Theirs is one of the most dis… Read Full Bio ↴THE TRADITION CONTINUES ...
Theirs is one of the most distinctive and recognizable sounds in the music industry. The four-part harmonies and upbeat songs of The Oak Ridge Boys have spawned dozens of country hits and a #1 pop smash, earned them Grammy, Dove, CMA and ACM awards and garnered a host of other industry and fan accolades. Every time they step before an audience, the Oaks bring 15 years of hits and 50 years of tradition to bear on a stage show widely acknowledged as among the most exciting anywhere. And, each remains as enthusiastic about the process as they have ever been.
"When I go on stage, I get the same feeling I had the first time I sang with The Oak Ridge Boys," says lead singer Duane Allen. "This is the only job I've ever wanted to have."
"Like everyone else in the group," adds bass singer extraordinaire Richard Sterban, "I was a fan of the Oaks before I became a member. I'm still a fan of the group today. Being in The Oak Ridge Boys is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream."
The two, along with tenor Joe Bonsall and baritone William Lee Golden, comprise one of country's truly legendary acts. Their string of hits includes the pop chart-topper "Elvira," as well as "Bobbie Sue," "Dream On," "Thank God For Kids," "American Made," "I Guess It Never Hurts To Hurt Sometimes," "Fancy Free," "Gonna Take A Lot Of River" and many others. They've scored ten gold, three platinum and one double platinum album, one double platinum single, and had more than a dozen national #1 singles.
The Oaks represent a tradition that extends back to 1943, before Hank Williams had a career. The original group, based in Knoxville, TN, began performing country and gospel music in nearby Oak Ridge where the atomic bomb was being developed. They called themselves the Oak Ridge Quartet, and they began regular Grand Ole Opry appearances in the fall of '45. In the mid-'50s, they were featured in Time magazine as one of the top drawing gospel groups in the nation.
By the late '60s, with more than 30 members having come and gone, they had a lineup that included Duane Allen, William Lee Golden, Noel Fox and Willie Wynn. Among the Oaks' many acquaintances in the gospel field were Bonsall, a streetwise Philadelphia kid who embraced gospel music wholeheartedly, and Sterban, who was singing in quartets and holding down a job as a men's clothing salesman. Both admired the distinctive, highly-popular Oaks.
"They were the most innovative quartet in gospel music," says Bonsall. "They performed gospel with a rock approach, had a full band, wore bell-bottom pants and grew their hair long ... things unheard of at the time."
The four became friends, and when the Oaks needed a bass and tenor, in '72 and '73 respectively, Sterban and Bonsall got the calls. The group remained a highly popular mainstay on the gospel circuit, and it was there they refined the strengths that would soon make them such an across-the-board attraction.
"We did a lot of package shows," said Bonsall, "and there was an incredible amount of competition. You had to blow people away to sell records and get invited back."
Their gospel sound had a distinct pop edge to it, and while it made for excitement and popularity, it also ruffled purist feathers and left promoters unsure about the Oaks' direction. Then, in 1975, the Oaks were booked to open a number of dates for Roy Clark, whose manager was floored by their abilities.
"He came backstage and told us we were three-and-a-half minutes ' meaning one hit record ' away from being a major act," says Bonsall. "He said we had one of the most dynamic stage shows he'd ever seen, but that we had to start singing country songs."
They took his advice, and the result was a breakthrough.
"Those who came to country music with or after the New Traditionalists of the mid-'80s cannot possibly imagine the impact the Oaks had in 1977 when they lit up the sky from horizon to horizon with "Y'All Come Back Saloon," said Billboard's Ed Morris, who added "... the vocal intensity the group brought to it instantly enriched and enlivened the perilously staid country format. These guys were exciting."
Within a year, Paul Simon would tap them to sing backup for his hit "Slip Slidin' Away," and they would go on to record with George Jones, Brenda Lee, Johnny Cash, Roy Rogers, Billy Ray Cyrus and others. They would appear before three presidents, produce one of the first country music videos ("Easy," in 1977, which wasn't released in the U.S. but hit #3 in Australia), take part in the first headline tour of the USSR, and become one of the most enduringly-successful touring groups anywhere.
They did it with a consistently upbeat musical approach and terrific business savvy.
"We always look for songs that have lasting value and that are uplifting," says Allen. "You don't hear us singing 'cheating' or 'drinking' songs, but 'loving' songs, because we think that will last. We also don't put music in categories, except for 'good' or 'bad.' When we get through with it, it's probably going to sound like an Oak Ridge Boys song no matter what it is."
They proved their business acumen in any number of ways, including such steps as declining the chance to sit on the couch during their many appearances on the Tonight Show.
"We said, 'If you're going to give us four minutes on the couch with Johnny, we'd rather have four minutes to give you another song that lets people know what got us here,'" says Allen. "We didn't get here talking; we got here singing," They also proved themselves to be capable and tireless advocates of charitable and civic causes, serving as spokesmen and/or board members of fundraisers for the Boy Scouts of America, the National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse, Feed The Children, and many more.
The group's first personnel change in many years occurred in 1987 when Steve Sanders, who had been playing guitar in The Oaks Band, replaced William Lee as the baritone singer. Late in '95, Steve resigned from the Oaks and exactly one minute after midnight on New Year's Eve, Duane, Joe and Richard surprised the packed house at Holiday Star Theatre in Merrillville, IN, by welcoming William Lee on stage and back in group. The hitmakers were finally together again!
