The Oak Ridge Boys have just released a video for their powerful new take on “Live Forever,” and the song serves as a manifesto for a group that has no plans of slowing down after a career spanning decades.
What Is the Oak Ridge Boys’ New Album?
The Country Music Hall of Famers released a new album titled Buried Treasures on Friday (Oct. 30), featuring a melting pot of some of the group’s favorite songs from across various genres and decades.
The result is a mix of styles that draws heavily on the Oaks’ roots as a gospel group, including their renditions of “Deep River,” “How Great Thou Art” and “Softly and Tenderly.”
“Live Forever” is a Billy Joe Shaver classic that producer Anderson East and executive producer and mix engineer David Cobb asked William Lee Golden to sing lead on.
“I’ve heard his version of it, and loved it for a long time,” Golden tells Taste of Country.
Director Brandon Wood chose a picturesque farm near Clarksville, Tenn., for the video shoot, and Golden’s wife, Simone, was also involved in a segment.
“My wife and I went out there, and then the Oaks did our part of it here at Old Hickory Lake, out on the banks of the lake here in Hendersonville, Tenn., right by the Oak Ridge Boys Bridge here on Johnny Cash Parkway.
“The song talks about, the songs that are left behind, they’re gonna live forever,” Golden explains. “His thoughts and his visions and his feelings in that song will continue to live forever, even after he’s gone. And that’s what it is.
“Billy Joe’s not with us anymore,” Golden says soberly. “But it’s a great song, and fun to sing, and certainly the most fun having the Oak Ridge Boys harmonizing on that chorus.”
The Oak Ridge Boys’ new video for “Live Forever” premieres exclusively with Taste of Country below:
What Are the Highlights of The Oak Ridge Boys’ New Album Buried Treasures?
In addition to the aforementioned songs, Golden’s rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is a standout, and Golden admits it was a challenge. It was Cobb who suggested Golden sing lead on that track, as well.
“It was the end of a session, and he said, ‘Golden, I want you to come in tomorrow morning, and I want you to be prepared to sing the lead on ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water.’ And I thought, ‘Wow, I’ve never even thought about me singing lead on that song.’ But I’ve always loved the song,” Golden says.
“It was way too high for my voice,” he adds. “But we got in the studio the next day, and Duane Allen told them what key to put it in. It was a lower key, but it was still at the top of my range.”
“I think William Lee did a magnificent job on that song,” Allen enthuses. “What I like the most is the passion in his voice. There are times when his vocal track is so full of passion, you can hear a break or two in his voice.
“Today, with the technology we have, we could eliminate that. But I didn’t want to,” he adds. “I wanted you to hear the passion with which he sang that song. He pretty much reinvented that song for himself.”
The idea for the Buried Treasures album came from the group’s longtime manager, Jim Halsey, who initially suggested “Stardust” as a song he’d like to hear the group record.
“How Great Thou Art” had already been a standout at the Oak’s live shows, and Allen tells Taste of Country, “I just thought, ‘Well, why don’t we just do iconic hits? Everything from ‘How Great Thou Art’ to ‘Stardust,’ and everything in between! Let’s just find these buried treasures that are well-known to people, but we’ve never recorded them.”
The group turned to Aaron Raitiere for the title song, “Buried Treasures,” which is the sole original new song on the album.
“I told him, ‘We really need a song called ‘Buried Treasures,’ and we need to tie all of these buried treasure songs together,'” Allen says. ” And of course, he wrote it about finding the love of your life, which is what we sing about in our songs. And he put all of those songs together with one great ballad.”
The Oak Ridge Boys who appear on the new album are a modified lineup from the group’s most familiar roster of Allen, Golden, Joe Bonsall and Richard Sterban.
Bonsall died in July of 2024 after battling ALS, while Sterban has been taking a break from the band for a year-and-a-half while he battles pancreatic cancer.
READ MORE: Oak Ridge Boys’ Duane Allen Reveals Why the Group Won’t Retire
Ben James has taken over for Bonsall, and Aaron Lee McCune has been appearing with the Oaks live in Sterban’s place, though Sterban was still involved in the new album in a limited way.
The group already had a long history before the iteration that rocketed to country superstardom, and as far as Allen and Golden are concerned, the Oak Ridge Boys may very well go on after they’re gone.
“I think they should,” Golden says. “That’s how we got here. Someone else left and passed the torch to a new generation, and the new generation’s standing by Duane and I. We’re the old veterans in the Oak Ridge Boys, but these new guys have brought a brand-new energy and a talent that’s capable of taking this group into the future.”
In fact, Golden says, “This coming year, we’re planning on doing a New Generation Tour.”
“And if Richard recovers from his sickness … he’s on a leave of absence,” Allen clarifies. “He’s still a member of the Oak Ridge Boys. And we may have two bass singers the next time you see us!”
Buried Treasures is currently available across a wide variety of digital music platforms.
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