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Luke Bryan is set to release his eighth studio album, Mind of a Country Boy, on Sept. 27.
For the 14-song album, he reunites with producers Jeff and Jody Stevens. Four years have elapsed since the Georgia native released his previous album, and the new project delves into his priorities, including family, music, hunting and fishing. In celebrating the album announcement, Bryan has also released the new song âClosing Time in California,â timed to some of his upcoming shows in San Diego and Los Angles.
âIâve been able to take my time and really compile songs for this album,â Bryan said in a statement. âIf itâs a song that I cut two or three years ago, and I still love it, and it still sounds fresh, then I feel like itâll stand the test of time.
âI think this album, as Iâve tried to do with all my albums, just has a little bit of everything,â he continued. âI do some things different vocally on this one that Iâve not done before. Itâs about each song having its place and having its meaning. Itâs trying not to be overly redundant with songs. I think thatâs why Iâve been blessed to have a long career and what I feel like this albumâs going to do.â
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In addition to his headlining shows and his Farm Tour, Bryan is set to continue his role as an American Idol judge (alongside incoming judge, fellow country artist Carrie Underwood), while his Crash My Playa destination concert in Mexico will celebrate its 10th year in 2025 with performances from Jason Aldean, Kane Brown and more.
âIâm still having a lot of fun in my concerts, and itâs still a big ole party,â Bryan said in a statement. âBut I think as you grow older and mature, subject matters change and things that you can sing about change. But the love of trying to find the right song and a song that moves people is still at the forefront of what I want to do as an artist.â
See the full tracklist for Bryanâs Mind of a Country Boy below:
âMind of Country Boyâ (Luke Bryan, Ben Hayslip, Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins)âLove You, Miss You, Mean Itâ (Ben Hayslip, Jacob Rice, Jordan Minton, Rhett Akins)âCountry Song Came Onâ (Ryan Beaver, Dan Alley, Neil Medley)âPair of Bootsâ (Bobby Pinson, Taylor Phillips, Tofer Brown, Jaxon Free)âBut I Got A Beer in My Handâ (Chase McGill, Matt Dragstrem, Geoff Warburton)âKansasâ (Chase McGill, Hillary Lindsey, Matt Dragstrem)âCountry Onâ (Mark Nesler, David Frasier, Mitch Oglesby, Styles Haury)âFish on the Wallâ (Dallas Davidson, Chris Tompkins, Ben Johnson)âSheâs Still Got Itâ (Rodney Clawson, Heather Morgan, Will Bundy, Jim McCormick)âClosing Time in Californiaâ (John Byron, Mark Holman, Hillary Lindsey, Chase McGill)âFor the Kidsâ (Luke Bryan, Justin Ebach, Brad Tursi)âSouthern and Slowâ (Matt Dragstrem, Josh Thompson, Chase McGill)âIâm on a Tractorâ (Neil Thrasher, Lee Thomas Miller)âJesus âBout My Kidsâ (Jeff Hyde, Tucker Beathard, Ben Stennis, Brad Rempel)
CMA Award winner and four-time Billboard Country Airplay chart-topping artist Jelly Roll will soon see his new song serve as the music anthem for ESPNâs college football coverge during the 2024-2025 season on ESPN platforms, starting Saturday, Aug. 24.
Jelly Rollâs new single âGet By,â which will also be featured on his upcoming new album, serves as the soundtrack for ESPNâs season-long college football coverage across ESPN networks and ABC. This marks the 11th season that ESPN has partnered with an artist to create an anthem for ESPNâs college football coverage. Previous artists ESPN partnered with include Post Malone, Fall Out Boy, Imagine Dragons, Yungblud, Lauren Alaina and Thirty Seconds to Mars.
