Country Music Hall of Famers The Oak Ridge Boys may be in the midst of commemorating the classic line-up’s half-century of recording and touring together, but the milestone is tempered with the bittersweet news it also marks the beginning of their “American Made Farewell.”

Even so, Illinois has at least one more chance to catch the legendary foursome of Duane Allen, Joe Bonsall, William Lee Golden and Richard Sterban deliver another “Down Home Christmas” in DeKalb at the Egyptian Theatre on Sunday, December 17, which continues an annual area tradition originally started at the now-shuttered Star Plaza Theatre.

Besides southern-fried sounds of the season, former Elvis Presley backer turned bass singer Sterban assures Chicago Concert Reviews it will still include such significant selections as “Elvira,” “Bobbie Sue” and others chronicled on the “It’s Only Natural” collection, alongside the hope that can only come during the holidays, plus reflections on the end of the road from the fellas responsible for selling over 40 million titles and logging 30 Top 10 tunes.

First off, congratulations are in order for reaching 50 years together! What made you want to combine this feat with the “American Made Farewell” Tour?

Richard Sterban: Well, thank you for that. This year we did announce the four of us are celebrating 50 years together and it is quite an accomplishment. In this day and age, you don’t see groups stay together for 50 years like we have. Its pretty amazing. We’ve been very fortunate. We’ve been very blessed. We’ve had a great career over the last 50-plus years. At the same time that we announced we’re celebrating 50 years together, we also announced we are beginning our farewell tour. One thing we have not announced, however, is when the farewell tour will end and the reason we have not announced that is because we do not know ourselves when it’s going to end.

What we want to do is take this opportunity to travel to as many places here in the near future, the next year or so, and thank as many people as possible. We would not be what we are today without our fans, people in radio that have played our records and people that have promoted us in the press like yourself. We want to thank everybody for allowing us to have a great career, so a farewell tour will allow us to do that. We are not using the word “retire” or “retirement.” Not yet. I think we have to be realistic, you know, the end is not that far down the road, but it’s not here yet. We’ve always depended on divine guidance in our career and certainly that was part of this decision, but the good Lord above has not told us yet that it’s time to hang it up and go home for good, so until He says that, we’re gonna keep doing it. We’re not going to work nearly as much as we have in the past, but we’re still gonna be around for a little while. We have plans to go back into the studio next year and work on a new album being produced by Dave Cobb [Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile] again, so we still have some irons in the fire. We’re not disappearing, but we are slowing down some.

What stands out about coming to the Chicago area throughout all these decades?

Sterban: When I think about it, some of the greatest fans in the world. We have played in the Chicago area many, many times over the years. We were regulars for years at a place that’s not there anymore, the Star Plaza in Merrillville, Indiana. We started out playing there on New Year’s Eve many, many years ago and started doing our Christmas show there, so we have a lot of friends. We’re looking forward to coming back and seeing those fans again, and once again, saying “thank you” for allowing us to have such a great career, for supporting us for so many years cause we would not be who we are today without all the great fans in your area, certainly.

Besides the anniversary and the farewell, the upcoming Egyptian Theatre concert is a bonus considering it’s coming right before Christmas. How have The Oak Ridge Boys become so synonymous with the season?

Sterban: You’re correct about that. Over the course of the years, I think we have become known for our Christmas music. I think the four-part harmony has something to do with that. I believe that four voices harmonizing together really lends itself very well to Christmas music, it really does, and believe it or not, we now have nine Christmas albums out. Joe Bonsall, who talks for the group on stage, I’ve heard him jokingly say, “We now have more Christmas albums out than Andy Williams and Kenny Rogers put together!” There may be some truth to that (laughs), but we have become known for our Christmas music over the years.

Believe it or not, this is our 34th annual Christmas tour and every year the Christmas tour has become the biggest part of our year…Quite often when people find out that we’re bringing a Christmas show to town, almost always the very next question is, “Will we still hear ‘Elvira?’” The answer to that is “yes, you will!” You will definitely hear me do “oom-pa-pa-oom-pa-pa-mow-mow.” You’ll hear our first hit ever, “Y’all Come Back Saloon,” and some of the hits that you expect to hear from The Oak Ridge Boys, then just about every aspect of Christmas. It’s a total package.

