Opry member Little Jimmy Dickens invites the Oak Ridge Boys to join the Grand Ole Opry. Photo courtesy of Schmidt Relations.

A show at the Grand Ole Opry can be full of surprises — and tonight was no exception. Congratulations to the legendary Oak Ridge Boys, who were invited to join the Grand Ole Opry! The quartet, made up of William Lee Golden, Joe Bonsall, Richard Sterban, and Duane Allen, will be formally inducted into the Opry family on Saturday, August 6.

After the Oaks performed their hit “Y’All Come Back Saloon,” 62-year Opry member Jimmy Dickens surprised the group by walking onstage dressed as a 4’11” William Lee Golden, including long beard and sunglasses. “All my life I’ve wanted to be a little bitty Oak Ridge Boy,” Dickens announced to raucous laughter in the Opry House. “On August 6th, I will become the newest member of the Oak Ridge Boys, and at that time, you will become the newest members of the Grand Ole Opry!”

Joe Bonsall responded for the group, saying, “Jimmy, that’s the funniest thing we’ve ever seen, first of all. This is a brotherhood and sisterhood unlike any other. We have been friends Continue Reading

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The Oak Ridge Boys Photo Credit: Jarrett Gaza

It’s one thing for the video of a current hit to rack up views on the web by the thousands. But it’s particularly impressive when a song that was never intended for the commercial mainstream lands more than a million hits. That’s exactly what’s happened to a live Oak Ridge Boys video that apparently struck a chord with military families around the globe.

Joe Bonsall, the lead voice on the group’s best-selling single “Elvira,” delivers a solo in the concert clip of “G.I. Joe And Lillie,” a song that encapsulates the story of his parents’ relationship, which began when both were serving during World War II. Written by Joe, the song traces their first meeting, her support through the Senior Joe’s continued battles with war wounds, and their eventual hospitalization in their later years.

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The Oak Ridge Boys Photo Credit: Jarrett Gaza

By Bill Friskics-Warren

© 2009 CMA Close Up ® News Service / Country Music Association ®, Inc.

If anyone has proven the merits of the old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” it’s The Oak Ridge Boys.

For more than 35 years, the internationally renowned quartet has been making hit records, collecting honors that include three CMA Awards and selling out concert halls with much the same ebullient blend of Country, pop and gospel — and, except for one late ’80s interruption, the same four voices.

So what’s with the version of the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” on the quartet’s new Spring Hill Music album, The Boys are Back? And not just that, but what about the hip-hop-inflected rhythms on the title track and producer David Cobb’s blues- and rock-influenced arrangements elsewhere on the album? Continue Reading

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