On Tuesday 9 July 2024, Gene Watson offered his condolences to The Oak Ridge Boys upon the death of Joe Bonsall.
‘So very sorry to learn that our dear friend, Joe Bonsall (Tuesday 18 May 1948 – Tuesday 9 July 2024), of the The Oak Ridge Boys has passed.
What a great man and great artist he was.
Prayers to his family, friends and to his Oak Ridge Boys family’
Source
Gene Watson on Facebook
Joe Bonsall (Tuesday 18 May 1948 – Tuesday 9 July 2024) was the high-energy tenor singer of The Oak Ridge Boys. As a member, Joe Bonsall was a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame (2015) and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame (2000).
Joe Bonsall (Tuesday 18 May 1948 – Tuesday 9 July 2024) was a key vocalist on a number of Oak Ridge Boys hit singles, including ‘Elvira’, ‘Bobbie Sue’ and ‘American Made’.
On Thursday 26 March 1981, The Oak Ridge Boys saw the release of ‘Fancy Free’ (MCA Records, 1981), which included this track, which was a hit single on the Billboard country music singles chart:
‘Elvira’, which was written by Dallas Frazier (Friday 27 October 1939 – Friday 14 January 2022) (No.1 for one week in May / June 1981) / this track also reached No.5 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music singles chart in Summer 1981 / By August 1981, ‘Elvira’ had sold more than one million copies / The Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM) both named ‘Elvira’ as ‘Single of The Year’ and the song also netted The Oak Ridge Boys their only Grammy Award as a country music act
On Wednesday 10 February 1982, The Oak Ridge Boys saw the release of ‘Bobbie Sue’ (MCA Records, 1982), which included this track, which was a hit single on the Billboard country music singles chart:
‘Bobbie Sue’ (written by Dan Tyler, Adele Tyler and Wood Newton) (No.1 for one week in April 1982)
On Thursday 20 January 1983, The Oak Ridge Boys saw the release of ‘American Made’ (MCA Records, 1983), which included this track, which was a hit single on the Billboard country music singles chart:
‘American Made’ (written by Bob DiPiero and Pat McManus) (No.1 for one week in April 1983) / this track became a commercial for Miller Beer
On stage, Joe Bonsall (Tuesday 18 May 1948 – Tuesday 9 July 2024) became the group’s ‘spark plug’, energetically bouncing along and cheer-leading its performances.
Duane Allen usually sang lead, but Joe Bonsall’s high vocals were often just as ear-catching.
In addition to his contributions to The Oak Ridge Boys, Joe Bonsall (Tuesday 18 May 1948 – Tuesday 9 July 2024) became a prolific author.
Joe Bonsall (Tuesday 18 May 1948 – Tuesday 9 July 2024) wrote 11 books, including his memoir, ‘I See Myself’, which was released in November 2024.
In January 2024, Joe Bonsall (Tuesday 18 May 1948 – Tuesday 9 July 2024) announced that he was retiring from touring with The Oak Ridge Boys. This was because he was suffering from the neuromuscular affliction Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
Joe Bonsall (Tuesday 18 May 1948 – Tuesday 9 July 2024) passed away at age 76, due to complications from the disease.