The Oak Ridge Boys experienced a lot of grief in 2024, but they are emerging stronger than ever, thanks in large part to their music. Duane Allen lost his wife, Norah Lee, in March, only a few months before William Lee Golden's son, Rusty Golden, passed away. One week later, The Oak Ridge Boys' own Joe Bonsall passed away, from ALS.
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The overwhelming loss would have been enough for almost anyone to retreat from the spotlight. But The Oak Ridge Boys' William Lee Golden says it was being able to perform, in spite of their grief, that helped them heal.
"I can't see myself retiring," Golden tells The Desert Sun. "I'm an old guy, and I don't think about it until I look in the mirror. And for this reason, I try to stay away from mirrors. Again, music is healing. I know because I felt it in my own life and my own heart through the loss and sadness last year that we experienced."
Three of the four Oak Ridge Boys' members are in their 80s. But thanks to the addition of Ben James, brought in to replace Bonsall, The Oak Ridge Boys plan on singing for a long, long time.
The Oak Ridge Boys Change Retirement Plans
When Bonsall was still touring, The Oak Ridge Boys announced their American Made: Farewell Tour, believing Bonsall would be able to finish the tour. Unfortunately, his declining health caused him to come off the road at the end of 2023. While the award-winning quartet will always miss Bonsall, they now reveal they no longer plan on retiring as once planned.
"We've all talked, and we want to keep working," Golden reveals. "We're not through singing yet."
In a recent interview with Taste of Country, Allen echoes Golden's sentiments.
"That four months was a very difficult time for the Oak Ridge Boys," Allen says. "But we just kept believing and kept praying, and God has opened up some doors for us."
"Right now, I don't have any end date in sight," he adds. "I just started my 60th year with the Oak Ridge Boys, and I have no one to come home to. Singing and the fans on the road, they're all my family now. And this group of guys I work with, we all love each other, and we love what we do. So I don't know when the end date will be."
