The Oak Ridge Boys Hint at Extending Their Farewell Tour After Loss of Joe Bonsall

Photo by2911 Entertainment

The Oak Ridge Boys‘ American Made: Farewell Tour might go on a lot longer than they originally intended. It was in September of 2023 that the iconic group announced they were embarking on their final tour, which Duane Allen now reveals was largely because of Joe Bonsall and his ongoing battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as ALS. Bonsall retired from the road following The Oak Ridge Boys’ Christmas tour, unable to complete the dates The Oak Ridge Boys had on the calendar for 2024.

Now, Duane Allen says there is no reason for The Oak Ridge Boys to stop touring in the foreseeable future.

“‘[Bonsall said], ‘I’m going to do my best to make all the Christmas dates. If I make the Christmas dates, I’m going to try my best to make all the dates you put in the book for [2024],’” Allen recalls to Billboard. “Well, we got to the last Christmas date, we carried him off stage, we put him in a wheelchair, and he said, ‘I’m done.’ And the next morning, he called Ben James, and said, ‘I’m done. The position is yours. Put your singing britches on.’”

Soon after announcing he would not continue touring with The Oak Ridge Boys, Bonsall recalled one of the many times when Allen helped him while on the road.

“One year ago today I was at a hotel in Galveston trying to make it down an incline to get to the tour bus. I was on a cane at the time but my legs froze on the hill and I couldn’t move,” Bonsall shared on social media. “Duane Allen came flying out of the bus to help me … one just does not forget things like that! My heart is with him and the BOYS today!!”

Bonsall’s mobility might have decreased, but his determination and will never wavered.

“[Joe] was a trooper all the way to the very end, he never gave any kind of complaint,” Allen boasts. “He didn’t want anybody pitying him or feeling sorry for him. And his voice was strong, all the way up to the very last note on the very last Christmas song we did. I loved him like a brother and I miss him every day that comes around. I miss him so much.”

The loss of Bonsall isn’t the only loss The Oak Ridge Boys have endured recently. William Lee Golden lost his son, Rusty Golden, one week before Bonsall passed away. And Allen’s wife of 54 years Norah Lee, passed away in March. While fans would have certainly understood if The Oak Ridge Boys took some time away for Allen to mourn, he left to go back on the road right after his wife’s service.

“I needed to feel the love from not only from my singing partners — I needed to feel the love from the people,” Allen says, recalling how he broke down while singing “Fancy Free.”

“When I started singing that second verse, man, I exploded and the crowd knew what I’d been through and they started standing up and cheering and I got what I needed,” he adds. “And they’ve been there ever since.”

Photo byCourtesy of 2911 Entertainment

With James permanently a part of The Oak Ridge Boys, Allen says the tour could now go on indefinitely, and a large part of him hopes it does.

“I don’t have anybody to go home to now,” Allen says, hinting that they might be performing shows into next year.

“I believe the Eagles are on their third farewell tour, so we can at least do our first farewell tour and end it at the end of ’25,” Allen maintains. “I think we’re going to probably try to work as many dates as we can and get to the places we’ve not been able to cover this year. We need the audience and we need to say thank you to all of them. The date book keeps filling up. I guess that’s God saying, ‘It’s not time yet, so keep singing.’”

The Oak Ridge Boys just released an official video for “Elvira,” which features Trace Adkins, Lorrie Morgan, Big & Rich, Ray Stevens, Chase Matthew, Kid Rock, The Gatlin Brothers and more. Watch it below. Find all of The Oak Ridge Boys’ music and American Made: Farewell Tour Dates at OakRidgeBoys.com.