Joe Bonsall of The Oak Ridge Boys passes

[CYdTracked]

Sad news, knew his health was deteriorating when he retired from touring late last year. It is now revealed that he had ALS.

Oak Ridge Boy Joe Bonsall Passes At Age 76 [Full Obituary]

Joe Bonsall, the high-energy tenor singer of The Oak Ridge Boys, died yesterday (July 9). As a [...]

musicrow.com

Probably known best for his lead on their biggest hit "Elvira" this is probably my favorite song he sang lead on and a fitting tribute now as well.



Edit: embedding of the video above is disabled so you will have to get to it separately. Here's a different performance of the same song

 

[Gunnerclone]

ORB and Alabama were two of my grandparents favorite “modern” acts in the 80’s. Saw them in concert quite a bit when I was a kid. There won’t ever be another group like ORB in country music again.

 

[CYdTracked]

ORB and Alabama were two of my grandparents favorite “modern” acts in the 80’s. Saw them in concert quite a bit when I was a kid. There won’t ever be another group like ORB in country music again.

Agree, I can't remember the last time I saw them in concert but it was maybe 10-15 years ago? Still sounded amazing, they still perform at the Grand Old Opry so I try to catch those on TV when they are on. This probably was one of Joe's last performances before he retired. You could tell he was getting fraile but still had his sense of humor.

 

[JM4CY]

I now have “ohmm papa mouh mouh” stuck in my head.

 

[CascadeClone]

ORB and Alabama were two of my grandparents favorite “modern” acts in the 80’s. Saw them in concert quite a bit when I was a kid. There won’t ever be another group like ORB in country music again.

ORB greatest hits was definitely one of the historical documents that we grew up on.

 

[Cyforce]

My first concert, 5 seasons center in CR, IN 82.

 

[KnappShack]

I now have “ohmm papa mouh mouh” stuck in my head.

That guy must trip over his sack

 

[4cy16]

That guy must trip over his sack

That is from Richard Sterban.

 

[CYdTracked]

That is from Richard Sterban.

One of the best bass singers of all time. A guy they have fill in for him once in awhile may even have a deeper voice. Do a YouTube search for Aaron McCune. He hits some even lower notes than Richard does on Elvira but the one I like is he sings "The Way I Am" by Merle Haggard and hits a crazy low note on his version of singing that.

 

[4cy16]

One of the best bass singers of all time. A guy they have fill in for him once in awhile may even have a deeper voice. Do a YouTube search for Aaron McCune. He hits some even lower notes than Richard does on Elvira but the one I like is he sings "The Way I Am" by Merle Haggard and hits a crazy low note on his version of singing that.

I'm not saying your wrong, but Richard Sterban is 81 and maybe doesn't hit that low note as well as he used to.

 

[IASTATE07]

ALS is such an awful disease.

 

[CYdTracked]

I'm not saying your wrong, but Richard Sterban is 81 and maybe doesn't hit that low note as well as he used to.

I agree, in his prime he belted out some silky smooth bass notes that not many can hit with ease. Age obviously makes it tougher tonhit those notes now. If you find some of Aaron's videos you'll see what I mean, he has a very impressive range. I still think Richard is the GOAT of bass singers.

I kind of hope the ORB can just pass the torch on by bringing on new members as they guys retire just like how they all were not the first members of the group too. Doubt that happens but it would be neat if they did to carry on their great music catalog. Joe's fill in Ben James is pretty good and much more of a true tenor and they basically have a bass in waiting with Aaron if they wanted to go that route. May be tougher to replace Duane and William Lee but all 4 have had health issues at 1 point or another that they had someone fill in while they recovered so it is possible. Wish I could get to 1 more show before the other 3 retire but they aren't coming through central Iowa last I looked at their farewell tour schedule.