The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in southern gospel
during the 1950s. Their name was officially changed to the Oak Ridge
Boys in the early 1960s, and they remained a gospel group until the
mid-1970s, when they changed their image and concentrated on country
music.
The lineup which produced their most world famous and most well-known country and crossover hits (such as "Elvira", "Bobbie Sue", and "American Made") consists of Duane Allen (lead), Joe Bonsall (tenor), William Lee Golden (baritone), and Richard Sterban (bass).
Golden and Allen joined the group in the mid-1960s, and Sterban and
Bonsall joined in the early 1970s. Aside from an eight-year gap
(1987–95) when Golden left the group and was replaced, this lineup has
been together since 1973 and continues to tour and record.
The Eagles are one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 150 million records—100 million in the U.S. alone—including 42 million copies of Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) and 32 million copies of Hotel California. "Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)" was the best selling album of the 20th century in the U.S.
They are the fifth-highest-selling music act and highest-selling
American band in U.S. history. No American band sold more records than
the Eagles during the 1970s.
It was not until 1975's One of These Nights that the Eagles became arguably America's biggest band. The album included three top 10 singles: "One of These Nights", "Lyin' Eyes", and "Take It to the Limit",
the first hitting the top of the charts. They continued that success
and hit their commercial peak in late 1976 with the release of Hotel California,
which would go on to sell more than 16 million copies in the U.S. alone
and more than 32 million copies worldwide. The album yielded two
number-one singles, "New Kid in Town" and "Hotel California". They released their last studio album for nearly 28 years in 1979 with The Long Run, which spawned three top 10 singles: "Heartache Tonight", "The Long Run", and "I Can't Tell You Why", the lead single being another chart-topping hit.
The Eagles disbanded in July 1980 but reunited in 1994 for the album Hell Freezes Over, a mix of live and new studio tracks. They have toured intermittently since then and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2007, the Eagles released Long Road Out of Eden, their first full studio album in 28 years and their sixth number one album. The next year they launched the Long Road Out of Eden Tour in support of the album. In 2013, they began the extended History of the Eagles Tour in conjunction with the band's documentary release, History of the Eagles.