Get your own Free Home PageThe Oak Ridge Boys came to MCA in 1976 after being told by their producer that there was room for only one group in country music, and they were not that one. At MCA, they not only proved that theory worng, they broke the industry-wide mindset against groups in country music. Now there are at least a dozen successful groups in country music, all of whom owe part of their acceptance to The Oak Ridge Boys.
The Oaks still stand apart from all the group acts that have followed them. With occasional exceptions, all the rest have been based around one lead voice. No act in country music has ever come close to having four solo personalities. With four distinct voices, the Oaks have four times the range of musical textures and styles, and that, as much as their equally distinct harmony blend, is the key to their longevity.
Greatest Hits Three illustrates how The Oak Ridge Boys have evolved and broadened their musical horizons in the 80's while maintaining the solid home base of the group sound. Their 1982 crossover smash, "Bobbie Sue," the earliest cut in this collection, is a classic example. Richard Sterban hooks the chorus with his booming, window-rattling bass vocal, which then provides the anchor for the Oaks' floor-to-ceiling harmony singing.
The three hits from 1985 show the Oaks living up to their long history of ignoring musical boundaries. They recorded "Touch a Hand, Make a Friend" and took it to #1. Tenor singer Joe Bonsall stepped into the lead spot, reached up into a new falsetto range, and brought home another #1 with the catchy rhythm of "Little Things." Lead vocalist Duane Allen melded a message lyric to a rock track and hit with "Come On In (You Did the Best You Could Do)."
Their 1987 album Where the Fast Lane Ends yielded a pair of #1 hits - the romantically inspirational "It Takes a Little Rain (To Make Love Grow)" and the rock solid "This Crazy Love."
Heart Beat, included the hit "True Heart." The single showcased the Oaks in true form, pulling together with a strength that Joe Bonsall predicted would push mountains over.
The first single from Monongahela gave credence to Bonsall's statement. "Gonna Take a Lot of River" with a good-time cajun beat and a lively lead vocal from new baritone singer Steve Sanders, went straight to #1. The followup, "Bridges and Walls," proved once again that no group can pack as much power into a ballad as the Oaks.
"Take Pride in America," the final cut on Greatest Hits Three, was never a single but is familiar nonetheless from the Oaks' public service announcements for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They have donated their royalties from this song to the Take Pride in America Campaign.
The Oak Ridge Boys established a base, a starting point, for groups in country music when they arrived in 1976. As Greatest Hits Three shows, the standard by which all others are judged is still The Oak Ridge Boys.
Walter Carter
Journalist and author of The Oak Ridge Boys "Our Story"
(published by Contemporary Books © 1987)
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