Despite facing a challenging year marked by the loss of their longtime bandmate Joe Bonsall and other family members, Country Music Hall of Fame group The Oak Ridge Boys have channeled their grief into creating new music with producer Dave Cobb.
Their upcoming album, titled Mama’s Boys, is set for release on October 25th. Two tracks from the album have already been unveiled: their collaboration with Willie Nelson, “I Thought About You, Lord,” which is currently available, and their new song “Come On Home,” which will be released on Thursday.
Oak Ridge Boy Duane Allen explained the album’s central theme: “The whole concept of this album was the title Mama’s Boys, and the theme is the things that Mama taught us about life and love and leaving and coming home, and our faith. It’s all of the things that we put great value on.”
Allen shared the story behind their collaboration with Willie Nelson. Cobb sent him the song “I Thought About You, Lord” without revealing its writer. Allen initially thought it resembled Nelson’s “Why Me, Lord.” Upon learning it was a Willie Nelson original, Allen was eager to record it with Nelson himself. Despite Nelson being in Maui at the time, he readily agreed, stating he would be honored to record with The Oak Ridge Boys upon his return.
Regarding the song “Come On Home,” Allen felt it was a perfect fit for William Lee Golden’s vocals. “It fit him perfectly,” Allen said. “When I played it for William Lee, he fell in love with it. He said, ‘Let me go home with this and live with it because I love this song. I love this message.’ I just think it was written for The Oak Ridge Boys because it has that type of message that Mama would teach us.”
As The Oak Ridge Boys navigate their grief, they are finding solace in continuing to tour. Their farewell tour has been extended to accommodate the overwhelming support from their fans. Richard Sterban commented on their decision to continue touring, saying, “We want to go to as many places as we can possibly go to and thank the people for allowing us to have such a long and such a great career. And that’s going to take us some time. Almost a year in, we haven’t gotten close to going to all the places that we want to go to. So, we’re now booking dates next year, and we’ll take that. We’re going to take it one day at a time. We are not just ready to retire yet. We will be around for a while, and hopefully, this farewell tour will last a little while longer.”
Mama’s Boys Track Listing:
That’s The Way Mama Made It
Mama’s Boys
Mama’s Teaching Angels How To Sing
Ever With Me
Her Voice
Mama Sang For Me
Come On Home
I Thought About You, Lord (Feat. Willie Nelson)
Sweetest Gift
Divine Witness