Curtis Friends, ESPN vice president of marketing, said in a statement, âThereâs a powerful connection between music and college football and for more than a decade, the ESPN college football music anthem has been integral to the promotion of the sport while its release has marked the unofficial start to the season. Jelly Roll is a talented, award-winning artist whose music speaks to the passion of college football fans across the country, and weâre excited âGet Byâ will soundtrack the sport all season long.â
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The college football officially kicks off on Aug. 24, as ACC rivals Florida State and Georgia Tech face off starting at noon ET on ESPN at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Additionally, College GameDay Built by The Home Depot will make its season debut, onsite, prior to the game.
Jelly Roll has been a ubiquitous persona of late, including taking part in this yearâs WWE SummerSlam on Aug. 3, participating in a recent Nashville television taping honoring the late country entertainer Toby Keith, teaming with MGK for the new song and music video âLonely Road,â and even offering a surprise show in Tampa, Florida last month after fellow country artist Morgan Wallen was forced to postpone his stadium show due to illness.
Jelly Roll also recently extended his headlining Beautifully Broken Tour again, adding even more tour dates to the trek.
Language, like music or fashion, evolves â and as a result, the use of some words or phrases makes it look like the speaker has not.
âGroovy,â âmakinâ whoopeeâ and âthe catâs meowâ had their day, and even earlier, so did âHeavens to Betsy,â an exclamation associated with older Southern ladies that seems more appropriate for the Roaring â20s than the 2020s. Etymologists donât know for certain who Betsy is or when she first arrived in the lexicon, though the phrase has been traced back to the 19th century. Thus, word nerds can be forgiven if theyâre skeptical of Jackson Deanâs new single, âHeavens to Betsy,â which sounds dated to anyone familiar with the title.
But the phrase is also old enough that many listeners may not have heard it before; Dean had not when the title first came up in a March 2021 songwriting session. âThat line has never been used around me growing up or anything,â Dean notes. âI took it very literally.â
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âHeavens to Betsyâ came up during a March 2021 songwriting session with Benjy Davis (âThe Painter,â âMade for Youâ) and Driver Williams (âSmoke a Little Smoke,â âHang Tight Honeyâ) at Little Louder Music in Nashville. Williams floated the âHeavens to Betsyâ title, assuming they could give it a classic sort of twist.
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âMy original thought was more country and lighter,â Williams recalls. âIn subject matter, it was more like, you know, this girl named Betsy doesnât need all the finer things in life. She just needs a home and a good man. Thatâd be Heaven to Betsy.â
That only worked, though, if they could shave the âsâ off âHeavens,â but without that one letter, it no longer referenced the original phrase. Deanâs literal interpretation took it in a different direction â he pictured a father in Heaven communicating with his daughter, Betsy, via walkie-talkie or C.B. radio. They all found that idea intriguing.
âIt had to be dark,â Williams says, âbecause whoever was in Heaven, you know, heâs obviously dead. And itâs just like, âMan, how dark can we get with this?â And we went really dark with it.â
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The title became the opening line. Davis started strumming a guitar as the father reveals just enough in the first verse to let a first-time listener know the protagonist is communicating to someone about a drinking problem that âput you through hell.â That brooding stanza then opened into a brighter-sounding chorus that fully reveals the man is reaching out from the afterlife.
âI feel like the verses are the apology,â Davis says. âThe chorus is sort of like the redemption, trying to make good on it.â
Verse 2 gave even more character clues, recalling a memory of Betsy when she was âknee high to a stumpâ â another dated phrase that was new, this time, to Davis. He injected a line about pink rain boots that made that verse even more vivid while drawing on his own past.
âI lived next to a family with some kids, and one day, the dadâs truck stopped showing up,â Davis remembers. âOver time, it became obvious that they were having some sort of issues. But [pink rain boots], thatâs a really, really specific image. But thatâs kind of what I had.â
Dean related to father abandonment from his own experience. âBoth of my best friends growing up slept on my couch for probably two years, on and off,â he says. âI remember Dylanâs dad never being in the picture until we were 16, 17 years old, so I had that little bit of connection with it. And Iâve seen so many situations like that.â
âHeavens To Betsyâ came together quickly, though it took longer for the sound to fully evolve. They cut a guitar/vocal work tape that day. Dean would later bring the song to Boy Named Banjo banjoist Barton Davis, who brought a bluegrass undercurrent to it. Dean later worked it up again with his band, who gave it an edgier sound that Williams compares to Kings of Leon.
Deanâs performance of âBetsyâ on the 2023 album Live at the Ryman received play on SiriusXMâs The Highway and emerged as a fan favorite. Thus, as Dean went to work on his next album â On the Back of My Dreams, due Sept. 6 â Big Machine Label Group president/CEO Scott Borchetta suggested he record a studio version. Producer Luke Dick (Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town) assembled a group of session players to re-cut it last fall at Nashvilleâs Blackbird Studios, intent on keeping the same slow-building spirit as the Ryman release.
âI had worked loosely with Jack on the live record,â Dick says. âI was familiar with the arrangement, and when they said they wanted to record it, I felt like the arrangement had an energy to it that I didnât want to stray too far from or rethink what should be or shouldnât be. It already had movement to it that I liked.â
After attempting it first with a metronome-like click track, they dropped that crutch and let drummer Fred Eltringham carve out the rhythm and pace in conjunction with Deanâs vocals. The track gets just a hair faster as it evolves, reflecting the intensity as Dean and the musicians worked together.
âI love when Jack is in a booth with a song that he has played a lot, a song that he knows in his bones,â Dick says. âThat allows him to emote on the day and to communicate with the band without speaking. Thatâs what I feel like was the most compelling thing about recording that song is Jack being able to get his visceral energy into the song. Itâs what youâre shooting for as a producer.â
The end product splices parts of that recording with previous versions. Studio guitarist Rob McNelleyâs slide guitar solo was melded with a solo previously played by Deanâs road guitarist, Brandon Aksteter. Dean recorded his final vocal this spring, emphasizing the distinctions between the versesâ heavy mystery and the chorusâ hopeful promise.
âI wanted the changes to be not only noticed, but drastically felt,â he says. âYou get to right after the first chorus and you get to the hold, and then you drop right into the second [verse], itâs a completely different dynamic change. And then you get to the build, I mean, all those changes are physically moving you.â
Big Machine released âHeavens To Betsyâ to country radio via PlayMPE on Aug. 2 with an Aug. 19 add date, with high expectations. Dean had it edited for broadcasters, snipping a reflective ending so that it ends cold on an ascendant high note. Itâs a sonic cliffhanger, mirroring the dramatic uncertainty in the âBetsyâ plot. Itâs a twist that, unlike fashion or language, rarely grows old.
âEvery PD in the country that Iâve ever been in contact with has heard that song and knows it and has asked me about it,â Dean says. âIt kind of seems like a no-brainer: Just give them what they want and see what this does for the people.â
Kelsea Ballerini is set to release her upcoming fifth studio album, Patterns, on Oct. 25. The four-time Grammy nominated singer-songwriter will preview the album with a new song, âSorry, Mom,â which arrives Friday (Aug. 9) at midnight. âletâs start unpackingâŚ,â Ballerini captioned the albumâs cover art on Instagram. That image depicts her seated atop a […]
Blake Shelton, a 28-time No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay musician, and current Post Malone collaborator on the current Country Airplay top 20 song âPour Me a Drink,â is bringing his slate of hits and signature humor to Las Vegas.
The Oklahoma native will take over The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, with six performances from Feb. 5 to 15, 2025.
âWeâve been talking about a Vegas residency for a few years, and all the pieces just came together for a run next year,â Shelton said in a statement. âThe Colosseum is such an iconic venue, and Iâm excited to bring some honky-tonk neon to the Palace.â
Sheltonâs Vegas performances will take place Feb. 5, 7, 8, 12, 14 and 15, with all shows scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.
