This piece was published in a popular Gospel Music periodical in 2002. (JSB)

There have been so many good things that have happened to The Oak Ridge
Boys over the last few years as it relates to Gospel music.

It all seemed to begin with a call from William Lee Golden late in the
summer of 2000. In this day and age of e-mail, we don?t use the phone
much anymore, so I was a bit surprised to hear the phone ring. And I was
even more surprised at what he told me!

"Joey, I just found out that we are going to be inducted into the Gospel
Music Hall of Fame! They said it was for our contributions over all
these years!"

What an incredible blessing! What a surprise! What an honor!

Ironically, we were already in the process of planning and working on
From The Heart, our first Gospel album in over 25 years. What a
coincidence, if one believes in that sort of thing! I, however, believe
that it was truly a part of God's plan and His hand of direction upon
our lives.

I hung up the phone and immediately thanked my Lord. Then for a long
while I just sat on my front porch and gazed out over the green pastures
and tree lines of my little piece of Tennessee. I felt very emotional
about it all. More so than I could have ever imagined. Later on I found
out that each of my singing partners had experienced the same exact
feelings.

I shut my eyes and let my mind?s eye take a good, hard look back over
many years! I saw a young Philly boy at his first Gospel singing. A
fifteen-year-old future thug who really needed a life change! I could
see the Couriers, Cathedrals, Blackwoods, Statesman, and Speers. I could
hear the power harmony and the message that eventually changed my life
and led me to Christ. I saw the early days of singing: vans, cars
pulling U- Hauls, camp meeting grounds, record racks, and sound sets. I
could see church services, high school auditoriums, old buses, quartet
suits, no money at all, and yet always enjoying every minute of singing!

I could see the Oaks in all stages of our career: singing, starving,
singing, laughing, singing, crying, singing, riding, singing, flying,
singing on and on and on. Yes, always singing, no matter what. Hanging
tough, persevering, giving all of ourselves in every performance every
night, whether singing for two hundred folks or twenty thousand.

That was The Oak Ridge Boys' way. Even after all these years, I still
feel that same way about hitting the stage every night in whatever town
and city we are playing. I believe that is one of the reasons we are
still around today, traveling and singing and "being" the Oaks!

However, it didn't start with us. To really understand The Oak Ridge
Boys and what we are all about, we must all let our mind's eye look back
a bit into the past, for it is always the past that helps us to define
where we are now and where we might be going in the future.

The Oak Ridge Boys have a very interesting history that dates back to
1945. It is a history that is steeped in the tradition of Southern-style
Gospel music! William Lee Golden first joined the Oaks in 1965,
replacing Jim Hamill, who had replaced Gary McSpadden in 1964 (who had
replaced Ron Page in 1962). Duane Allen joined the group in 1966, after
singing for a year with the Prophets Quartet. He replaced Smitty Gatlin.
Richard Sterban started singing the bass for us in 1972, replacing Noel
Fox who had replaced Herman Harper. Richard had been with the Stamps
Quartet and the Keystones before that. I joined in 1973, replacing one
of the most popular tenors ever, Willie Wynn. Richard and I had
previously sung together for years up North in the Keystones.

Although the four of us are the ones that America identifies as The Oak
Ridge Boys, we owe much to those who have held the banner high, long
before any of us became members. Each of us has the unique experience of
having been huge fans of the Oaks long before we ever joined.

As a Gospel disc jockey in 1964, Duane Allen chartered a bus full of
listeners from his hometown of Taylortown, Texas, and took them to a
performance of the Oaks in Fort Worth. From the time a young Bill Golden
from Brewton, Alabama, first heard The Oak Ridge Boys' old Warner
Brothers album Folk-Minded Spirituals For Spiritual-Minded Folk, he saw
himself as a member of the group. As young singers from the Philadelphia
area, Richard and I pretty much believed that The Oak Ridge Boys were
the most innovative and energetic group that we had ever seen, and we
still cannot believe that we eventually became a vital part of its
history!

At a show in Missouri two years ago, 82-year-old Lon "Deacon" Freeman
joined us on stage to sing a few Gospel songs. "The Deacon," who lives
in Georgia, was a member of the original Oak Ridge Quartet out of
Knoxville, Tennessee, in the '40s and into the '50s. Back then the Oaks
played the Grand Ole Opry and started the original All Night Singings at
the Ryman. Their bluegrass-styled, four-part harmonies were loved
throughout the South.

So there I was, a 25-year member of a group who is singing on stage with
an 82-year-old man who had sung in the same group years ago. Wow! After
the show "the Deacon" said, "Well, one thing hasn't changed. The Oak
Ridge Boys always did rock the house!"

Somewhat mind-boggling, it was one of the greatest nights I can remember
as an Oak. Perhaps someday some younger guys will keep this tradition
going and maybe an 82-year-old Joe Bonsall will join them on stage and
"rock the house!" Hey, it could happen!

Duane Allen, William Lee Golden, and Richard Sterban also share these
same kinds of feelings and memories. We take this history to the stage
each night and although our music has expanded quite a bit over the
years, and we do not really make our living on the Gospel music circuit
anymore, one cannot deny the influence of that Southern Gospel,
four-part harmony in each song that we sing - no matter what the genre may
be. Just listen to a few Oaks? standards like Dig A Little Deeper In The
Well, Everyday, You're The One, Touch a Hand, It Takes A Little Rain,
and Thank God For Kids, to name a few.

