The Oak Ridge Boys are an American musical group. Originally a gospel quartet, The Oak Ridge Boys switched their focus to secular country music in the mid-1970s, releasing a string of hit albums and singles that lasted into the early 1990s. Their discography comprises thirty-one studio albums and fifty-six singles. Their highest-selling album is 1981's Fancy Free, which is certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
| The Oak Ridge Boys discography | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio albums | 31 |
| Live albums | 1 |
| Compilation albums | 14 |
| Singles | 63 |
| Music videos | 21 |
| No.1 Single | 17 US 23 Overall |
Of The Oak Ridge Boys' singles, seventeen reached Number One on the Billboard country singles charts. Two of these songs, "Elvira" and "Bobbie Sue", were also Top 40 pop and Adult Contemporary hits, and the former is certified platinum as a single. Four additional singles ("Sail Away", "Dream On", "Heart of Mine", and "Fancy Free") also entered the AC charts, while "So Fine" and "American Made" both made the 70s on the pop charts.
Studio albums
edit1950s and 1960s
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| The Oak Ridge Quartet |
|
| Sing and Shout |
|
| The Oak Ridge Quartet |
|
| Master Showmen of Song |
|
| Go Out to the Program |
|
| You'll Never Walk Alone |
|
| He Whispers Sweet Peace to Me |
|
| With Sounds of Nashville |
|
| Folk Minded Spirituals for Spiritual Minded Folk |
|
| Together (with The Harvesters) |
|
| Sing for You |
|
| Singing the Gospel |
|
| I Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now |
|
| The Sensational Oak Ridge Boys from Nashville Tennessee |
|
| The Solid Gospel Sound of the Oak Ridge Quartet |
|
| River of Life |
|
| Sing Serve Life (with Smitty Gatlin) |
|
| Songs We Wish We'd Recorded First |
|
| Duane Allen Out Front |
|
| At Their Best |
|
| A Great Day |
|
| New Horizons |
|
| It's Happening! |
|
| Thanks |
|
1970s
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [1] |
US [2] |
CAN Country [3] | |||||||
| Talk About the Good Times |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| International |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| Jesus Christ, What a Man! |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| Performance |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| Light |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| Street Gospel |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| The Lighthouse & Other Gospel Hits |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| Hymns |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| The Oak Ridge Boys |
|
38 | — | — | |||||
| Sky High |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| Old Fashioned, Down Home, Hand Clappin', Foot Stompin', Southern Style, Gospel Quartet Music |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| Live |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| Y'all Come Back Saloon |
|
8 | 120 | — | |||||
| Room Service |
|
3 | 164 | 2 | |||||
| The Oak Ridge Boys Have Arrived |
|
5 | — | 1 | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
1980s
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [1] |
US [2] |
CAN Country [3] |
CAN [4] | ||||||
| Together |
|
10 | 154 | 1 | — | ||||
| Fancy Free |
|
1 | 14 | — | 46 | ||||
| Bobbie Sue |
|
1 | 20 | — | 27 | ||||
| American Made |
|
2 | 51 | — | — |
| |||
| Deliver |
|
1 | 121 | — | — |
| |||
| Step On Out |
|
3 | 156 | — | — | ||||
| Seasons |
|
8 | — | — | — | ||||
| Where the Fast Lane Ends |
|
14 | — | — | — | ||||
| Heartbeat |
|
20 | — | — | — | ||||
| Monongahela |
|
9 | — | — | — | ||||
| American Dreams |
|
24 | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
1990s
edit| Title | Album details | Peak positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [1] | |||||||||
| Unstoppable |
|
41 | |||||||
| The Long Haul |
|
— | |||||||
| Revival |
|
— | |||||||
| Voices |
|
— | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
2000s
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [1] |
US [2] |
US Christ [8] | |||||||
| From the Heart |
|
49 | — | — | |||||
| Colors |
|
53 | — | — | |||||
| The Journey |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| Common Thread |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| Front Row Seats |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| A Gospel Journey |
|
28 | 156 | 14 | |||||
