Oak Ridge Boys finally go live for CD
The Oak Ridge Boys have made performing live second nature for 41 years, so what took four decades in putting together a recording of live music?
Richard Sterban, the bass voice for the country quartet, which is returning to the Alabama Theatre in North Myrtle Beach Saturday for a 7 p.m. concert, said the “Boys Night Out” album, released this year on Cleopatra Records, accomplished “something we always wanted to do” and delivered on a longtime request from fans.
Last week, by phone before a concert in Pocatello, Idaho, Sterban said this quest for the live CD — also released by digital download and on vinyl with seven songs per side — simply got “put on the back burner” repeatedly, but unintentionally.
“It seemed like something always would come up,” he said, “or another opportunity presented itself.”
Those diversions of late have included another Christmas collection, “Christmas Time’s A’Coming,” from 2012 in the Gaither Gospel Series, and “It’s Only Natural,” the previous year in a package sold through the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store chain. However, last year, “we took the bull by the horn,” Sterban said, and with production by lead singer Duane Allen, “Boys Night Out” saw daylight.
Concerts mic’d up for week
From 11 shows “mic’ed up” in a week at Don Laughlin’s Riverside Casino and Resort in Nevada, where they play every February, Allen, Sterban, tenor Joe Bonsall and baritone William Lee Golden arrived at what Sterban sees as “our greatest hits done live,” later with some studio tweaks, but staying “very careful not to go over that line.”
They also noticed that “pretty much, the first 30 rows were the same fans every night,” Sterban said, so the group “mixed up the songs every night to keep it fresh for the the fans and for us.”
“The fans were a very big part of this project,” he said.
The married father of five said he also caught word about a month ago that “American Made” — the second number on “Boys Night Out” — has “made the top of the charts in Portugal,” so the music has stretched generations and cultures.
For trimming the live album’s list to 14 songs, “the hardest thing to decide was which songs were left off,” Sterban said, but most of the choices kept “were pretty obvious,” with balance given so that each man’s individual roles in the music take turns to shine, just like in any live show.
They include two on which Sterban’s resonating vocals illuminate for intervals: “Elvira” and the album closer, “Bobbie Sue.”
Sterban said the Oaks, also Grand Ole Opry inductees, arrange each concert performance so every guy has several chances for lead vocals, and “we mix up keys” for variety.
“You come to see an Oaks show,” he said, “ and you’re going to see that.”
Cruisin’ at sea among stars
The Oaks will set sail in mid-January for the 2015 Caribbean “Country Music Cruise,” from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., among “a star-studded lineup,” including Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, Martina McBride and Charley Pride. Sterban said plans for one night call for teaming up with the Gatlins for a gospel show, because “they come from a similar background as we do, with gospel music.”
After the voyage, the Oaks will begin another studio project, Sterban said, “to return to our roots” for a collection of hymns that “anyone who has ever gone to church or Sunday school” will know well, such as “Blessed Assurance” and “Rock of Ages.” He also said, with Allen also working with The Issacs for a bluegrass sound for this endeavor, to expect an acoustic feel for this.
“These songs will maintain the integrity of these old hymns,” Sterban said, “but we’ll freshen them up a little bit, with a new touch.”
Although neither the CD title or release date are set yet, Sterban said, “just two weeks ago, we took pictures for the cover.”
He sees multiple reasons for longevity by the group, with this lineup that premiered in 1973, and going back to the other men who built and carried the group’s foundation in the 1940s from its namesake town in eastern Tennessee.
“When you look at an Oaks audience every night,” Sterban said, “you see a wide demographic range.”
“Grandma and Grandpa are certainly out there,” he said, but their concerts reflect “age diversity” and remain family, “kid friendly” outings.
‘It hasn’t gotten old’
Atop everything else, though, Sterban said for the quartet, “it hasn’t gotten old.”
“We’re still having fun doing this,” he said, “and it’s important to note that we do not plan on retiring anytime soon.”
Sterban said the foursome just finished filming Sept. 22 on a TV Christmas special to benefit the American Legion and air later this year, with guest stars such as Gatlin and Mary Sarah.
“We love working very hard to help veterans,” Sterban said. “It’s something near and dear to our hearts.”
So is returning to the Grand Strand twice a year to play the Alabama Theatre.
“We love that theater,” Sterban said. “The acoustics are great in there, and there’s not a bad seat in the house.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2014 at 5:29 PM with the headline "Oak Ridge Boys finally go live for CD."