The Oak Ridge Boys Still Going Strong, Fighting Fraud Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply. Close
The Oak Ridge Boys Don t Quit
The country music foursome is still singing together — and fighting fraud with AARP
Jason Davis/Getty Images partnership with AARP and the . (The quartet also discussed their passion for fighting fraud on Rural America Live with AARP, on RFD-TV, which you can view on .) Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. From our talk with Bonsall: The Oaks just won t act their age
I'm the youngest and I'm almost 72. We're the hardest-working act in show business. We do about 150 dates a year not counting shows at the Grand Old Opry. We took a three-week break after a 31-day Christmas tour and we're back on the road. It goes on and on. We don't play the arenas like we used to. We play beautiful theaters, performing art centers, county fairs, country festivals, the big casinos. There's no stopping the Oak Ridge Boys. There's no quit in any of us. Every man s on board physically and psychologically
God's been good to us. It's not that we haven't had our aches and pains, but we've got good health. Everyone is forward thinking. It's never, “How do we slow it down?” Our thinking is, “How do we do it better?” It only takes one guy to say, “I'm done,” but we all love doing this. I can't imagine the Oak Ridge Boys not singing. We don't know how to do anything else. Rigors of the road Not when you re cruising in a customized Prevost bus
We have a big beautiful private bus. None of us have ever minded the road. The less flying we have to do, the better. If we can wake up when we want to wake up, that keeps us on an even keel. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > A new album is brewing
Right now we're in the planning stages with our great producer, Dave Cobb. We're talking about a front porch attitude — picking out songs we'd sing on the front porch. It's the same approach we used for our Christmas album, Down Home Christmas, songs you'd gather around the piano to sing. Dave will provide the direction as he always does. I love the creative process. I'm excited that next fall we'll be singing songs that right now we haven't even thought of. Connecting with the audience
I believe we uplift people with a good, clean, wholesome American show. They're not going to hear anything embarrassing. We're going to wave the flag a little bit and sing some gospel. We're good at singing about love and positive vibes. We're not good at singing beer-drinking, divorce songs. Yes, our fans skew older. We've all skewed older. But they bring in new people. We've been passed down like an old shirt. Music as therapy and escapism
I have spent my whole life in music and I've seen what it can do. Life can be difficult. It's a joy to be at a show for two hours, having fun and elbowing your neighbor and listening to four-part harmony with a big kicking band. You go through all the emotional pulls from “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight” to “Did I Make a Difference.” Singing global smash Elvira night after night after night
AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe , but it's great if you want to sit on the porch by yourself and pick banjo for coyotes. The Oak Ridge Boys Warn You to Beware of Scams Joining AARP and the DOJ to fight fraud
We jumped right in, and we're involved at a gut level. is serious, period, but the elderly are especially vulnerable. They need to know about these scams. There is no fortune waiting for you in Africa. The Social Security Administration will never call and ask for your number. They know your number. If we can provide a little help along the way and make them aware of these things a little more, we're happy to do a good deed. Our country is flooded with elderly people. You're talking to one of them! Looking ahead
It's great to be an Oak Ridge Boy. I would like to keep singing, as long as we can do it at a high level. If we couldn't sing well, it would be an embarrassment. The Oak Ridge Boys have built a heck of a mountain one stone at a time. If it started to deteriorate, then it would be time to stop. More on entertainment AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS