Published: August 23, 2008 08:52 pm         

The Oak Ridge Boys set to headline free concert in Pineville

Familiar faces. Familiar names. Most importantly, however, is the familiar sound. The Oak Ridge Boys’ unique four-part harmony is as distinctive as the individuals who make up the internationally known country and gospel music group.

The Oak Ridge Boys have earned numerous Grammy, CMA, ACM and Dove awards with lead singer Duane Allen, bass Richard Sterban, tenor Joe Bonsall, and baritone William Lee Golden.

Their hits include “Elvira,” “Bobbie Sue,” “Dream On,” “Thank God For Kids,” “American Made” and “Fancy Free,” among numerous others. They’ve had 10 gold, three platinum and one double-platinum album, one double platinum single, and had more than a dozen national No. 1 singles.

Despite the fact this group of men has been performing together for nearly four decades, their legions of fans still can’t get enough and group members have no desire to retire any time soon.

“It’s a great feeling. After all these years, it’s very gratifying to walk out on stage and the fans go crazy,” emphasized Sterban. “It’s one of the things that keeps us going. We love what we do.”

Sterban has two daughters, 19 and 12, who watch their dad perform often.

“They love what I do,” Sterban said. They love it when the fans go crazy, Sterban noted.

He has three older sons and six grandchildren who do not get to see him on stage as often.

“They do get to see what granddad does once in a while,” Sterban said of his grandchildren. “They think it’s cool. Their favorite is the Christmas show. We do a big Christmas show that seems to get bigger each year. They love that.”

The Oak Ridge Boys Theatre recently opened in Branson, Mo. The theater is a licensing deal that allows the owners to use the Oak Ridge Boys’ name and the group is scheduled to do 27 performances there this year.

“Out of the 150 to 160 shows we do a year, that’s really not a major part of our schedule,” Sterban said.

“The people who own the theater have been really great and it is a beautiful theater,” he emphasized.

While the big city lights are very familiar to The Oak Ridge Boys, the small towns — like rural Pineville, — hold just as much appeal.

“Quite often the small towns are more fun than the big cities,” he said.

Sterban uses as an example a concert they recently did in Sigourney, Iowa.

“You can barely see this on a map. It was out in a big field. The guy owns the largest John Deere dealership in the country; this was for his employees and friends. There were people as far as you could see. It was the best time.”

The Oak Ridge Boys represent a tradition that extends back to 1943. The original group, based in Knoxville, Tenn., began performing country and gospel music in nearby Oak Ridge, Tenn.

They called themselves the Oak Ridge Quartet and began regular Grand Ole Opry appearances in the fall of 1945. In the mid-1950s, they were featured in Time magazine as one of the top drawing gospel groups in the nation.

By the late 1960s, with more than 30 members having come and gone, they had a lineup that included current members Allen and Golden. Sterban joined in 1972 and Bonsall in 1973.

“We’re the babies of the group,” Sterban joked.

“We always include some gospel. Of course we are a country group. When the fans come out, they want to hear “Elvira,” “Bobbie Sue,” “Y’all Come Back Saloon,” but we always include a few gospel songs. We still believe very strongly.”

For fans who want to know just about anything there is to know about the group, Sterban noted their Web site — www.oakridgeboys.com — is the best source.

“It has pretty much everything there is to know,” he said of the site.

“There is very little we could keep from the fans.”

While music is their passion, each of the Oaks pursues outside interests, including writing and sports.

“Aside from music, I’d probably be doing something related to baseball. I’m a huge, huge baseball fan,” Sterban explained.

Sterban is part owner of the Nashville Sounds, a minor league team.

“If I wasn’t singing, I’d be involved in baseball, either announcing, color commentary, something,” he said.

Sterban is also interested in fashion.

“I make a couple of trips a year to New York to buy my stage outfits,” he noted.

And, he is in the preliminary stages of creating his own clothing line.

“I’m trying to do that. I don’t know if it will work out. I would like to do that,” he said.

“Charity work is something we all like to do. We were all raised in Christian homes,” Sterban emphasized. “Our parents taught us all right from wrong. The right thing to do is help those less fortunate than you. I think the good Lord blesses you for helping those who are not as fortunate.”

The group often works with Larry Jones and the Feed The Children organization.

“We’ve helped feed a lot of hungry people through this program,” Sterban said, adding the program also provides assistance during disasters.

“We’ve helped raise a lot of money and that makes us feel good. We do the television shows, so that helps them and it’s good for us as well. It gives us some exposure.”

Though there is a bit of gray in each of the members’ hair, they have no plans to retire.

“Absolutely no plans to retire,” Sterban said of the band members. “As long as the fans keep coming to our concerts, keep buying our CDs, we’re going to continue.

“We love it. Health is probably the key,” he said, joking that none of them are getting any younger.

“We work to keep it fresh for ourselves. We enjoy going into the studio and being creative,” he said of their music.

The group’s next CD is scheduled for release early next year.

“It will be totally different from anything the Oaks have done before,” Sterban explained.

This time around they are working with producer David Cobb.

“He’s forced us out of our comfort zone, so it is totally different,” Sterban emphasized.

“We’re looking forward to performing in Pineville,” Sterban said. “We’re going to do a variety of stuff — things people want to hear ‘Elvira,’ ‘Bobbie Sue,’ ‘Thank God For Kids.’ We’re going to do some gospel and some patriotic songs.

“There will be something for every member of the family,” Sterban promised.

— E-mail: mcbrooks@register-herald.com