Lifestyle

Watch Classic Country Quartet The Oak Ridge Boys Sing “Elvira”

By  | 
Tony Maples Photography

 

The Oak Ridge Boys are now in their eighth — yes, eighth — decade of recording. And if that’s not something to make you feel a little age in your bones, then we don’t know what will.

The group that started as southern gospel singers in the 1940s became country crossover favorites in the 1970s, when William Lee Golden provided them with a unique baritone voice that is still considered second-to-none.

The classic country quartet has been performing with much the same lineup ever since.

One of their biggest hits, of course, was “Elvira,” which was released in 1981 after The Oak Ridge Boys had already put out several gold albums. But this would be the song that defined them. Richard Sterban’s bass-filled vocal solo, “giddy up ba-oom papa oom papa mow mow,” became so unforgettable that by summer of ’81 they had a number one hit on their hands.

Most classic country music fans will remember the quartet, who have continued to record an stay busy, even appearing on Shooter Jennings’ album The Wolf in 2007.

Watch and listen to The Oak Ridge Boys sing “Elvira” live: