniversary, they have muted those fears of a split. But they also conquered some of the branding issues with their distinct collection of personalities. Sterban, with his dapper — sometimes trendy — wardrobe, is a sharp contrast with Golden, who sports a mountain-man image while standing next to Sterban in the group’s usual lineup. And Sterban’s basement tones occupy completely different turf from Bonsall’s high notes.
But that individualism allowed them to vary the set by simply swapping the lead role. With few exceptions, they kept their sound evolving during their peak commercial years because of the flexibility their voices provided.
“The Statler Brothers, they have one lead singer that had probably 90% or more of all the leads,” suggests Allen. “And Alabama — Randy [Owen] has about all of them, [like] most every group that’s ever come out of country. In fact, we had to fight with our label and producers to get leads for the other people from the very beginning, and we finally got leads on hits by everybody.”
The Oaks’ history predates all four present members. The group formed in East Tennessee in 1945 as the Oak Ridge Quartet, named after the town where the atomic bomb was engineered. The Quartet became Boys in 1962, and over time, more than 30 people have occupied a space in the lineup. Allen, after his induction, established a sideline label, Superior Records, and he signed The Keystones to a contract while both Sterban and Bonsall were members of that Northeastern group, which Allen produced. Sterban moved on to J.D. Sumner & The Stamps Quartet, performing behind Elvis Presley (he’s a backup singer on “Burning Love”) before joining the Oaks.
Manager Jim Halsey helped them advance from their gospel roots into mainstream country, and Johnny Cash, Roy Clark and Jimmy Dean gave them a boost during that period, too. As the lineup turns 50, it’s easy to take it for granted, and the band acknowledges that many of today’s country acts likely have no idea how the Oaks laid some of the groundwork for their careers.
But some do. Miranda Lambert has expressed appreciation. LOCASH’s Preston Brust was introduced to country by his mother’s passion for “Bobbie Sue.” Eric Church told Bonsall their recording of “Trying to Love Two Women” was one of his first favorite songs. Tim McGraw has recalled washing his car while listening to their first No. 1, “I’ll Be True to You.” And Toby Keith told them their 1980 single “Beautiful You” inspired him to pursue country music.
How long the Oaks will remain active is a lingering question. They’re looking ahead to new music, planning to record a family-themed album under the working title Mama’s Boys. But Bonsall, at 75, is the youngest member; the others are in their 80s, with Golden the oldest at 84. Bonsall and Sterban have had substitutes in recent years while they were hospitalized, and Bonsall has ongoing leg issues that have made him consider what’s next, particularly since all of them replaced someone else in the Oak Ridge roster. They haven’t really worked that out.
“I sat in the back of the bus with Duane Allen one day,” Bonsall recalls, “And I said, ‘Duane, what if I can’t do this anymore?’ And Duane said, ‘Then we go home.’ I like to think that it would still go on. But I don’t know for sure that it would.”
How long they can make it last is a question that the Oaks have continued to answer with a sense of urgency for 50 years.

Jason Isbell and Devon Gilfillian will lead a group of world-class singer-songwriters in joining forces to aid organizations working to raise awareness about gun violence in Tennessee.
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On Aug. 15, Isbell, Gilfillian, Chris Housman, Julie Williams, Autumn Nicholas and The Kentucky Gentlemen will perform for Together in Action, a benefit concert set for City Winery in Nashville, and presented by Country Any Way and eQuality events.
The event will take place nearly four months after six people — three children and three adult staff members– were killed during a mass shooting at Nashville private school The Covenant School.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, the state of Tennessee has the 10th-highest rate of gun deaths in the United States, with 1,385 people killed by guns in an average year in the state.
“In my efforts to change the landscape of country music, I’m realizing that a huge part of that is taking a close look at where we live and being vocal about the changes we’d like to see,” says Holly G, creator of Country Any Way and event organizer, as well as founder of The Black Opry organization. “Since becoming a resident in Tennessee, I’ve incorporated into my mission making sure that marginalized voices and the voices of people who want Tennessee to be an inclusive and safe space are heard. Music gives us such a beautiful platform for expression and creating community. I’m so excited that myself, eQuality events, and City Winery Nashville were able to pull together such an amazing group of artists to send a clear message that Tennesseans deserve a safe place to live.”
In April, Isbell and Gilfillian were among the musicians who signed a letter calling for Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and state lawmakers to enact meaningful gun reforms as part of the group Voices for a Safer Tennessee.
“Gun violence in Tennessee is not inevitable,” the group wrote. “We are not hopeless, and we will not accept inaction. This does not have to be our normal and we ask that you stand with us! We know that gun safety laws work. Policies like extreme risk protection laws and secure storage of firearms can save lives. And we ask that you keep your session open until these policies are put into place.”
Tickets for the event will go on sale July 19 at noon CT, with the City Winery member presale starting July 18 at noon CT. Tickets can be purchased at citywinery.com.
Morgan Wallen is helping one family on their healing journey, after four University of Idaho students were found murdered last year in a home not far from the university’s campus. A suspect was ultimately arrested and charged in the incident.
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Stacy Chapin, the mother of one of the four slain students, 20-year-old Washington native Ethan Chapin, shared on Instagram how Wallen’s song “Thought You Should Know” was a special song for the mother and son.
“On Mother’s Day 2022, Ethan sent me the best text about how @morganwallen had written a song for his mom @lesliwallen and how that could be our song. It was a very touching moment between us. I listen to ‘I Thought You Should Know’ all the time,” Chapin wrote in an Instagram post. “Thought You Should Know” was written by Wallen with Miranda Lambert and Nicolle Galyon and included on Wallen’s current album One Thing at a Time.
The story made its way to Wallen’s team, who reached out to Chapin and her family to offer them tickets to Wallen’s show in San Diego on July 15, as well as a meet and greet with the singer. A dozen of the late Chapin’s family and friends attended the show and meet-and-greet, and according to a rep for Wallen, the singer-songwriter spent about half an hour with the family, listening as they shared stories of Ethan and taking photos with them. Wallen’s mother Lesli also flew in to meet with the family.
In the Instagram post, which features a photo of Wallen with the family, Chapin’s mother called the meeting “an incredibly bittersweet full-circle moment. Truthfully, the show would have been enough. We were all over the moon.”
Making the moment even more heartening, the Morgan Wallen Foundation made a donation to the Ethan’s Smile Foundation, which was set up to honor Ethan’s life and funds education scholarships for students.
“It was one of the kindest gestures in my life,” Chapin said in the Instagram post. “I still cannot believe it happened, and it isn’t easy to recognize it all came at a massive cost to our family. Morgan, thank you for everything.”
See Chapin’s Instagram post below.
In this week’s column, collaborations abound again as Kane Brown and Mickey Guyton team for a sultry romantic ballad, while Caroline Jones welcomes bandmates Zac Brown Band for a jaunty, bluegrass-infused track, and Alana Springsteen offers up a unique take on a Chris Stapleton collaboration.
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Mickey Guyton and Kane Brown, “Nothing Compares to You”
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On the heels of Brown’s recent Billboard Country Airplay chart-topping collaboration, “Thank God,” featuring his wife Katelyn, he teams with illustrious vocalist Mickey Guyton for another R&B-inflected romance ballad. Guyton’s passionate, octave-jumping vocals pair nicely with Brown’s cooly smooth vocal tones — a true duet, Guyton takes the lead on the first verse, while Brown helms the second and their voices meld into the chorus, atop fuzzy guitar lines and lush, pillowy production. Guyton recalls a time when she “never needed anyone,” until she finds the pulse-quickening kind of romance she couldn’t live without. Writers on the song are Tyler Hubbard, Bebe Rexha (known for the Rexha/Florida Georgia Line 2018 megahit “Meant to Be”) and Jordan Schmidt.
Dan + Shay, “Save Me The Trouble”
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One of a trio of new songs Dan + Shay have released in advance of their upcoming Sept. 15 album Bigger Houses, “Save Me the Trouble” further substantiates their reputation as master purveyors of power balladry, fueled by Smyers’ country-pop production sensibilities and Mooney’s lithe tenor. This time around, the duo offers up a more live-concert feel to the production, but still keeps the focus on the the duo’s tight-knit harmonies.
Josh Ross, “Ain’t Doin’ Jack”
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Canada native Ross broke through with “Trouble” earlier this year, and follows it with this brooking, guitar-driven track infused with explosive percussion capable of keeping up with Ross’s surly vocal. Here, he craves a higher-grade buzz than his current drink of choice can provide — the kind of liquid salvo that can fizzle the memories of his lover slamming the door and walking away. Ross wrote the song with Mason Thornley, Ben Stoll and Sam Martinez.
Hailey Whitters, “I’m in Love”
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Whitters is a longtime mainstay in Nashville’s songwriting circles, having made her debut album nearly a decade ago and followed with two more albums chock full of her top-shelf writing. Following her ACM new artist of the year win in May, she’s offering a taste of her upcoming EP with this title track. Though not a writer on the track (which comes courtesy of Cameron Bedell, Lee Thomas Miller and Nicolle Galyon), Whitters’ exuberant vocal is a perfect match for this slice of bubbly, delightful pop-country whisked along by strains of mandolin and handclaps, with each line revealing another vivid vignette, setting the scene (a Chevy ride soundtracked by a George Jones LP) of a giddy romantic infatuation.
Alana Springsteen with Chris Stapleton, “Ghost in My Guitar”
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The best country music writers can always find a fresh way to bring life to an old topic. Whereas many country compositions wax poetic about the life-changing, sentimental properties of their favorite six-string, Springsteen takes a decidedly opposite approach; in her latest, she sings of aching to smash or even torch a trusty axe — any means to break the emotional ties to an ex-lover. Meanwhile, Chris Stapleton is one of music’s most sought-after collaborative vocalists, having teamed with everyone from Adele to Taylor Swift, but his bluesy guitar work remains both essential and underrated. Springsteen’s latest features Stapleton on Jazzmaster guitar, the instrument’s mournful, incisive tones crafting a second “vocal” on the track, weaving together with and apart from Springsteen’s breathy, anguished vocal.
Caroline Jones with Zac Brown, “Million Little Bandaids”
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Jones has been on the road touring with Zac Brown Band for a few years, and officially became a member of the group last year. Now she teams with Brown and the ZBB cohorts on this jaunty, bluegrass-infused jamband track about replacing self-defensive mechanisms with self-acceptance. Flashes of mandolin, Fiddle, banjo and the band’s signature full harmonies wrap around Jones’ lilting, dynamic soprano and the song’s searching sentiments. “Million Little Bandaids” is included on Jones’ recent EP, Superpower.
Since notching his first top five Billboard Hot Country Songs hit in 2007 with his debut single, the tongue-in-cheek ode to a strong hangover “All My Friends Say,” Luke Bryan has become a two-time entertainer of the year winner at the Country Music Association awards, and a three-time winner of the accolade at the Academy […]
Dolly Parton may not have a “9 to 5” schedule, but she plans on working until the end of her days. During an interview with Greatest Hits Radio‘s Ken Bruce that aired on July 13, the country icon shared her thoughts on retiring, and how she’d like to go out. “I always believed that if […]
Luke Combs‘ headlining gig at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. was paused on Saturday night when a major storm front rolled through. The lightning alert was posted to Twitter just after 9 p.m., when the venue announced, “Lightning has been detected within an 8-mile radius of us. We are now in our Shelter […]
Taylor Swift‘s “Cowboy Like Me” found a new partner in crime at the inaugural Sommo Festival this weekend. Marcus Mumford brought Maggie Rogers to the stage to join him on the Evermore song at the Canada music festival held in Cavendish, on Prince Edward Island, where Rogers headlined Friday night (July 14) and Mumford & […]
Jason Aldean‘s summer tour didn’t start off the way he’d planned. The country star, who kicked off his Highway Desperado Tour this weekend, swiftly exited the stage and ended his show early Saturday night (July 15) in Hartford, Connecticut, due to dehydration and heat exhaustion.
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Aldean said on Sunday that he’s doing well now, and his upcoming tour dates will go on as scheduled.
“Yesterday’s Jason Aldean show will be rescheduled for a future date,” read a statement posted by Hartford’s Xfinity Theatre Sunday morning. “We appreciate your patience as we work on rescheduling a new date, as well as the outpouring of well wishes for Jason. A rep has confirmed he is now doing well after experiencing heat stroke during last night’s performance.”
Aldean chimed in himself with a video message to fans on social media later in the day. The clip was uploaded to his Twitter account and on Instagram Stories.
“I’ve had a lot of people checking on me today after hearing about what happened last night at the show in Connecticut,” Aldean said to the camera.
He assured fans that he is “doing fine. Just one of those things. It was hot, I was playing golf all day yesterday and then got to the show. There was a combination of dehydration and just heat exhaustion. I’m hearing a lot of stuff going around, ‘heat stroke,’ all this stuff. I don’t think it was quite that serious, but it was pretty intense last night at the show. Anybody that was at the show knows how hot it was.”
Aldean described the moment he left the stage: “I knew it was coming. I was trying to get through as much of the show as I could, and eventually I knew it wasn’t going to happen and I was trying to just get off stage and figure out what was going on.”
“Not what I was hoping for on our first weekend of the tour by any means,” noted Aldean, who said he was given IV fluids to treat his symptoms.
The singer confirmed that he will perform in Saratoga Springs, New York, Sunday night, and that he will make up the Hartford show.
Thanks everyone for checking in on me. Hartford, we’ll share rescheduled info soon. Saratoga Springs, see ya tonite!🤘🏼 pic.twitter.com/wVWGAmDmSZ— Jason Aldean (@Jason_Aldean) July 16, 2023
Jelly Roll has previously introduced his fans to his daughter, Bailee Ann, even bringing her onstage during a concert in Houston last year to sing with him on the song “Tears Could Talk.” And his wife, Bunnie, has introduced fans to the country star’s 6-year-old son, Noah.
In the video clip, which Bunnie posted to TikTok, she invites Noah to sit with her.
“My name is Noah, and my favorite color is red,” he tells the camera before stating his full name and indicating his age by holding up six fingers.
“You’re going to be seven!” Bunnie says, as Noah states that he will indeed turn seven on Aug. 23.
Bunnie asks Noah what his favorite sport is and he first says, “Pokemon,” laughing and answering with “soccer.” He also talks about his love for animals and his older sister Bailee, and says he loves going to the beach to “play in the water and let the waves catch me.”
To date, Jelly Roll has primarily kept Noah out of the spotlight out of respect for Noah’s birth mother. In the video’s comments, one fan stated, “I remember when his [birth mom] didn’t want to bring Noah into the spotlight. I’m so happy for y’all!” and telling Bunnie, “You’re a great bonus mom!”
Bunnie responded by confirming, “We asked, and she said it was OK. Always mama-approved first.”
Jelly Roll, who was recently a Billboard cover star and released his latest album, Whitsitt Chapel, last month, just earned his first Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs No. 1 with “Need a Favor,” which also peaked atop the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart and is rising on the Country Airplay chart.
See Bunnie’s TikTok introducing Noah below: