Joe Bonsall announced on January 3, 2024, that he was retiring from touring with the Oak Ridge Boys because a slow-onset neuromuscular disorder had made walking impossible and life on the road too difficult. He said Ben James was singing in his place and that the group would continue its American Made Farewell Tour without him. The Oak Ridge Boys later reported that Bonsall died on July 9, 2024, from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Why did Joe Bonsall retire from touring?
In a statement dated January 3, 2024, Bonsall said he had been battling a slow-onset neuromuscular disorder for more than four years. “I am now to a point that walking is impossible so I have basically retired from the road,” he wrote, adding, “It has just gotten too difficult.” The Oak Ridge Boys reproduced his statement in its official tribute to Bonsall.
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Bonsall thanked the band, crew, and staff for their support over his 50 years with the group. He also thanked people who had been praying for him and asked them to keep doing so. His January announcement described a “neuromuscular disorder”; it did not identify ALS as his diagnosis.
Who sang for Joe Bonsall on the Farewell Tour?
Ben James sang in Bonsall’s place. Bonsall publicly endorsed him, asking fans to offer James “love and encouragement” and praising his talent while noting that his sound differed from Bonsall’s. The group’s official biography says James sang for Bonsall as the Oak Ridge Boys continued the Farewell Tour schedule with Duane Allen, William Lee Golden, and Richard Sterban.
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What was the American Made Farewell Tour?
The Oak Ridge Boys announced the American Made: Farewell Tour on September 19, 2023, during the group’s 50th-anniversary period. The announcement named Allen, Bonsall, Golden, and Sterban as the lineup at that time. The tour continued after Bonsall stepped away, with James taking his vocal role.
In his January statement, Bonsall said the group would finish the tour without him and that he was “good with all of it.” His departure was a retirement from the road; the group’s later account records James as the singer who filled in for him on the tour.
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What happened to Joe Bonsall after he retired?
Bonsall died on July 9, 2024, from complications of ALS, according to the Oak Ridge Boys’ official biography. That later information clarifies the broader timeline, but it should not be confused with the wording of his January retirement statement, which referred only to a neuromuscular disorder.
The group’s biography says Bonsall joined the Oak Ridge Boys in 1973. His memoir, I See Myself, was released in November 2024, also according to the biography.
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