It is always Gospel music that reflects our roots and our beginnings.
And Gospel music is the address where our heritage resides. To a man, I
can honestly say it is still and will always be our first love. So it is
easy to understand why recording From The Heart meant so very much to
all of us last year. We will be eternally grateful to Spring Hill
Records for giving us the opportunity at this wonderful time in our
lives to pay tribute to our musical roots and to our Lord and Savior.

We wanted the album to be about Christ and His blessings. We wanted
diversity and honesty in the music, and most of all we wanted to sing
great Gospel songs that we could really feel in our hearts. Thanks to
Duane Allen and Michael Sykes this all happened! They produced a
collection of songs that helped us to accomplish each goal that we had
set for ourselves with From The Heart.

ANGELS WATCHING OVER ME.........no kidding!!!
SHOW ME THE WAY TO GO.........William Lee at his best!!
FALL TO FLY.........I am honored to be able to sing such a song. Thanks,
Kyle Matthews.
I KNOW WHAT LIES AHEAD.........big Southern Gospel radio hit. Thanks,
Gospel radio!
IF NOT FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST.........The Ace, Duane Allen sings from
HIS heart.
THEN YOU?LL SEE.........William Lee teared-up singing it. Thanks to
Garland Craft who wrote it.
I?M WORKING ON A BUILDING.........What fun. Richard?s lowest note ever!!!
WRITE YOUR NAME ACROSS MY HEART.........Classic Duane Allen. Thanks to
writer Randy Van Warmer.
THE FIRST STEP TO HEAVEN.........Bluegrass time! Go, Richard!!
A MANSION THERE FOR YOU.........Joey still must ROCK!
LOVING GOD, LOVING EACH OTHER.........pretty well sums it all up!!

The fact that From The Heart was nominated for a Grammy and actually won a
GMA Dove award for Best Country Gospel Album only added to the
blessings. We even had the opportunity to sing on a Bill Gaither video
as a result of From The Heart. What a terrific experience for us to be
surrounded by our old Gospel friends, as well as some of the great new
young acts that are singing today. Everyone treated us with love and
respect and it meant a lot to us.

All of a sudden Gospel radio has been playing the Oaks again, which is
very cool. From The Heart has also given us a chance to add a lot of
wonderful new Gospel songs to our show each night. Gospel music still
goes over big time, no matter where we are playing!

As of this writing, the Oaks and Michael Sykes have just finished a new
Christmas album for Spring Hill Music. It will be released in September
of 2002. The album will be called "An Inconvenient Christmas," based on a
wonderful a song written by Kyle Matthews that tells us, that no matter how
stressed we might get over the Holidays, the most Inconvenient Christmas ever
was...... WAS THE FIRST!!

Along with some great standards?including The Hallelujah Chorus (it was
really hard, but WE DID IT!), there are several new songs that focus on
the true meaning of Christmas, and some that represent the fun and
romantic side of the season. Once again, Duane Allen, Michael Sykes, and
David Ponder (along with great musicians and songwriters) have helped
the Oaks accomplish a wonderful goal. We all pray that The Oak Ridge
Boys An Inconvenient Christmas CD will be a real blessing to many homes
at Christmastime!

You will also see an Oak Ridge Boys' television special this Christmas
season. Taped at the Grand Palace in July, the show was produced in
association with Rev. Larry Jones and Feed The Children. The show is a
first class production directed by Sherman Halsey and will give us an
opportunity to share our Christmas music with America. As we have done
for 15 straight years now, the Oaks have put together a Christmas tour
for the holidays. So, please, look for us to come your way with a brand
new Christmas tour in 2002 - filled with lots of new material.

Yes, God has truly blessed The Oak Ridge Boys. We still play over 160
days a year in beautiful theaters, at performing arts centers,
festivals, and fairs all across this great land of ours. And if God
continues to bless us with good health, we have no plans of stopping!
Good things keep happening to the "Boys," and we are grateful to all of
you who have been a part of our history and our success.

On a side note, one cannot help but feel some anguish over the things
that are going on in the world today, however we get to look into the
faces and hearts of America almost every day, and we are thrilled to
report that most people are positive, prayerful, and faithful about the
future of our nation.

The United States of America is still the greatest country on Earth.
Where else could four young boys from Brewton, Alabama; Taylortown,
Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Camden, New Jersey, live out the
dreams of our childhood? We are still out there singing, and we do not
ever take one hour of any day for granted.

Yes, God has truly blessed The Oak Ridge Boys, and we give Him the
honor, praise, and glory for all that He has done for us in our lives.
We are no longer the young guys on the block. We have seen the world and
experienced a lot of life, both the ups and the downs. Together as men,
as brothers, and as friends, The Oak Ridge Boys still have a lot of songs
to sing and a message to bring. We are all so very thankful.

May God continue to bless America!

Joe Bonsall
June 28, 2002 (on a bus ride through California)

Visit the Oaks online at http://www.oakridgeboys.com