Love of singing together key to Oak Ridge Boys longevity; will perform later this month in Cape

The soon-to-be-newest inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame, The Oak Ridge Boys, are coming to Cape Girardeau for a night of harmonious, gospel-colored classic country music at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau.

The four-part vocal group has become one of the most consistently popular acts in country music, displaying an impressive ability to acclimate its style to a changing musical landscape.

Bass Richard Sterban -- whose "Oom-papa-oom-papa-mau-mau" is still stuck in your head from the first time you heard their 1981 chart-topper "Elvira" -- said it's a real blessing the band not only has had as much success as it has, but also still is going strong.

"We've experienced a lot of longevity," Sterban said. "I think the reason is the love we have for what we do -- the desire, the longing to actually get up there and do it. We love to sing together ... to harmonize together. It's what our lives are all about."

Duane Allen, Joe Bonsall and William Lee Golden, along with Sterban, make up the Grammy-winning group, inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2011.

"Each member of the group brings something unique to the table," Sterban said. "And each of the rest of us realizes that. We really appreciate each other's contributions."

But it hasn't always been so easy. Sterban recalled a rough patch in the band's history, when the Oak Ridge Boys were touring with Johnny Cash, that culminated in a heart-to-heart in Cash's Las Vegas hotel room.

"He told us he could see that our heads were hanging," Sterban explained, but Cash told them if they could find a way to make it work, it would be worth it.

"And walking out of there, our heads weren't hanging anymore, that's for sure," Sterban said. "If Johnny Cash thinks we've got something special, then that was what we needed to hear."

Cash was right, it turned out, and after finding a way to make it work, the Oak Ridge Boys eventually would accrue 12 gold albums, three platinum and a double-platinum album over decades of success.

Sterban said some of the most memorable shows they've played have been for U.S. presidents. He remembers how then-vice president under Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, proved to be a surprisingly devoted fan.

"He came up and was requesting [songs] that weren't just the popular ones," he said. "It was pretty clear he listened to the whole records."

The band later would be back to perform for Bush when he was president, as well as for the Carters, the Clintons and the (George W.) Bushes.

But perhaps the greatest honor, Sterban said, is being recognized in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

"If there's anything that we're excited about at this moment, it's that. That's our Cooperstown," he said. "It's as simple as that. ... It's incredibly humbling."

Tickets start at $30 for shows starting at 6 and 8 p.m. May 24 and are available at the casino box office or website, cape-girardeau.isleofcapricasinos.com.

tgraef@semissourian.com

388-3627