Vince Gill Honors The Oak Ridge Boys’ Joe Bonsall During Grand Ole Opry Performance

Vince Gill honored the late Joe Bonsall through music at the Grand Ole Opry last week. Bonsall, a 50-year member of The Oak Ridge Boys, died July 9 from complications of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). He was 76.

“I wanted to sing a couple of songs tonight in memory of my sweet friend Joe Bonsall,” Gill told the crowd Wednesday, per American Songwriter. “We were friends for 42 years. He was the high singer in The Oak Ridge Boys for all those years. My heart’s broken for him and his family. This is one of the great Oak Ridge Boys songs written by Rodney Crowell.”

Gill began with a cover of Crowell’s  "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight” before performing The Oak Ridge Boys’ signature hit, “Elvira.”

“Remembering Joe Bonsall of @theoakridgeboys,” the Grammy winner wrote alongside a clip of his rendition of “Elvira” on Instagram.

Gill also dedicated an emotional performance of “Go Rest High on That Mountain” to Bonsall—the same song he honored Toby Keith with back in April. 

Bonsall, who joined The Oak Ridge Boys in 1973, announced his retirement from touring in January, revealing that life on the road had “gotten too difficult,” and that the neuromuscular disorder had robbed him of the ability to walk. 

During his five-decade run with the group he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, 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.