| The Boys Are Back |
|
16 | 77 | 4 | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
2010s and 2020s
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [1] |
US [2] |
US Indie [9] |
US Christ [8] | ||||||
| It's Only Natural |
|
16 | 70 | 11 | — | ||||
| Back Home Again: Gospel Favorites |
|
29 | — | — | 11 | ||||
| Rock of Ages, Hymns and Gospel Favorites |
|
26 | — | — | 8 |
| |||
| 17th Avenue Revival[11] |
|
44 | — | 10 | — |
| |||
| Front Porch Singin' |
|
— | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Compilation albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications / Sales | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [1] |
US [2] |
CAN Country [3] | |||||||
| The Sensational Oak Ridge Boys |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| The Best of The Oak Ridge Boys |
|
22 | — | — | |||||
| Sing for Him |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| Greatest Hits |
|
5 | 99 | 13 | |||||
| Greatest Hits 2 |
|
2 | 71 | — |
| ||||
| Greatest Hits 3 |
|
22 | — | — | |||||
| The Oak Ridge Boys Collection |
|
— | — | — |
| ||||
| The Best of The Oak Ridge Boys |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection |
|
— | — | — |
| ||||
| The Definitive Collection |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| Gold |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| 40th Anniversary: 1973–2013 |
|
38 | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Holiday albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications/ Sales | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [1] |
US [2] |
US Indie [9] |
US Christ [8] | ||||||
| Christmas |
|
9 | 73 | — | — |
| |||
| Christmas Again |
|
50 | — | — | — | ||||
| Country Christmas Eve |
|
— | — | — | — | ||||
| An Inconvenient Christmas |
|
58 | — | 27 | — | ||||
| Christmas Cookies |
|
73 | — | — | — | ||||
| Christmas Time's A-Coming |
|
50 | — | — | 40 | ||||
| Celebrate Christmas[15] |
|
43 | — | — | 34 |
| |||
| Down Home Christmas[17] |
|
— | — | 32 | — |
| |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Live albums
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Boys Night Out |
|
Singles
edit1970s
edit| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [19] |
US [20] |
US AC [19] |
CAN Country [21] |
CAN AC [22] |
AUS | |||||
| 1973 | "The Baptism of Jesse Taylor" | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Oak Ridge Boys | ||
| 1974 | "He's Gonna Smile on Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Loves Me Like a Rock" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1975 | "Rhythm Guitar" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Sky High | ||
| "Heaven Bound" | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Best of the Oak Ridge Boys | |||
| 1976 | "Where the Soul Never Dies" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Old Fashioned, Down Home, Hand Clappin', Foot Stompin', Southern Style, Gospel Quartet Music | ||
| "Family Reunion" | 83 | — | — | — | — | — | The Best of the Oak Ridge Boys | |||
| "Whoever Finds This, I Love You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1977 | "Y'all Come Back Saloon" | 3 | — | — | 2 | — | — | Y'all Come Back Saloon | ||
| "You're the One" | 2 | — | — | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1978 | "I'll Be True to You" | 1 | 102 | — | 8 | — | — | |||
| "Easy" | — | — | — | — | — | 28 | ||||
| "Cryin' Again" | 3 | 107 | — | 1 | — | — | Room Service | |||
| "Come On In" | 3 | — | — | 3 | — | — | ||||
| 1979 | "Sail Away" | 2 | — | 29 | 1 | 8 | 94 | The Oak Ridge Boys Have Arrived | ||
| "Dream On" | 7 | — | 45 | 1 | 23 | — | ||||
| "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight" | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||
1980s
edit| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [19] |
US [20] |
US AC [19] |
CAN Country [21] |
CAN [23] |
CAN AC [22] |
AUS | NZ [24] | |||||||
| 1980 | "Trying to Love Two Women" | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | Together | ||||
| "Heart of Mine" | 3 | 105 | 49 | 3 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Beautiful You" | 3 | — | — | 27 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1981 | "Elvira" | 1 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 26 | 13 | 87 | 13 |
|
Fancy Free | |||
| "(I'm Settin') Fancy Free" | 1 | 104 | 17 | 2 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1982 | "Bobbie Sue" | 1 | 12 | 19 | 1 | 20 | 1 | — | — | Bobbie Sue | ||||
