The longtime member of the beloved country-gospel group passed away Tuesday.
Sad news this morning from Hendersonville, Tennessee: Joe Bonsall, a 50-year member of the Grammy-winning and crowd-pleasing country-gospel quartet The Oak Ridge Boys, passed away Tuesday from complications of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The multitalented Philadelphia native was 76.
The tragedy comes just one week after the death of Rusty Golden, son and frequent musical collaborator of fellow Oak Ridge Boy William Lee Golden.
Bonsall had announced last January in a statement posted on social media that he was retiring from performing due to failing health. “Many of you know I have been battling a slow onset (over 4 years now) of a neuromuscular disorder,” the charismatic tenor Bonsall said. “I am now to a point that walking is impossible so I have basically retired from the road. It has just gotten too difficult.”
He concluded his statement with praise for his replacement on what had been billed as The Oak Ridge Boys’ American Made: Farewell Tour. “There is a young man named Ben James singing for me out there and he needs your love and encouragement … his sound is different than mine but he brings a ton of talent to the table! The @oakridgeboys will finish the Farewell Tour without me but rest assured I am good with all of it! God’s Got It!!!”
Bonsall brought his trademark tenor sound to innumerable enduringly popular Oak Ridge Boys songs — including “Elvira,” “Bobby Sue,” “Y’All Come Back Saloon,” “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight” and many others — some of them crossover hits that scored on both the country and pop charts.
He and his fellow Oaks — William Lee Golden, Duane Allen, and Richard Sterban — were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015, following their election into Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2000. After decades of Grand Ole Opry visits, The Oak Ridge Boys officially joined the Opry family in 2011.
Bosnall also is the author of 11 books — including his latest, a memoir entitled I See Myself, which will be released in November.
“Joe loved to sing,” Bosnall’s representatives said Tuesday in a prepared statement. “He loved to read. He loved to write. He loved to play banjo. He loved working on the farm. And he loved the Philadelphia Phillies. But Jesus and his family always came first — and we will see him again on the Promised Day.”
At Bosnall’s request, there will be no funeral. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The ALS Association or to the Vanderbilt Medical Center ALS and Neuroscience Research Center.
The family is requesting privacy at this time.
Photography: John Mir
