Since 2023, the group consists of Duane Allen (lead), Ben James (tenor), William Lee Golden (baritone), and Richard Sterban (bass).

The group was founded in 1943 as the country and gospel act Wally Fowler and the Georgia Clodhoppers but were soon known as The Oak Ridge Quartet.

[1][2] The lineup that produced their most well-known hits ― such as "Elvira", "Bobbie Sue", and "American Made" ― included Allen, Golden, Sterban, and tenor vocalist Joe Bonsall.

In 1957, Fowler sold the rights to the "Oak Ridge Quartet" name to group member Smitty Gatlin in exchange for forgiveness of a debt.

At this point, the group consisted of Fairchild at the piano, Wynn, Gatlin (singing lead), baritone Ron Page, and bass Herman Harper.

With Willie Wynn and Herman Harper still on board, the group made another album for Skylite and one for United Artists and then began recording on the Heart Warming label.

In 1971, the Oak Ridge Boys earned their first Grammy Award for their version of a Jerry Reed song, "Talk About the Good Times".

Late in 1972, Richard Sterban, a member of J. D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, left that act to join the Oak Ridge Boys after the exit of Noel Fox.

As a result, the quartet that appeared on Hee Haw in 1972 consisted of Allen, Wynn, Golden, and Sterban, and they took part in a single with Johnny Cash and the Carter Family, "Praise the Lord and Pass the Soup" that put the Oaks on the country charts for the very first time, in 1973.

Bonsall and Sterban were members of the Keystones in the late 1960s, covering much of the ORB's material, often for Duane Allen's Superior label.

In an attempt to widen their appeal, they backed up Jimmy Buffett on "My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink, And I Don't Love Jesus."

Despite having been tapped by Paul Simon to sing backup on "Slip Slidin' Away", the group asked to be released from their contract after the single "Family Reunion," written by David Allan Coe, was not a hit.

In 1977, the Oak Ridge Boys fully switched to country with the release of their first ABC Records album, Y'all Come Back Saloon.

"Elvira" had been recorded by other artists, including Frazier himself in the late 1960s and the First Edition in 1970, but the Oak Ridge Boys were the first to make it a hit.

After "Little Things," only a few of their hit songs in the coming years would match the quality of their earlier work; the others, regardless of chart position, would make no commercial impact.

After several years of conflict within the group generally, exacerbated by Golden's solo album in 1986, Allen, Bonsall, and Sterban chose to stay together, but to go forward without their senior member.

Where the Fast Lane Ends included guest appearances by Patti LaBelle and Joe Walsh, both of whom were brought into the project by Golden.

In hopes of jumpstarting their career, they moved to RCA Nashville for their next two albums, plus a compilation, Best of the Oak Ridge Boys, which included their minor hit cover of "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" from the My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys soundtrack.

The move to RCA did not work out because like most older acts in the early 1990's, they were out of favor with country radio, and the hits stopped by the end of 1991.

They switched labels again and signed with Liberty Records, later Capitol Nashville, for which they made their third Christmas album, which was their final project with Sanders.

After being dropped by Capitol, they made a two-disc set, Revival (their first gospel album since 1976) with Leon Russell producing, for TV and mail order distribution, in 1997.

[11] After almost a decade of dealing with labels that had little interest in promoting The Oak Ridge Boys, studio breakdowns, and sluggish (or worse) sales, their fortunes improved when they signed with Spring Hill Records in 2000.

They were the featured performers at the Secret City Festival and were given a tour of the Y-12 National Security Complex's historic Calutrons (used to separate the uranium 235 for Little Boy, the first atomic bomb used in warfare).

It contained five new songs, six re-recordings of the Sanders hits from the 1980s, a new version of Golden's 1990 solo single, "Louisiana Red Dirt Highway," and a 30th-anniversary updating of "Elvira".

Along with gospel standards, the group covered John Denver's "Back Home Again" and Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors".

This collaboration was recorded with Sing-Off-winning, country a cappella group Home Free, who uploaded the video to their YouTube channel.

[25] Even as James became an official member of the Oak Ridge Boys, it was expected that Bonsall would be included on the group's next album;[26] ultimately he took no part in the project.