I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 18, 1948, the son of Joseph, Sr. and Lillie M. Bonsall.

Growing up in Philly during the Rock and Roll explosion had a very profound effect on me. American Bandstand, “Do Wop,” and Elvis instilled in my heart a real desire to someday be a Rock and Roll star.

I actually started singing when my mother entered me into a WCAU-TV talent contest. I was just four years old and sang, “If They Made Me A King.” I came in third.

Throughout my childhood my mom encouraged me to keep on singing. And I did — at church, at school, for my neighbors, and in my back room. My only sister, Nancy, was born August 24, 1953. I sang to her as well!

During my more-rebellious, early teen years, walking the streets at night with a gang of thugs became more important to me than music – and I arrived at a very important crossroad in my life. Some Christian kids in the neighborhood talked me into attending a Southern Gospel music quartet performance at Ardmore Jr. High School in the suburbs. A youth leader named Bunky Smulling actually bribed me.

“Go with us to this concert, and I will take you down to the Shore (Wildwood, NJ) in my Buick convertible next weekend……. with the top down.”

It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. If Nancy Hanstein from down the block or
Linda Sidelsky from around the corner saw me in that Buick……. but that’s another story!

For the first time, I saw the Blackwood Brothers and the Couriers sing four-part Gospel harmony live — and my life changed. My new love for Gospel music even led me to a church camp in Medford, New Jersey, where I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. Bunky took me there as well.

I would need my newfound faith to help my family deal with my father’s stroke. Life as a thug was getting old and dangerous, and I had the scars to prove it. I also needed a life change. (Funny. If not for a 1960 white Buick Special convertible with a red and white interior, who knows where I might be today.)

Well, today, I am a thirty-year member of the American music group The Oak Ridge Boys. Still singing Gospel and a whole bunch of Country and Rock and Roll. In FOUR PART HARMONY!

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