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The Oak Ridge Boys on the Red Carpet at Dollywood  

   The Oak Ridge Boys were honored Wednesday at Dollywood for their contributions to gospel music. The quartet was presented with the James D. Vaughn Impact Award in ceremony that kicked off the beginning of Dollywood’s National  Southern Gospel and Harvest Celebration.

    “We are humbled and we are honored” said Joe Bonsall of the Oak Ridge Boys. “God has been good to us. We are all singing good and all feeling good”

    The award was named in honor of James D. Vaughn who is credited with starting the gospel music genre in 1910. The Oaks gospel legacy started in World War II when the original Oak Ridge Boys began performing in Knoxville. The current line-up of the band began performing together in 1973. The Current line-up includes Bonsall, Duane Allen, William Lee Golden and Richard Sterban. The current incarnation of the group will be celebrating 40 years of performing together in 2013.

   “We are planning a tour to celebrate our 40^th anniversary together,” said Bonsall. “We are currently having a logo designed and making plans to get the tour underway.”

    While the Oaks are known for the multi-platinum hits such as “Elvira” and “Thank God for Kids”, they trace their roots back to gospel music where they got their start. In the early 70s the band scored hits with “The Baptism of Jesse Taylor”,  “King Jesus” and many others.

    The Oaks released their sixth Christmas CD this week entitled “Christmas time is Coming.” Currently the band is on a tour that will take them across North Carolina and Ohio. They will be performing in Greeneville, Tennessee in December.

    The morning started at Dollywood with the band making a brief appearance before a gathering of fans who were informed the Oaks were receiving the award. Later in the afternoon, the Oaks walked with more than 50 gospel recording artists on a red carpet that led to the Celebrity Theater where the Sothern Gospel Music Awards were held. Seven gospel artists were inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Association’s Hall of Fame.

     During the awards ceremony, the Oaks were formally presented with their award before an excited capacity crowd.                

    Dolly Parton, a past recipient of the award, was unable to attend the ceremony but made a statement on a video that was played to the audience. Parton apologized to the Oaks for her absence, but said she was proud of them and she loved them.

    “The Oak Ridge Boys are great friends of mine,” Parton said. “They have deep roots in Southern gospel and strong ties to East Tennessee. I am especially honored they will accept the great honor of the James D. Vaughn Award at Dollywood.”

   Following the acceptance of the award, the Oaks performed “Farther Along” before departing for their next concert.  The song is featured in an upcoming documentary about country music star Glen Campbell and his struggle with altzeimer’s    

   “We don’t make a living as gospel singers,” said William Lee Golden. “But, we cut our teeth on gospel music. It is a part of us. We keep it with us. We got together singing gospel music and it was our love of gospel that kept us together. We don’t do it because we have to. We do it because we love it.”