The Oak Ridge Boys—Duane Allen (left), Joe Bonsall, William Lee Golden, and Richard Sterban—have always had a special love for Christmas over their historic career.

Not many groups can trace their origins back as far as 1943, though that's when The Oak Ridge Quartet began. From appearances at the Grand Ole Opry in the 1940s and Time magazine in the '50s, the Oaks saw some 30 members come and go by the '60s. Come 1973, the group, then known as The Oak Ridge Boys, cemented their current lineup of William Lee Golden, Duane Allen, Joe Bonsall and Richard Sterban. The quartet went on to score smashes like "Elvira," "American Made," "Bobbie Sue" and "Thank God for Kids" in a run that's yielded five Grammys, countless County Music Association nods, and, performances for three presidents. Most recently, they released the new holiday album Christmas Cookies and launched a national tour. We recently caught up with Bonsall to talk about those Cookies, a little Oaks history, and other memories Yuletide and beyond.

After all these years, how do you guys keep going non-stop with such enthusiasm?

Joe Bonsall: Everybody wants to know how we maintain ourselves, and not only how, by why! This is a group of men who don't want to slow down or quit. If you look at groups like Alabama or the Statlers, they've each had guys in their groups who want to go off the road, and they got their way. If one guy felt that way in our group, I think that would be really tough to deal with, but our schedule doesn't slow and we have no desire to. Maybe there's a little fear if we slowed down, it would be the beginning of the end. But stopping to us would be unthinkable. Those two groups retired but the Oaks got new buses this year!

On the other side of the coin, you have to have the ability to do this well, and God has been good to the Oaks. We've been blessed and our guys are still feeling good and singing good. We give God honor and praise because good health is a blessing. Once the Oaks hit the stage, we sing our tails off, and it's a big time pro show. We leave it all on stage. Since the old gospel quartet—the legendary days—that's very important to the Oaks, and we feel blessed to be able to maintain it on that high level.

In recent years, your CDs have covered classic country to gospel to patriotic music. How do you know which season is most appropriate for a particular style?

Bonsall: Maybe sometimes you're guessing a little bit, but for most part, I think we're pretty good at reinventing ourselves and keeping things fresh creatively. Spring Hill has allowed us a lot, like From the Heart as a tribute to gospel music and Common Thread, which was a look at some hymns and some inspirational Oaks standards re-recorded. Colors was our patriotic favorites CD and The Journey was straight ahead country with an acoustic bluegrass feeling. From a recording standpoint doing different projects translate to a really cool variety in a big full show, while the four of us can utilize sounds and styles with how we stack our harmonies, which is kind of the secret of our sound.

When did the desire for recording Christmas music and your annual tour kick in?

Bonsall: In 1982 we had a gigantically popular Christmas album and tour thanks to "Thank God For Kids." We toured with Kenny Rogers in the '80s and we were like, "Hey, we can do this!" This year, we'll have the first half of the show with hits and the second half with Christmas tunes, including a lot from our new CD Christmas Cookies.

How is Christmas Cookies different from your many previous holiday projects?

Bonsall: We've done four Christmas records before, so to me it made no sense doing new Christmas music unless they were done differently than before. So this is actually an acoustic-based Christmas album along the formula of The Journey. It's a little more acoustic, a little more bluegrass and the title cut even has some Texas swing to it. There's a lot more fiddle and banjo as well. It was hard to find song we haven't done before, but we looked back and realized we'd never done "Jingle Bells." How did we miss that one? Richard does "I'll Be Home For Christmas," and even though Duane did it several years ago, it's a whole different style.

Aside from the standards, what messages are you hoping to spread with your original songs?

Bonsall: We want to wake up old memories for listeners, like on "Uncle Luther Made the Stuffin.'" He was a family friend who used to make stuffing for everybody at our house, but he never shared the recipe! He passed away recently, so I wrote the song for him, but it's also meant to recreate the family fun atmosphere of Christmas—the family coming over for dinner, fellowship and fun songs.

These days, more and more people are using politically correct terms to talk about Christmas. What's your take on that?

Bonsall: When newspapers interview us for the Christmas tour, they refuse to say the word "Christmas" when they ask us a question. I think that's a little weird, and when I reference the word "Christmas" in relation to our tour, they think we're crazy. Why should we as Christians not be able to celebrate Christmas? We don't get on stage and talk politics, but we do have a belief in God and Jesus Christ, and those values are etched in our hearts.

Have those beliefs ever created any controversy with your mainstream fans?

Bonsall: Very rarely. In fact, I haven't seen much at all, and we've been around a long time. If anyone takes time to know us, they know gospel is what we do. People know in their gut where we stand. If a few people might be offended, sorry, but it's our show. We sing and have fun and entertain, but we've gotta stand up for something. If you're Christian, you've gotta stand up and say so. Yes, I believe in Jesus as my personal savior. I like to say "Merry Christmas," even if that may ruffle a few feathers. If that offends someone, or they might not want to come hear us sing, I don't care. It isn't wishy washy, and we don't get in the gray!

What are some of your best memories of the Oaks' ride?

Bonsall: Our first big country hit came in 1977 with "Y'all Come Back Saloon," and that made it to juke boxes and truck stops. In '79 and '80 we were really starting to come of age, building a vehicle for "Elvira" and then going on the road and selling out coliseums. It was a fun time with lasers and lights, but a hectic time pulling you in every which way. Every year with the Oaks have been good years to me. I've enjoyed singing and am honored to be part of the group.

What else would the Oaks like to accomplish that they haven't already?

Bonsall: That's a hard one to answer, because we've done so much! When I was younger, I always wanted to play in a western movie, like Kenny Rogers did in The Gambler. I bet he could've taken us along and at least had us playing cards in the background! I also enjoy writing and now have seven books published, and I just finished a fiction novel I hope to get published.

As far as the group, I want to see us healthy, keep singing well and keep creating. I love the creative process, and the fact that something can be here today that wasn't here yesterday—whether that be a song, book, article or redesigned kitchen countertop. I think the creative process really drives all four guys, and we love finding new things to do.

Click here to read our review of the Oak Ridge Boys' latest Christmas album, Christmas Cookies. Visit Christianbook.com to listen to and buy their music.

© Andy Argyrakis, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

Click here for more interviews.

Click here to view our music review archives.

Visit the artist pages for related interviews and reviews.

				Try an Issue of Today's Christian Woman Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Today's Christian Woman coming, honor your invoice for just $17.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Today's Christian Woman as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up now for the Christian Music Today weekly newsletter:    RSS Feed   RSS Help