History Music / TheOakRidgeBoys

* BassoProfundo: Richard Sterban has an impressively deep voice. The famous "oom papa mow mow"s on "Elvira" go as low as C2, but he has gone even lower: he hits an F1 at the end of "Trying to Love Two Women", and he is confirmed as having gone as low as E♭1.

* LongTitle: "I Wish You Could Have Turned My Head (And Left My Heart Alone)" and "Gonna Take a Lot of River (Mississippi, Monongahela, Ohio)".

* CoolOldGuy: Like many other "legacy" country music acts, they have remained popular with fans young enough to be their grandchildren

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: Some of the tracks on ''Step On Out'' have an unusually synth-driven sound, most notably "Come On In (You Did the Best That You Could Do)"[[note]]not to be confused with their earlier "Come On In"[[/note]] and "Little Things".

Their songs are sometimes confused with ones performed by Music/TheStatlerBrothers, which is understandable since they both started out in gospel and had the same vocal lineup (tenor, lead, baritone, bass). Musically, however, the most well-known version of the Oak Ridge Boys was more of a contemporary country-pop group, while the Statlers tended to stick with more traditional country, and the distinction was even greater visually, as the the Oaks typically wore their regular clothes while the Statlers favored three-piece suits.

Due to the typical makeup of vocal groups (tenor, lead, baritone, bass), their songs are sometimes confused with ones performed by Music/TheStatlerBrothers. Musically, however, the most well-known version of the Oak Ridge Boys was more of a contemporary country-pop group, and the distinction was even greater visually, as the the Oaks typically wore their regular clothes while the Statlers favored three-piece suits.

In the 1960s and into the early 1970s, the band achieved some notability in the gospel field, and even won a Grammy. By 1973, Joe Bonsall had taken over on tenor vocals and Richard Sterban on bass vocals, thus forming the most popular and well-known lineup of Allen (lead), Bonsall (tenor), Golden (baritone), and Sterban (bass). After a few false starts, including a guest appearance on a low-charting Music/JohnnyCash single and a few dud releases on Creator/ColumbiaRecords, the Oaks broke through in 1977 with the Top Ten hit "Y'all Come Back Saloon". From then until the late 1980s, they would remain a constant fixture on the country charts. "Elvira" and "Bobbie Sue" netted the group a couple crossover pop hits. Golden was fired in 1987 and replaced with Steve Sanders, who remained until 1995 when Golden was allowed to return.

A long-lasting CountryMusic group, although they weren't originally one. The band began in the 1940s as a GospelMusic quartet composed of Wally Fowler, Lon Freeman, Curly Kinsey and Johnny New. The group split from Fowler in 1949, and several membership changes later, Smitty Gatlin headed a new lineup in 1957. He also pushed the band to a more country-folk sound and eventually recruited baritone vocalist William Lee Golden in 1964. After Gatlin retired, Duane Allen joined as lead vocalist, and Noel Fox and Willie Wynn took over on bass and tenor.

A long lasting CountryMusic group, although they weren't originally one. The band began in the 1940s as a gospel quartet composed of Wally Fowler, Lon Freeman, Curly Kinsey and Johnny New. The group split from Fowler in 1949, and several membership changes later, Smitty Gatlin headed a new lineup in 1957. He also pushed the band to a more country-folk sound and eventually recruited baritone vocalist William Lee Golden in 1964. After Gatlin retired, Duane Allen joined as lead vocalist, and Noel Fox and Willie Wynn took over on bass and tenor.

* CoolOldGuy: All four. The youngest--tenor Joe Bonsall--is 72, while the eldest--baritone Will Golden--is ''81''.