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The Oak Ridge Boys singer Joe Bonsall dies, aged 76
10 July 2024, 11:39
Joe Bonsall had announced his retirement from touring earlier this year.
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Joe Bonsall, the tenor vocalist of the Oak Ridge Boys, has died at the age of 76.
Bonsall died yesterday (July 9) following complications from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (motor neurone disease).
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News of his passing was announced with the posting of his obituary on the Oak Ridge Boys social media channels.
"Joseph S. Bonsall (76) of Hendersonville, Tennessee passed on to Glory on July 9, 2024, from complications of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis," it read.
"As a 50-year member of the American music group The Oak Ridge Boys, Joe was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and inducted into the Philadelphia Music Hall of Fame, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and the prestigious Country Music Hall of Fame."
It continued: "Joe loved to sing. He loved to read. He loved to write. He loved to play banjo. He loved working on the farm. And he loved the Philadelphia Phillies.
"But Jesus and his family always came first—and we will see him again on the Promised Day."
There will be no funeral, at Joe's request, and the family has asked for donations to The ALS Association or to the Vanderbilt Medical Center ALS and Neuroscience Research Center in lieu of flowers.
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The Oak Ridge Boys were a country and gospel quartet that first formed back in 1943 as the Oak Ridge Quartet.
They went through a shifting lineup, with their best-known lineup featuring Duane Allen, William Lee Golden, Richard Sterban and Joe Bonsall.
Bonsall retired from performance due to his health issues in January of this year, being replaced on tenor vocals by Ben James.