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The country star has previously made appearances on stage during Gwen Stefaniâs residency concerts. Shelton told People that his setlist will include a mix of his own hits and personal favorite songs, and that he took inspiration from Garth Brooksâ residency shows.
â[Brooks] played songs that he grew up loving and made him fall in love with music. I donât want to just rip somebody off, but I do love the idea of doing something that you wouldnât normally get to see out on tour,â Shelton told the magazine. âSo I got to figure out what that is, and now Iâm going to start thinking about how it would be different than something I would do on tour.â
Tickets for Sheltonâs residency go on sale Friday, Aug. 16, at 10 a.m. PT, with Shelton fans gaining access to a presale beginning Friday, Aug. 9, at 10 a.m. PT. Citi/AAdvantage cardmembers will gain access to presale tickets Friday, Aug. 9 at 10 a.m. PT through Citi Entertainment. A Seated presale will begin Friday, Aug. 9, at 2 p.m. PT. In addition, Caesars Rewards members â Caesars Entertainmentâs loyalty program â as well as Ole Red, Live Nation and Ticketmaster customers will have access to a presale beginning Tuesday, Aug. 13, at 10 a.m. PT. All presales will end Thursday, Aug. 15, at 10 p.m. PT.
See Blake Sheltonâs announcement below:
Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance at Zach Bryanâs concert in Philadelphia on Wednesday (Aug. 7) after the previous nightâs wild weather saw his Tuesday (Aug. 6) show delayed.
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The âPink Skiesâ singer had quite the surprise in store for fans who attended his The Quittinâ Time Tour concert at Philadelphiaâs Lincoln Financial Field, bringing out guest performers Bruce Springsteen, The Lumineers, and Shane Gillis, who performed with Bryan throughout the show.
Springsteen, who recently collaborated with Bryan for âSandpaperâ on his latest album, The Great American Bar Scene, joined Bryan on stage to perform âAtlantic Cityâ.
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Fans were delighted over the surprise appearances, with one taking to Twitter to write, âHearing that Bruce Springsteen, The Lumineers, and Shane Gillis got on stage for Zach Bryanâs finale tonight in Philly and lightning could have struck me down leaving in the parking lot and that wouldâve been a-okay with me.â
Another added, âWitnessed Bruce Springsteen and Zach Bryan blow up the Chicken man in Philly tonight. Then we had an all night Revival with Zach, Bruce, and The Lumineersâit was Spotless.â
Itâs not the only time The Boss has joined Bryan for a surprise performance. He also joined the rocker on stage at Brooklynâs Barclays Center on March 27, where they performed two tracks, including the pairâs collaboration âSandpaperâ.
Following the albumâs release on July 4, the country crooner thanked Springsteen for his feature.
âThank you for the day @springsteen. thank you for your kind words. thank you for letting me take this picture,â Bryan captioned a photo of Springsteen on X (formerly Twitter). âthank you for making my whole life a dream of a younger me. a reason to believe.â
Fans of Springsteenâs âIâm on Fireâ will instantly recognize the chugging beat on âSandpaper,â which is identical to the feel of his 1984 hit.
Bryan has also previously covered Springsteenâs Born in the U.S.A. classic âIâm on Fireâ on several occasions, live and in the studio.
Carly Pearce isnât here for the hecklers. During a recent interview with iHeartCountryâs Ashley Morrison at US 103.5 in Tampa Bay, Fla., Pearce discussed a recent incident when she called for a disrespectful concertgoer to be removed from the audience during her set at WE Fest, held at Soo Pass Ranch in Detroit Lakes, Minn.
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The Kentucky native said during the interview, âI guess people are learning a new side of me, but the boys do it all the time. This is no different. If somebodyâs going to show disrespect at my show, get out.â She also added, âSo many people think that theyâre not gonna be reprimanded for their actions ⌠He hit me in a moment where my âKentuckyâ came out full-force, and I just, Iâm so tired of being afraid of standing up for myself.â
In video clips from the show on social media, Pearce can be seen asking for the removal of an audience member who had been unkind during her performance, with Pearce saying, âSomebody get him out of here. I donât want him at my show. Get out of my show.â Pointing at the offending audience member, Pearce said, âIf youâre gonna be an aâhole, youâre gonna have to say it to me and get the fâk out of my show. I do not have time for dâks. See you later!â
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As the audience applauded the removal of the heckler, Pearce said on stage, âI donât care if itâs to me. I donât care if itâs to somebody sitting next to you. I donât care if itâs on the internet. I donât care if itâs texting. Words hurt. That hurt me. That was not nice and Iâm just here to tell you guys to be kind. Do not say mean things to people just to be mean. Donât think that there arenât consequences for it. It is not kind. It is not right, and I do not believe that he should have been at my show if heâs gonna speak to me like that ⌠That is the first time I have sent somebody out of one of my shows, but if somebodyâs gonna be that mean and disrespect me, you are not welcome. So, thank you for being so kind to me tonight and for showing up. And seriously, just be nice to people. Do not be mean. Itâs not worth it.â
Earlier this year, Pearce released her new album Hummingbird and just revealed her upcoming headlining Hummingbird World Tour, which launches Oct. 3 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Watch a clip from Pearceâs interview below:
This yearâs Academy of Country Music Honors will air on Dr. Philâs new Merit Street Media in the first step of a new broader partnership between the two entities.
Airing Sept. 24 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, the annual ACM Honors will recognize previously announced honorees including ACM Lifting Lives Award recipient Luke Bryan, ACM Poetâs Award recipient Alan Jackson, ACM Triple Crown recipient Lainey Wilson and ACM Icon Award recipient Trisha Yearwood, as well as executives Walt Aldridge, Tony Brown and Shannon Sanders.
Hosted by multiple ACM Award winner Carly Pearce and reigning ACM song of the year winner Jordan Davis, the ceremony will take place Aug. 21 at Nashvilleâs Ryman Auditorium and feature performances from Eric Church, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Tyler Hubbard, Jamey Johnson, Ashley McBryde and Keith Urban, among others. Hubbard will also present the ACM studio recording and industry awards.Â
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âWeâre excited to partner with Merit Street Media to bring one of my favorite nights of the year, ACM Honors, to households across North America through this growing network,â said Damon Whiteside, CEO of the Academy of Country Music, in a statement. âWith so many great performances honoring some of country musicâs biggest stars, we canât wait for fans to tune in to this event on Merit Street, and in the months ahead, we plan to bring even more content focused on Country Music to the Merit Street viewers.âÂ
Though Whiteside declined to provide specifics, according to a press release, the two entities will explore programming opportunities around country music performances, behind-the-scenes and lifestyle moments, documentaries and more.
âFor our first step into music programming, we canât imagine a better marriage than Merit Street with ACM,â said Meritâs EVP/COO, Joel Cheatwood. âTo kick this off with such an amazing celebration as ACM Honors is exactly what we aspired to deliver to viewers, and we look forward to creating additional original country music content for fans everywhere.â
Merit Street Media, which launched in April, dubs itself as a âdestination for news and entertainment that respects your intelligence,â and is a partnership with Trinity Broadcasting Network. According to Merit Street Media, its programming reach extends to more than 80 million television homes through cable, satellite, streaming and free over-the-air platforms, including  DirecTV, Dish, U-Verse and Samsung TV Plus, as well as Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, and Roku. Also among its programming are Professional Bull Riders events, which air live.Â
The previous two years, the ACM Honors â which are in their 17th year â aired on Fox.
Limited tickets for ACM Honors are available through AXS, including VIP packages which include a ticket in the VIP artist section of the Ryman, a ticket to the VIP pre-party reception, a commemorative Hatch Show Print poster, parking and drink tickets.
Elle King is opening up about her controversial performance on the Grand Ole Opry stage in January.
The star sat down with Kaitlyn Bristowe for her Off the Vine podcast, where she opened up about the difficulties that she was going through, and noted that she âwent to a different type of therapeutic programâ after the incident.
âI was very sad, and nobody really knows what I was what I was going through behind closed doors,â King explained. âAnd I just took that as, if it wasnât this, itâs gonna be something else.â
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During the Grand Ole Opryâs tribute concert for Dolly Partonâs 78th earlier this year, King appeared on stage, where she declared that she was âfâking hammeredâ while trying to cover Partonâs song âMarry Me.â When she struggled to remember the lyrics, King sang, âI donât give a sâtâ and âI donât know they lyrics to these things in this fâking town⌠Donât tell Dolly âcause itâs her birthday.â
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She continued that sheâs a âdifferent personâ now. âIâve had to heal and deal and go through things and, someone said to me, I think you might find a silver lining or something good that comes out of your experience with that,â she shared. âUltimately, I couldnât go on living my life or even staying in the situation that I had been going through. I couldnât continue to be existing in that high level of pain that I was going through at the time.â
Following Kingâs performance, the Grand Ole Opry issued an apology via X, responding to one disgruntled attendeeâs comment, and saying, âWe deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last nightâs second Opry performance.â
Parton quickly forgave King and offered empathy. In an interview with Extra, the Country Music Hall of Fame inductee shared. âElle is a really great artist. Sheâs a great girl. Sheâs been going through a lot of hard things lately, and she just had a little too much to drink.â
The Oak Ridge Boysâ enduring, lovable classic, âElviraâ came out in 1981 and quickly became the legendary quartetâs fourth No. 1 on Billboardâs Hot Country Singles chart â as well as its biggest pop hit, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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But the song came out two years before the launch of The Nashville Network, the first country music cable television network â and, unbelievably, it never had an accompanying video. Until now.
The joyous video clip, which premieres below, features the band surrounded by some famous friends (including Trace Adkins, Kid Rock, Lorrie Morgan, The Gatlin Brothers, Ray Stevens and Big & Rich) performing the song. Filmed in October at John Richâs Redneck Riviera bar on Nashvilleâs Lower Broadway, it was 50-year Oaks member Joe Bonsallâs last video before his July 9 death at age 76. Â
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But before fans see the band and the familiar faces, the video opens on a number of burgeoning artists, including Chase Matthew and Danni Stefenetti, singing along to the song they have heard since birth. Featuring a new generation of artists served as an intentional passing of the torch, the videoâs director Brandon Wood says: âMy goal since working with the Oak Ridge Boys has been to help them expand their reach to younger demographics through creative means of promoting their new albums and releases. It just made sense that our group of unsuspecting karaoke singers would be a group of influencers, with respectable audiences of their own.â
That angle helped turn around Oak Ridge Boy singer Duane Allen, a member of the band since 1966. âWhen they started talking about doing a video of âElvira,â I wasnât really on board,â he tells Billboard. âIt took a while for me to rally around the idea. Then I [realized] what they were doing was really paying tribute to the song, not us, and how that song affected everybody who heard it. [Then], I was gung-ho â because I really feel like once anybody hears that song, itâs just magic.âÂ
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To be sure, between Richard Sterbanâs inimitable bass delivery on the âUm-poppa-um-poppa, mow, mowâ chorus, Bonsallâs effervescent vocals and the Oaksâ trademark harmonies, the song has charmed fans of all ages for five decades. (As if any proof were needed, tacked on to the end of the video is footage of a four-year old Wood singing the song.)
Allen knows the songâs appeal. He remembers when he first heard it in 1966, after coming across the original version â recorded by the songâs writer, Dallas Frazier. âI sat up in my bed when I heard it the first time. Fast forward to 1981 and [Oaks producer] Ron Chancey calls. We were about finished with recording [the album], and he says, âAce, Iâve got an idea of a song that Iâve just found. Iâd like to show it to you guys. It will be a major hit for you if we do it Oak Ridge Boys-styleâŚâ Within about 30 minutes, everybody gathered at my house and the song he played, I knew it already â because I never forgot that song. I could almost sing it word-for-word, having never heard it again in those 15 years.â
Unlike on the original, Bonsall modulated up on the last pass on the chorus, which, with Sterbanâs delivery, made the song truly the Oaksâ own. The new version of âElviraâ will be featured on a forthcoming album by the Oaks that includes remakes of past hits and new songs.
