What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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OKLAHOMA 12 WHAT'S UP! JANUARY 30-FEBRUARY 5, 2022 Front Porch Singin' Oak Ridge Boys mix tried, true and new on current tour BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette R ichard Sterban is, in every interview, enthusiastic. In 2018, he was excited about playing a Christmas show in Branson — and then getting home to Nashville for the holiday itself. In 2019, he was keen on his recent memoir, a chance to talk about his halcyon days with J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, when he rode into the music business on the coattails of the man he calls "the biggest star in the world," Elvis Presley. This month, after two years of a global pandemic, Sterban is delighted to be on the road, playing music again with his friends of half a century, the Oak Ridge Boys. The band will stop Feb. 3 for one night only at Cherokee Casino in West Siloam Springs, part of a tour supporting their 2021 album, "Front Porch Singin'." The recording, produced by "one of the hottest producers in Nashville," Dave Cobb, at historic RCA Studio, was a silver lining in the lockdown that kept Sterban at home for months on end. When Cobb felt like recording was safe, he invited the Oak Ridge Boys into the studio, saying he wanted to "capture the feeling of four guys gathering on a front porch and just singing in an informal way," Sterban says. "We were just so happy to be together," Sterban says. "And we found some great old songs, some great gospel songs and, because Dave knows the young, hot names, some brand new country songs as well. It's a nice mixture. But the most important thing is, it's all very meaningful in nature — songs that will help people going through this pandemic." Sterban says the Oak Ridge Boys went back to playing live as soon as they could, but one of their first gigs at the Grand Ole Opry was for television, with no in-person audience. "It was really a strange feeling," he says, "and I think we realized then how important a live audience is. We also played the first night when the Opry allowed 100 percent capacity, and seeing the house full of people? What a great feeling that was! We thought maybe we were seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. "We were reminded how much we love what we do, how we love playing on stage, taking our music to our fans," he says. "People are ready to hear live music again. There's something very healing about live music, and we're even more honored to be able to do it now. It's true you don't completely appreciate what you've got until it's gone." The roots of the Oak Ridge Boys actually run clear back to World War II, when a band called the Georgia Clodhoppers would play music for workers at the nuclear facility at Oak Ridge, Tenn. Eventually, the band became the Oak Ridge Quartet and then the Oak Ridge Boys, and by the 1950s, they were regulars on the Grand Ole Opry's Friday night gospel show. Of the current members, baritone William Lee Golden came first, in 1965, followed by lead singer Duane Allen in 1966, bass singer Sterban in 1972 and tenor Joe Bonsall in 1973. 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," "Y'All Come Back Saloon" and many others. They've scored 12 gold, three platinum, and one double platinum album, plus one double platinum single, and had more than a dozen national No. 1 singles, more than 30 Top 10 hits, along with Grammy, Dove, ACM and CMA awards. In 2008 they were awarded the coveted Academy of Country Music Pioneer Award, and on Oct. 25, 2015, the Oak Ridge Boys were inducted into the elite Country Music Hall of Fame. "We have a lot of history," says Sterban, who is 78, " and still, we don't want it to end. We want to continue as long as the good Lord blesses us with good health. We love doing what we do. [The band members] are the very best of friends. And new music puts new life and new energy into us and our shows." The Oak Ridge Boys, including bass singer Richard Sterban at right, have been together for 50 years and they're not ready to quit yet. They're currently touring in support of their 2021 album, "Front Porch Singin'." (Courtesy Photo/Sandy Brokaw) FAQ Oak Ridge Boys: Front Porch Singin' Tour WHEN — 8 p.m. Feb. 3 WHERE — Cherokee Casino in West Siloam Springs COST — $35 INFO — cherokeecasino.com/ west-siloam-springs "People are ready to hear live music again. There's something very healing about live music, and we're even more honored to be able to do it now. It's true you don't completely appreciate what you've got until it's gone." — Richard Sterban