A Conversation with Joe Bonsall
A Conversation with Joe Bonsall
Iconic Country/Gospel Group The Oak Ride Boys to Play at Seneca Allegany Casino
Photo / Oak Ridge Boys
“Elvira”. That one word resonates with country music fans, and it brings large smiles to faces as they sing the song out loud or just in their heads. Especially when you get to the part “oom papa oom papa mow mow”.
The much celebrated award winning group sings harmonies like no other musical act in the industry today. Grammy, Dove, CMA and AMA awards along with Gold and Platinum records and inductions into the Country Music Hall of Fame and The Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the four friends have decades of sharing their music with the world.
Joe Bonsall, Duane Allen, William Lee Golden and Richard Sterban are making a stop at Seneca Allegany Casino Resort for one show only on July 22nd.
I had the pleasure of talking with Joe Bonsall recently and he had a lot to say about Buffalo, since he was one of us from 1969 to 1973 before he joined the Oak Ridge Boys in October of 1973 when he was 25 years old.
We talked about Covid, their newest album, “Front Porch Singin’”, what convinced the group they made it, chick flicks and country music.
“Country music’s bigger than it’s ever been. In our heyday we played arenas… these kids today are playing stadiums and selling them out,” said Bonsall.
Describing the show the singer said, “We do the hits… Elvira, Y’alll Come Back Saloon, Bobbie Sue, Thank God for Kids and we add in a little gospel music and a few new songs. We’re your All American act that you can bring the kids and grandma to see… it’s a great place to be.”
For more info on the Oak Ridge Boys visit oakridgeboys.com. For ticket info visit:senecacasinos.com and click on Seneca Allegany.
A CONVERSATION WITH JOE BONSALL
HULICK: How is your newest album “Front Porch Singin’” doing?
BOSNALL: It’s doing really good… chalk one up for the old guys. Producer Dave Cobb, who’s the hottest producer in Nashville right now, had the idea for the album… a simple album with the attitude of four Oak Ridge Boys sitting on the front porch singing harmony on old gospel songs, new gospel songs, old country songs and new country songs. In our show we pull up four stools and sit on them to make it seem like we’re on the front porch singing some of those songs. It’s pretty cool.
HULICK: I’m sure you’ve accomplished everything you want in your career by now, but is there anything else you would like to do or is there someone you’d like to work with that you haven’t?
BOSNALL: You know what? I’ll be real honest with you… I’m sitting here at 75 years old and I’ve been with the Oak Ridge Boys for 50 years now and we’ve been at every level in this business that there is… we’ve worked hard to try and keep a living, we’ve been the biggest act in country music… we’ve done everything. We’re in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and I’m in the Philly Music Hall of Fame. What I’m doing right now I’m excited about, which is making new music, because new music always refreshes you. But what I’m into doing at this point in my life is going out there and singing the best I can and coming home. I don’t really have any goals except that hopefully next year we can slow down just a little bit. We’ve always been such a hard working group, we’ve always played about 150 shows a year most years, which is doable, but this summer’s getting a lot busier and then fall is crazy.
HULICK: How did Covid effect you guys?
BOSNALL: Everything shut down. They told us to go home because we weren’t essential anymore.
HULICK: Did you guys get together and write or anything?
BOSNALL: We got together and recorded “Front Porch Singin’” during the pandemic in August of 2020. We only had the bare bones of what we usually have for recording. There were no friends, no record label, no radio people… no nothing. So we decided to make “Front Porch Singin’” and I remember the singing being quite healing. But you know it wasn’t just us going through this… everybody was and we had to figure out how to keep this thing going. Thankfully we were able to do that. It was a tough time for everyone… unless you owned a liquor store (laughs)… you couldn’t go to church at that time, but you could go to a liquor store.
HULICK: Concerts this summer are in full swing again.
BOSNALL: Everybody in the business is out on tour. You can’t lease a bus in this town no matter how much money you got. Those big tour buses are all gone. It’s an insane time really, it has been the last several years to be honest. That’s why I’m glad for myself, at my age and in my group I live in a bubble, and I’m happy in my bubble. I concentrate on getting on that tour bus and going and singing and getting my legs going the best I can and coming home and being with my wife and family. I’ll tell you one thing Covid did for a lot of us… well I guess it didn’t do it for everybody… but it strengthened my family. Some families were strengthened by it and then I think some husbands were probably assassinated by it. (laughs)
HULICK: (laughs) How great is it that you are in a profession that you love so much and it brings so much joy to people and everyone was just waiting for Covid to go away so we could come out and see you again and feel the music and the connection again.
BOSNALL: That’s very well put.
HULICK: What was the moment that you guys realized you made it?