| "So Fine" | 22 | 76 | — | 16 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "I Wish You Could Have Turned My Head (And Left My Heart Alone)" | 2 | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1983 | "American Made" | 1 | 72 | — | 12 | — | — | — | — | American Made | ||||
| "Love Song" | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Ozark Mountain Jubilee" | 5 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | Deliver | |||||
| 1984 | "I Guess It Never Hurts to Hurt Sometimes" | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | 31 | |||||
| "Everyday" | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | Greatest Hits Volume 2 | |||||
| "Make My Life with You" | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1985 | "Little Things" | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | Step On Out | ||||
| "Touch a Hand, Make a Friend" | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Come On In (You Did the Best You Could Do)" | 3 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1986 | "Juliet" | 15 | — | — | 16 | — | — | — | — | Seasons | ||||
| "You Made a Rock of a Rolling Stone" | 24 | — | — | 20 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1987 | "It Takes a Little Rain (To Make Love Grow)" | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | Where the Fast Lane Ends | ||||
| "This Crazy Love" | 1 | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Time In" | 17 | — | — | 35 | — | — | — | — | Heartbeat | |||||
| 1988 | "True Heart" | 5 | — | — | 21 | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Gonna Take a Lot of River" | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | Monongahela | |||||
| "Bridges and Walls" | 10 | — | — | 10 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1989 | "Beyond Those Years" | 7 | — | — | 10 | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "An American Family" | 4 | — | — | 32 | — | — | — | — | American Dreams | |||||
| "No Matter How High" | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
1990s
edit| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [25] |
CAN Country [21] | ||||||||
| 1990 | "Baby, You'll Be My Baby" | 71 | 34 | American Dreams | |||||
| "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" | 31 | 25 | My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (soundtrack) | ||||||
| "Lucky Moon" | 6 | 2 | Unstoppable | ||||||
| 1991 | "Change My Mind" | 70 | — | ||||||
| "Baby on Board" | 44 | 63 | |||||||
| 1992 | "Fall" | 69 | 88 | The Long Haul | |||||
| 1999 | "Baby When Your Heart Breaks Down" | — | — | Voices | |||||
| "Ain't No Short Way Home" | 71 | — | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
2000s
edit| Year | Single | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "Write Your Name Across My Heart" | From the Heart |
| 2003 | "Colors" | Colors |
| "Glory Bound" | ||
| 2004 | "Bad Case of Missing You"[26] | The Journey |
| 2005 | "Someplace Green" | |
| 2006 | "It's Hard to Be Cool (In a Minivan)" | Front Row Seats |
| 2007 | "Closer to Home" | |
| "Did I Make a Difference" | ||
| 2009 | "Seven Nation Army" | The Boys Are Back |
| "Mama's Table" | ||
| 2011 | "Whatcha Gonna Do" | It's Only Natural |
| 2015 | "Sweet Jesus" | Rock of Ages, Hymns and Gospel Favorites |
| 2018 | "Brand New Star" | 17th Avenue Revival |
| 2018 | "Pray to Jesus" | 17th Avenue Revival |
| 2019 | "Reindeer on the Roof" | Down Home Christmas |
| 2019 | "Don't Go Pulling on Santa Claus' Beard" | Down Home Christmas |
| 2020 | "Amazing Grace" | Down Home Christmas |
| 2021 | "Love, Light & Healing" | Front Porch Singin' |
| 2021 | "Life is Beautiful" | Front Porch Singin' |
Other singles
editChristmas singles
edit| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [19] |
CAN Country [21] | ||||||||
| 1982 | "Thank God for Kids" | 3 | 24 | Christmas | |||||
| "Christmas Is Paintin' the Town" | — | — | |||||||
| 2002 | "The Most Inconvenient Christmas" | — | — | An Inconvenient Christmas | |||||
| 2005 | "Ordinary Days" | — | — | Christmas Cookies | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Featured singles
edit| Year | Single | Artist(s) | Peak chart positions |
Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [19] |
CAN Country [21] | ||||
| 1973 | "Praise the Lord and Pass the Soup" | Johnny Cash (with Carter Family) |
57 | 65 | — |
