Oak Ridge Boys 1974 Goshen, IN

This is an Oak Ridge Boys concert from 1974 in Goshen, IN. The Oak Ridge Boys had just signed with Columbia Records in 1974 to try to break from gospel into pop, while still keeping their lyrical direction in a spiritual one. The Oaks had just let go tenor Willie Wynn, since his voice wasn't right for a pop group, and signed Joe Bonsall as their new tenor. The Oaks released their first album on Columbia, which was self-titled, and they won a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance for "The Baptism of Jesse Taylor", which you can hear on this DVD. The Oaks also had their first chart success, with "The Oak Ridge Boys" reaching #38 on the Billboard Country Album Charts. The album's singles did not get any airplay on country, pop, or gospel radio stations though, as Columbia refused to service the Gospel radio stations, and the country and pop radio stations thought the Oaks were still gospel.

Many of the songs that were on the Jake Hess Studio Filming are included here, many from the Columbia and Heartwarming label era of the Oak Ridge Boys when they were doing gospel and message songs in their shows before they broke into country. "Because He Lives", which I couldn't include on the Jake Hess Studio filming one since it was released on "A Gospel Journey" in 2009, is included here. "Because He Lives" was a lead for Joe that he was doing when he was with the Keystones before the Oaks, and the Oaks added it to their show to give Joe a feature when he first started with the group in 1973. "Jesus Is the Man (for the Hour) was also featured on the Jake Hess Show Studio footage, and not able to be included due to it being on "A Gospel Journey". Another song that wasn't on my last Jake Hess Studio Filming was "He Never Said a Word", which was from Street Gospel in 1973, and features the bass voice of Richard Sterban, one of the first songs he did with the group. The Band also does a couple of songs that weren't on my other concert, headed by drummer Mark Ellerbee, "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" and "There Must Be a Heavenly Home". Another song that wasn't on my last concert post was the Mac Davis classic "I Believe in Music" done in a gospel style, "I Believe in Jesus, I Believe in Music", which was on "Street Gospel" in 1973, and Duane Allen takes the lead. Also, the Oaks sing the gospel standard "How Great Thou Art"

Track List:
01 - He's Gonna Smile on Me
02 - Why Me
03 - Jesus Is Coming Soon
04 - Jesus Is Coming Soon reprise
05 - Because He Lives
06 - Because He Lives reprise
07 - Jesus Is the Man (for the Hour)
08 - He Never Said a Word
09 - Put Your Arms Around Me Blessed Jesus
10 - What a Time We Will Have Over There
11 - Rockland Road (Oaks Band)
12 - I Wish We'd All Been Ready (Oaks Band)
13 - There Must Be a Heavenly Home (Oaks Band)
14 - I Believe in Jesus (I Believe in Music)
15 - You Happened to Me
16 - Sanctified
17 - How Great Thou Art
18 - What a Time We Will Have Over There
19 - King Jesus
20 - I Know