BOSNALL: In 1977 we knew we were on our way to making it when “You All Come Back Saloon” was on every juke box in the country and you’d stop at a truck stop and sit at the counter… in the old days you had juke boxes on the counter… and that song was on there and you’d see four guys feeding the boxes quarters so they could play the song over and over again. It’s a wonder we didn’t get beat with a tire iron. (laughs) To me that was like… wow, look at that… we’re actually making a living at this now. As Duane Allen always says, “We finally had a big hit about a saloon that wasn’t a gospel song and we were able to pay off some bills”… he always said, “to them it was a gospel song.” (laughs)
HULICK: (laughs) That’s funny! Can you sum up the Oak Ridge Boys with a title of one of your songs?
BOSNALL: We haven’t done it on stage for a lot of years, but we had a song called “Reach Out And Touch A Hand” (as he sings it over the phone to me). I think that’s us.
HULICK: I’m glad I asked that question because I got to hear you sing it.
BOSNALL: (laughs) A little bit.
HULICK: I found out something you love as do I and my husband. One of your favorite movies is “We Bought A Zoo”?
BOSNALL: I love “We Bought A Zoo”!! (laughs) I’ve probably watched it 10 times! It isn’t your typical guy movie like “Hunt For Red October” or “The Godfather”. I just think it’s the cutest movie, and the scene in the end when he is showing his kids how he and their mother met at this diner and they show her sitting there… OMG I cry like a girl! (laughs)
HULICK: (laughs) That is such a tearjerker.
BOSNALL: I cry the way my wife cries over the Cary Grant movie “An Affair To Remember”. I like chick flicks too!
HULICK: What’s the best thing about being Joe Bonsall?
BOSNALL: I enjoy the singing… I enjoy the friendship with my guys… we’ve been through so much together. The Oak Ridge Boys and home… that’s my bubble. I’m very fortunate. I have a wonderful wife, two great daughters, two great son-in-laws, my grandson is in the Navy and he’s a gem of a guy, my granddaughter is wonderful, a great grandma and now a great grand kitten and my cats… my Barney. I’ll tell you the truth… Joe Bosnall sitting on his couch at night watching the Phillies on TV with my cat in my lap is probably Joe Bonsall more than anything else.
A BUFFALO CONNECTION
HULICK: You have a huge connection to Buffalo.
BOSNALL: I lived in Buffalo from 1969 to 1973. I was living in Buffalo when I joined the Oak Ridge Boys in October of 1973. I was 25 years old.
HULICK: Did you go through any of the snow storms?
BOSNALL: Oh yes… it was like every other day! (laughs) I mean that’s right there in the buckle of the snow belt.
HULICK: (laughs) That’s funny! I never heard the description of the belt buckle of the snow belt.
BOSNALL: You learn things up there… you learn that 50” of snow can fall in one night, and I’ve never lived anywhere where people were actually sweeping snow off their roofs so it didn’t cave in. And I learned the word “squall”.
HULICK: (laughs) It’s so funny to have other people’s take on Buffalo and WNY. How about “white out”?
BOSNALL: Yeah white out… that lake effect. (laughs) You know I enjoyed my days living on the Niagara Frontier. I really did. I was very poor back then, in fact I lived in my car for one full year. It got to be winter time and an Italian family loved the little group I was singing in and they took me in and I lived with this family for about seven months. Those were fun days though.
HULICK: I know you’re an avid sports fan and you love from Philadelphia, but is the any chance you secretly root for the Bills since you lived here for a while?
BOSNALL: Yes I do, but the Music City Miracle down here turned the Bills against us.
HULICK: (laughs) Yes it did. That one’s gonna hurt for a very long time.
BOSNALL: I loved the Bills when I was up there. It’s kind of funny because OJ Simpson had just signed with the Bills when I lived there and I couldn’t afford to go to the games. Richard, our bass singer, and myself used to sing together in the Keystones and we went down to the old War Memorial Stadium and actually snuck into a pre-season game and watched OJ Simpson’s first game with the Bills. That was when Joe Ferguson was quarterback. They had good teams back then with OJ as the running back… before all the crap that happened with him. I was into the Buffalo Sabres back then too. The French Connection and Roger Cozier in goal. My funniest Buffalo story may be back when we were touring with Kenny Rogers in the late 70s-early 80s and we played the old Aud and Kenny was really late, I don’t remember why, but we did our show and they came to us and said Kenny was still 30 minutes out, so we went out and sang some more songs and then I started talking about Buffalo because I knew all about it right? You say the word Scajaquada and you endear yourself to the heart of the Buffalo people and I swear to God I did 15 minutes of stand up about Buffalo until Kenny got there. We played Melody Fair a lot in Tonawanda. I loved those theaters in the round.
HULICK: That’s not there anymore.
BOSNALL: It’s not? Really? Oh my gosh… I thought it was still there… I can’t believe it! Yes, I love Buffalo and I’m very excited to come back to the area and play. Come see us on July 22nd everyone at Seneca Allegany.