
Just a few weeks into the New Year, The Oak Ridge Boys have already mapped tour plans through the end of 2004.
The country icons are on the road now, and have scheduled dates during every month of this year. Included in the band's itinerary are numerous multi-night stands at The Grand Palace in Branson, MO.
The group continues to back its May 2003 release, "Colors," the latest entry in a decades-long catalog that spans more than 40 years. The new set, which debuted at No. 56 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, is nominated for a GRAMMY® award in the Best Country Performance by a Group or Duo with Vocal category.
The album's latest single, "This is America," is No. 1 on the CCMA PowerSource Indie Country Chart this month, according to the band's website, and the cut "The Absence of Love," sits at No. 16 on that same chart.
Now known simply as The Oak Ridge Boys--an abbreviated moniker adopted in 1961--the group's roots date back about 60 years to the formation of The Oak Ridge Quartet.
The group's former members number in the dozens, but its current lineup--which features lead singer Duane Allen, bass singer Richard Sterban, tenor Joe Bonsall and baritone William Lee Golden--is its most popular incarnation to date, thanks to its string of '70s- and '80s-era hits, which include "Y'all Come Back Saloon," "You're the One," "I'll Be True to You," "Bobbie Sue" and GRAMMY-winning crossover hit "Elvira."
Golden is the group's longest-standing member, and is also the group's most well-known member, to casual and non-fans alike, thanks to his distinctive beard and long hair, which have earned him the nickname "Mountain Man."