| 1982 | "Same Ole Me" | George Jones | 5 | 1 | Still the Same Ole Me |
| 1986 | "When You Get to the Heart" | Barbara Mandrell | 20 | 33 | Get to the Heart |
Promotional singles
edit| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [19] |
CAN Country [21] | ||||||||
| 1979 | "Rhythm Guitar" (re-release) | 94 | 72 | The Best of The Oak Ridge Boys | |||||
| 1987 | "Take Pride in America" | — | — | Greatest Hits, Volume Three | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Music videos
edit| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | "Easy" | |
| 1982 | "So Fine" | Sherman Halsey |
| "Thank God For Kids" | Kenny Meyers | |
| 1983 | "Love Song" | Paul Henman |
| "Ozark Mountain Jubilee" (Live) | Mark Dice | |
| 1984 | "I Guess It Never Hurts to Hurt Sometimes" | Dominic Orlando |
| "Everyday" | Ken Walz | |
| 1985 | "Little Things" | Patricia Birch |
| 1986 | "Juliet" | Scott Hello/Martha Holmes |
| 1987 | "Take Pride in America" | Dick Heard |
| 1988 | "Gonna Take a Lot of River" | Larry Boothby/Ken Walz |
| 1989 | "Beyond Those Years" | Larry Boothby |
| "No Matter How High" | ||
| 1991 | "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" | Dean Lent |
| "Change My Mind" | Larry Boothby | |
| 1992 | "Fall" | Wayne Miller |
| 1999 | "Ain't No Short Way Home" | Tom Bevins |
| 2001 | "Write Your Name Across My Heart" | Eric Welch |
| 2002 | "Winter Wonderland" | Sherman Halsey |
| "The Most Inconvenient Christmas" | ||
| 2004 | "Someplace Green" | |
| 2006 | "Hard to Be Cool (In a Minivan)" | Steven L. Weaver |
| 2009 | "Mama's Table" | |
| 2011 | "What'cha Gonna Do" | Sherman Halsey |
| 2012 | "Sacrifice For Me" | |
| 2015 | "Elvira" (with Home Free) | |
| 2017 | "Family Bible" (With Bradley Walker (singer)) | |
| 2018 | "Brand New Star" | Brandon Wood |
| "Pray To Jesus" | ||
| 2019 | "Reindeer on the Roof" | |
| "Elvira" (with Buck 22) | ||
| "Amazing Grace" | Brandon Wood | |
| 2021 | "Love, Light, and Healing" |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "The Oak Ridge Boys : Chart History : Country Albums". Billboard.
- ^ a b c d e f "The Oak Ridge Boys : Chart History : Billboard 200". Billboard.
- ^ a b c "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Country Albums/CDs". RPM. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Top Albums/CDs". RPM. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum Search - Music Canada - Fancy Free". Music Canada. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "RIAA - Recording Industry Association - Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum Search - Music Canada - Bobbie Sue". Music Canada. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ a b c "The Oak Ridge Boys : Chart History : Top Christian Albums". Billboard.
- ^ a b "The Oak Ridge Boys : Chart History : Independent Albums". Billboard.
- ^ Bjorke, Matt (February 16, 2016). "Top 10 Country Albums Chart: February 16, 2016". Roughstock.
- ^ "17th Avenue Revival - The Oak Ridge Boys". iTunes.
- ^ Bjorke, Matt (February 20, 2019). "Top 10 Country Albums Chart: February 20, 2019". Roughstock. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum Search - Music Canada - Greatest Hits". Music Canada. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ Bjorke, Matt (November 2, 2016). "Special Report: Catalog Country Album Sales: October 2, 2016". Roughstock.
- ^ "Celebrate Christmas". iTunes.
- ^ Bjorke, Matt (December 7, 2016). "Top 10 Country Albums Chart: December 7, 2016". Roughstock.
- ^ "Down Home Christmas by The Oak Ridge Boys". NewReleaseToday. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ Bjorke, Matt (December 9, 2019). "Top 10 Country Albums in Pure Sales: December 9, 2019". Roughstock. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g "The Oak Ridge Boys : Allmusic : Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ a b "The Oak Ridge Boys Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Country Singles". RPM. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ a b "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Adult Contemporary". RPM. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Top Singles". RPM. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ "charts.nz - New Zealand charts portal". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ "The Oak Ridge Boys Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ "Country - Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. July 23, 2004.