Bonsall was in high spirits the day of the video shoot, Wood says: âJoe was a pro. He always gave 1000 percent and always had fun doing it. This day was no different. The energy he got from being in that room with his peers who love him was magical. We all felt it, but I think he particularly had a blast hugging necks and celebrating this amazing song. At one point when we were on a break, he grabbed my hand across the table and shared some words with me. He ended it with âI love you man.â Iâll always remember that.â
In the video, Bonsall looks radiant as he sings the song and gladhands with friends singing along. Although he had already been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) four years prior, the group shot the video âwhile he was relaly feeling good,â Allen says. âIt was just a great day. It was just like creating another piece of magic. You turn the cameras on and the song starts playing and everybody has fun.âÂ
The final shot of the video features Bonsall smiling, which Wood says was âserendipitous⌠This was in the first cut from the beginning. The focus was never intentionally more on Joe than any of the other Boys.â
For Allen, performing âElviraâ never gets old. âThe song has meant so much to the Oak Ridge Boysâ career,â he says. âIt still does every time we perform it. Thereâs something magical that happens.âÂ
And the band has been performing it a lot â both over the decades and recently. The Oaks started their American Made Farewell Tour celebrating their legacy last September. Bonsall made it through the end of the year.
âHe told me, âIâm going to do my best to make all the Christmas dates. If I make the Christmas dates, Iâm going to try my best to make all the dates you put in the book for [2024],ââ Allen recalls. âWell, we got to the last Christmas date, we carried him off stage, we put him in a wheelchair, and he said, âIâm done.â And the next morning, he called Ben James, and said, âIâm done. The position is yours. Put your singing britches on.â [Joe] was a trooper all the way to the very end, he never gave any kind of complaint. He didnât want anybody pitying him or feeling sorry for him. And his voice was strong, all the way up to the very last note on the very last Christmas song we did. I loved him like a brother and I  miss him every day that comes around. I miss him so much.âÂ
Itâs been an unspeakably brutal few months for the Oaks personally. In addition to Bonsallâs death, Nora, Allenâs wife of 54 years, died March 31. Then on July 1, eight days before Bonsallâs passing, William Lee Goldenâs son, Rusty, died.
Allen says the unbreakable bond between the group and their fans has become more special than ever following the tragedies, and that the road has been a respite from the sorrow. In fact, following his wifeâs burial, Allen changed his clothes, got on the tour bus and headed to Florida for a show.
âI needed to feel the love from not only from my singing partners â I needed to feel the love from the people,â he says. He broke down singing the second verse of âFancy Free,â and the line âOh Lord, you just donât know how it hurts to say goodbye/ She did her best to stay I canât say she did not try.â âWhen I started singing that second verse, man, I exploded and the crowd knew what Iâd been through and they started standing up and cheering and I got what I needed,â he says, tearing up. âAnd theyâve been there ever since.âÂ
The Farewell tour was originally set to honor Bonsall and his final outing, but Allen says while it is still technically a Farewell tour, there is now no definite end in sight. Plus, Allen adds poignantly, âI donât have anybody to go home to now.â
He says the tour, which was slated to end this year, will now likely go well into 2025. âI believe the Eagles are on their third farewell tour, so we can at least do our first farewell tour and end it at the end of â25. I think weâre going to probably try to work as many dates as we can and get to the places weâve not been able to cover this year,â Allen says. âWe need the audience and we need to say thank you to all of them. The date book keeps filling up. I guess thatâs God saying, âItâs not time yet, so keep singing.ââ