One year ago today was a sad day for the country music community. On September 19, 2023, The Oak Ridge Boys announced their American Made: Farewell Tour, marking the end of an era that spanned generations.

“We are doing a farewell tour because we owe it to our fans to say goodbye,” William Lee Golden said at the time. “They have always been there for us through the good times and the bad. I will always be thankful to every person who came out to a show, bought a t-shirt, played our music, and overall, loved us enough to spend their hard-earned money whenever they could. This tour is for you!”

The American Made: Farewell Tour was a celebration of the group’s 50 years with Golden, Duane Allen, Richard Sterban and Joe Bonsall.

“For all of my career I have always been a planner, sometimes planning two or three years in advance, what we will do, where we will go, and when we record,” Allen said at the time. “As we celebrate 50 years of being together, just as you see us, we will, also, begin our American Made: Farewell Tour.

”I don’t know how long the tour will last, but we hope to return to as many parts of the country as we can,” he added. “Thank you so much for these 50 years. For me, it’s 57 1/2 years. I have given you the best part of my life and you have rewarded me with a wonderful career. Thank you, our dear fans. Thanks to God for His divine guidance. Thank you to our wonderful organization. Thank you to all the supporting companies who represent us. And thank you to our families.”

When the American Made: Farewell Tour was announced, Bonsall was already struggling with his mobility. At the beginning of 2024, Bonsall announced that he was retiring from touring, due to his deteriorating health, revealing that Ben James would be taking his place.

“Many of you know I have been battling a slow onset (over four years now) of a neuromuscular disorder,” Bonsall shared. “I am now at a point where walking is impossible, so I have basically retired from the road. It has just gotten too difficult. It has been a great 50 years, and I am thankful to all the Oak Ridge Boys, band, crew, and staff for the constant love and support shown to me through it all. I will never forget, and for those of you who have been constantly holding me up in prayer, I thank you and ask for you to keep on praying.”

Bonsall passed away on July 9, from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as ALS. It was a loss felt deeply by the remaining members of The Oak Ridge Boys.

“For many years, Joe was my best friend,” Sterban said. “We knew each other long before we both became members of The Oak Ridge Boys. He was a special person, who was loved by everyone and was a true inspiration to us all. He was also the best singing partner a person could have. For several years he bravely fought a terrible disease and was a trooper right up until the very end. There is no doubt that today, he is in a much better place – at HOME with Jesus. I will see you soon my dear friend.”

Allen later revealed that The Oak Ridge Boys announced their American Made: Farewell Tour with the hopes that Bonsall would be able to finish the tour.

“‘[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 recalled 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.’”

With James now part of the iconic group, The Oak Ridge Boys have no immediate plans to come off of the road.

“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 maintained. “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 announced the release of a new album, Mama’s Boys, out on October 25. The 10-track record, the first with James singing in place of Bonsall, includes their “I Thought About You, Lord,” a collaboration with Willie Nelson, which is out now.

Pre-order the record, and find all of The Oak Ridge Boys’ music and upcoming shows at OakRidgeBoys.com.