The Oaks' high-energy stage show remains the heart and soul of what they do, and they refine it several times a year, striving to keep it fresh well into the future.
"We're not willing to rest on our laurels," Golden says. "That gets boring. As a group, we do things constantly to challenge ourselves, to try to do something different or better than the last time we did it."
"I feel like I can do what I do on stage just as good now as I could 20 years ago," says Bonsall. "in fact, if anything, I'm in better shape now than I was 20 years ago. I plan to be rockin' my tail off out there as long as I'm healthy and don't look stupid doing it. The people who come out, who bring their families to see us, deserve everything I've got."
"We've experienced a lot of longevity," adds Sterban, "and I think the reason is the love we have for what we do - the desire, the longing to actually get up there and do it. We love to sing together ... to harmonize together. It's what our lives are all about."
Something In The Water
The Oak Ridge Boys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And wet my line down at the fishing hole
Found you sitting there in a calico dress
On the banks, bare feeting hanging over the edge.
It was July hot, about a hundred and ten
That river looked inviting so we jumped right in
We'd only been friends up until that summer
Something in the water that we did not see
Reached up and grabbed a hold of you and me
Jumped in to cool off but we came out hotter
Lord have mercy must be something in the water.
We started smiling then we started laughing
We swam around, kicking and a splashing
Not sure exactly just what it was, but we
Dove in the river and fell in love.
Look at the surface, you don't see nothing
But underneath, Lord, it's really something
One little kiss was all it took
Came here to fish and we sure got hooked.
Something in the water that we did not see
Reached up and grabbed a hold of you and me
Jumped in to cool off but we came out hotter
Lord have mercy must be something in the water.
I believe that I could make a million bucks
If I could only find a way to bottle it up.
Something in the water that we did not see
Reached up and grabbed a hold of you and me
Jumped in to cool off but we came out hotter
Lord have mercy must be something in the water.
Lord have mercy must be something in the water.
The Oak Ridge Boys's song "Something In The Water" tells a sweet and unexpected love story that starts off innocently as two friends decide to cool off in a river in the middle of a hot summer day. As they jump in, they feel a powerful force pulling them deeper and deeper, and before they know it, they are in each other's arms, smiling and laughing. They don't know exactly what it is that made them fall in love, but there was definitely "Something in the water that we did not see."
The song's lyrics use water as a metaphor for love, with the surface of the river hiding what lies beneath. The chorus emphasizes this theme as it repeats "Jumped in to cool off but we came out hotter/Lord have mercy must be something in the water." The playful and lighthearted tone of the song, combined with the catchy melody, makes it a fun and enjoyable listen, perfect for a summer day.
Line by Line Meaning
One day I decided I would go
I made a spontaneous decision to go somewhere on my own.
And wet my line down at the fishing hole
I went to a place where I could fish.
Found you sitting there in a calico dress
I saw you sitting by the river wearing a colorful dress.
On the banks, bare feeting hanging over the edge.
You were sitting with your bare feet hanging over the edge of the river bank.
It was July hot, about a hundred and ten
The weather was very hot in the month of July, about a hundred and ten degrees Fahrenheit.
That river looked inviting so we jumped right in
The river looked very attractive so we decided to jump in it.
We'd only been friends up until that summer
We had been only friends until that summer.
But that all changed the moment we went under.
Our relationship changed instantly when we went under the river water.
Something in the water that we did not see
There was something in the water that we couldn't see.
Reached up and grabbed a hold of you and me
That unseen thing in the water caught hold of both of us.
Jumped in to cool off but we came out hotter
We jumped into the water to cool off, but we came out feeling hotter instead.
Lord have mercy must be something in the water.
It must have been the water itself that caused something to happen between us.
We started smiling then we started laughing
We began to smile and laugh when we realized what was happening to us.
We swam around, kicking and a splashing
We swam around, kicking and splashing in the water.
Not sure exactly just what it was, but we
We were not sure exactly what was happening, but we knew that it was something different.
Dove in the river and fell in love.
We dived into the river water and fell in love with each other.
Look at the surface, you don't see nothing
When you look at the surface of the water, there appears to be nothing special.
But underneath, Lord, it's really something
But beneath the surface of the water, there is really something extraordinary happening.
One little kiss was all it took
All it took was one kiss to confirm our love for each other.
Came here to fish and we sure got hooked.
We intended to come here just for fishing, but our love for each other hooked us instead.
I believe that I could make a million bucks
I believe that I could earn a lot of money if I could find a way to bottle that special feeling.
If I could only find a way to bottle it up.
If only I could find a way to preserve that special feeling forever.
Lord have mercy must be something in the water.
That special thing that happened between us must have been caused by something in the water itself.
Lord have mercy must be something in the water.
It must have been the water that made us fall in love with each other.
Contributed by Max A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
JDouglas
on King Jesus
There are rumors that this was created in a recording studio. I think it's possible, but I can remember buying the album in 1974 just to listen to the live version of King Jesus. I still have the album after 50 years. Ahh, you're in store for a great singin' tonight. . . is a precious memory I have of that album.