Oak Ridge Boys bring farewell tour to New Philadelphia

For a group on their farewell tour, The Oak Ridge Boys do not sound like they are ready to retire anytime soon. The group released a new album last month with their newest member who filled the spot of Joe Bonsall, who retired due to health issues. Bonsall passed away in July.

Guitarist and vocalist Ben James joined longtime Oak’s members Richard Sterban, Duane Allen and William Lee Golden on the tour. The Country Music Hall of Fame group’s hit songs include “Elvira,” “Bobbie Sue,” “Thank God for Kids,” “American Made” and others.

James formerly toured with Dailey and Vincent. Sterban, the distinctive bass voice in the Oak Ridge Boys, feels James was handpicked by Bonsall.

“A couple years ago, when Joe was still able to go out and perform, we did a show together with them. When we got to the end of our show and we were doing ‘Elvira,’ (the Dailey and Vincent group) came out on stage, and they joined us while we were doing ‘Elvira,’” Sterban said.

Bonsall sang the first verse of the song. When it came to the second verse, he handed his microphone to James to sing the second verse.

“When we heard him sing, we went, ‘Wow, this young kid can really, really sing,’” Sterban said. “And then we found that he was a big fan of Joe’s. He knew everything that Joe had ever sung. He and Joe hit it off, and they sort of corresponded back and forth.”

When Bonsall retired, he recommended James take his place for the farewell tour.

“He’s brought a lot of youth, a lot of energy to our group and a great deal of talent,” Sterban said.

The Oak Ridge Boys weren’t the only ones to notice James’ talent. Dave Cobb, a producer in Nashville, approached the group about recording a new album that included James. The new album is called “Mama’s Boys.”

“It’s an album that contains songs about our mothers. It’s not just about honoring our mothers, but the songs basically talk about the values that our mothers passed down to us over the years,” Sterban said. “We were all raised in Christian homes. We all had godly mothers, and they taught us right from wrong. They taught us to always do the right thing, to tell the truth, to be very honest in our business dealings, and most importantly, they taught us to love people.”

The new album contains one surprise.

“I remember when Dave Cobb played this song for us, ‘I Thought About You, Lord.’ He said, ‘You’ll never guess who wrote this song,’” Sterban said.

Cobb said the song was written by Willie Nelson.

“Then our next question to Dave Cobb was, ‘Do you think we can get Willie Nelson to sing on this record with us?’” Sterban said. “It’s something that was always on our bucket list. He was someone that we wanted to sing with, and we were able to accomplish that.”

With the passing of Bonsall and several other close family members of those in the group, continuing to tour is therapeutic. Sterban and Bonsall were friends prior to singing together. Sterban once worked selling men’s clothing, and Bonsall would come to visit and occasionally buy a shirt.

“Mainly, we talked about music. And we talked about someday singing together. We had no idea back then that someday we would both be members of The Oak Ridge Boys and sing together for well over 50 years,” Sterban said. “(Bonsall’s death) was a difficult thing to go through, but we’re surviving. I think that the fact that we’re still doing this farewell tour and we’re still singing, it’s helping us get through this difficult time. Music is very healing.”

The Oaks could have just announced their retirement, but they are committed to the farewell tour.

“We’ve had a very great career, over 50 years, some of the guys close to 60 years. And we decided what we would like to do is take some time and go to as many places as we can possibly go to and thank people,” Sterban said.

Sterban and the rest of The Oaks are looking forward to seeing their fans at the Performing Arts Center in New Philadelphia on Nov. 21.

“We have some new energy about us right now. We’re excited about touring with Ben James, and we’re excited about coming to Kent State Tuscarawas,” Sterban said.

Tickets for The Oak Ridge Boys start at $65 and are on sale at the Performing Arts Center box office, by calling 330-308-6400 or by visiting www.kent.edu/tuscpac. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Performing Arts Center is located on the campus of Kent State Tuscarawas at 330 University Drive NE in New Philadelphia.