In the half-century since tenor Joe Bonsall joined the Oak Ridge Boys - remarkably, he remains the newest member of the 4 - they have amassed 17 #1s on the US country charts. They have performed everywhere from Monte Carlo to Air Force One’s Oval Office in-flight. They are inductees of both the Gospel Music Hall of Fame (2000) and Country Music Hall of Fame (2015), in addition to the hallowed Grand Ole Opry (2011).
In 1981, the Oak Ridge Boys suddenly struck gold with a monster pop crossover hit: "Elvira." Bonsall is the Oak Ridge Boy who sang the impassioned lead vocal, that continues to mesmerize and invigorate audiences of all ages while he croons it as a great-grandfather today.
Last October, the Oak Ridge Boys performed in a Grand Ole Opry program that also featured Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, in addition to the Opry debut for Miko Marks. WOUB PBS’s Ian Saint spoke with Bonsall backstage from Dressing Room #1, named after the King of Country Music himself: Roy Acuff.
Bonsall and Saint held a career-spanning conversation. They discussed the unlikely origins of Elvira’s recording and pop chart reign, the Oak Ridge Boys drawing audiences of multi-generational families while Bonsall is a great-grandfather, how the Oak Ridge Boys nearly had the song that became Wynonna Judd’s breakout single as a solo artist, and Bobbie Gentry’s decision to suddenly vanish from public engagement. Bonsall also paid homage to several queens of country music: Jody Miller, Loretta Lynn, and Naomi Judd.