Biography
Originally called the Country Cut-Ups, the Oak Ridge Boys were formed in 1943 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. They often performed at the atomic energy plant in Oak Ridge, where, in the midst of a war, their optimistic gospel songs were welcomed, and hence they were renamed the Oak Ridge Quartet. They recorded their first records in 1947 with a line-up featuring leader Wally Fowler (15 February 1917, Adairsville, Georgia, USA, d. 3 June 1994, Tennessee, USA), Marshall Lon Freeman (b. c.1921, Berryton, Georgia, USA, d. 30 July 2003, Rocky Face, Georgia, USA), Curly Kinsey, and Johnny New. Handled by Fowler, they recorded their first records in 1947, moving their base to Nashville. Various members came and went during this period, with Fowler the one constant before he elected to disband the group in 1956. A year later, they re-formed in a revised line-up organized by a long-serving member, Smitty Gatlin. They became full-time professionals in 1961 and the album on...
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