$25

Show date: Nov. 7 at 8:00 pm at the Mansion Theatre in Branson

The history of the Oak Ridge Boys stretches back to the 1940s. Wally Fowler, who came to be known as “Mr. Gospel Music,” changed the name of a singing group called the Georgia Clodhoppers to the Oak Ridge Quartet, because the Knoxville, Tennessee, group performed regularly in nearby Oak Ridge.

Fowler moved the Oak Ridge Quartet to Nashville, where, in 1946, the group became regulars on the Grand Ole Opry. Singing in a four-part harmony style, they made frequent appearances on the Opry’s Prince Albert Show, broadcast nationally on NBC Radio, from 1939 to 1957. Fowler also popularized “all-night singings,” concerts that lasted from Saturday night until early Sunday morning, during which several gospel groups would perform.

Fowler sold the rights to the Oak Ridge Quartet name in 1957, to concentrate on hosting a popular syndicated TV program. In 1962, the group began experimenting with calling themselves the Oak Ridge Boys, a change they made permanent in 1966. Alabama native William Lee Golden, a baritone, joined the group in 1965. The following year, Duane Allen, from Texas, became lead singer. New Jersey native Richard Sterban, who sang with Elvis Presley as a member of gospel group J. D. Sumner & the Stamps, took over as bass singer in 1972. One year later, when tenor Joe Bonsall from Philadelphia signed on, the group’s long-running, best-known lineup was set.