Blake Shelton Mourns The Loss Of A Country Music Legend
Blake Shelton posted on his Insta Stories today (7/9) to mourn the loss of his friend Joe Bonsal, a 50-year-member of the Oak Ridge Boys, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall Fame in 2015.
Bonsall passed away today, July 9, from complications of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). He was 76.
Blake posted a photo of himself on stage with the Oak Ridge Boys in Insta Stories. He wrote, “I am heartbroken to hear of my friend Joe Bonsall’s passing. I’ve never seen Joe when he wasn’t smiling and completely full of life.”
Shelton continued, “He absolutely loved singing like no one I ever met. My prayers are with his family and Oak Ridge Boy brothers. We all lost a special person today.”
The Oak Ridge Boys took home two CMA Awards throughout their career. The group was named CMA Vocal Group of the Year in 1978 and received CMA Single of the Year in 1981 for their smash hit “Elvira.”
Country Music Association CEO Sraha Trahem said in a statement, “When I think of the Oak Ridge Boys and their place in Country Music history, the image of Joe with his huge smile and boundless energy comes to mind so clearly.”
She added, “His commitment to serving others while developing Country Music into a worldwide sensation will never be forgotten, including our industry.”
Bonsall was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and inducted into the Philadelphia Music Hall of Fame, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Hall of Fame.
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Blake is a true blue country music lover and has been since he was a boy growing up in Oklahoma. You don’t have to spend much time with the country superstar to realize how deep his love of country music goes.
In one of my interviews with Shelton a few years back, he told me that his day is filled with the music that he loves. “It’s country music. I mean, I wake up in the morning, and the first thing I do…and people that have to live with me and be around me, it drives ’em crazy. First thing in the morning, I’ll wake up, and I’ll be listening to John Conlee, The Oak Ridge Boys, or Keith Whitley, or the Bellamy Brothers, you know, all those guys from the 1980s that I grew up listening to.”
He added, “It just inspires me all over again, and I’m inspired every single day when I hear those records I’ve fallen in love with.”