We sing songs from all the Christmas albums. We sing about the romantic side of Christmas. We sing about the fun side of Christmas. Santa Claus makes a great appearance right in the middle of the show, and actually goes out into the audience, and interacts with the kids in the crowd, so it’s a special moment and it’s really a family show. After Santa leaves the stage, we have a segment where the four Oak Ridge Boys sit in front of a fireplace and each man takes turns talking. We talk about childhood Christmas memories, what Christmas means to us individually and we sing songs between each man talking. It’s a very “Down Home” kind of a segment and it gives the fans a chance to get to know The Oak Ridge Boys just a little bit better.

Then we end the show with what we consider the most important part and that is songs about the birth of Jesus, and how important that is in this day and age in which we live where there’s a lot of problems in this world [and] in our country right now. But we think it’s important that we talk about the importance of the birth of Jesus and what that means in our lives today. We encourage families to come on out, celebrate Christmas together with The Oak Ridge Boys and also celebrate together with us a great career we’ve had for over 50-plus years. Now that this is our farewell tour, it’s a bittersweet feeling, but it’s more of a celebration than sad.

What do you consider to be the group’s most significant moments along the way?

Sterban: There are several things that stick out. We celebrated 50 years together this year, but some of the guys have been together or in the group for longer than 50 years, so we’ve had a long career. What sticks out to me, number one personally, is being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. If you’re singing country songs for a living, there is not a higher honor. If you walk into the Rotunda here in Nashville, you’ll see the four faces of The Oak Ridge Boys on the wall in bronze. Then you look around the room and you will see Elvis [Presley], who I used to sing with by the way. You’ll see Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, the lists goes on, and on, and on, and for The Oak Ridge Boys to be a part of that group is very, very special. It happened to us in 2015, and even though it’s been a few years ago now, I still sometimes have trouble finding just the right words to describe how special that is.

Also, a few years before that, we became members of the Grand Ole Opry, another very special thing. I remember for many years we performed at the Opry and we were not members. In 2011, we were performing on the Opry one night. I believe we were doing “Y’all Come Back Saloon.” After the song, there was a big applause like you usually get at the Opry, but the applause would not die down. We looked around and Little Jimmy Dickens came walking out on the stage dressed as William Lee Golden. He had the long beard, the dark sunglasses, the big cowboy hat (laughs) and he came out on stage. Joe said, “Little Jimmy, you look like you could be one of The Oak Ridge Boys.” And he said, “Well, I’ll tell you what fellas, not only am I going to become one of The Oak Ridge Boys tonight, you guys are about to become the newest members of the Grand Ole Opry.” It was a very emotional experience for us. I don’t think there were dry eyes in any one of the four of us. The Opry is very special, and even now at the new Opry House, there’s a circle on stage and the wood from that circle comes from the old Ryman Auditorium. Every time we perform at the Opry, the four of us make it a point one time during our performance [to] all stand on that circle because it’s like standing on history. Hank Williams stood on that same wood, you know?

We’ve been blessed with so many things that have happened to us over the years. We’ve sung for several presidents of the United States. Another high honor that sticks out in my mind is that we were honored to be able to sing “Amazing Grace” at the funeral of President George Bush…

Before you joined The Oak Ridge Boys, what did you take away from your experience backing Elvis Presley?

Sterban: For about two years prior to joining The Oak Ridge Boys, I sang in a group called J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, and that was a special time in my life. J.D. Sumner was a big influence on me personally. In some ways, he was kind of a like a second father. He’s actually in the “Guinness World Book of Records” as the world’s lowest bass singer and he was an influence on me. I think I happened to be in the right place at the right time cause I was only there for just a few months. J.D. got a phone call and it was from Elvis. J.D. and Elvis were friends. They’re both from Memphis and J.D. sang with The Blackwood Brothers at Elvis’ mother’s funeral, so J.D. had a special place in Elvis’ heart.

Elvis was looking to hire new back-up. He hired J.D. and the Stamps, and here I was a young man in my twenties, I found myself singing on stage with the biggest star in the world back then, the “King of Rock and Roll” himself. His tour was the biggest tour in the music business and being a part of it was very, very exciting. I have some great memories of the time I spent with Elvis. I got to know him just a little bit. It was a very special time in my life, however, something happened to me when I was singing with Elvis.

In 1972, I got a phone call from William Lee Golden of The Oak Ridge Boys. He’s the gentlemen in our group with the long beard. He’s probably the most recognizable character, if I can put it that way, in our group. Back then he did not have that long beard. He was Mr. “GQ” back then. He called me and said the bass singer in The Oak Ridge Boys was leaving and wanted to know if I’d be interested in taking the job. Now here I was apparently on top of the world singing with the “King of Rock and Roll,” but I had to make a decision, like “what do I do?” At the same time, I was a big fan of The Oak Ridge Boys. I loved the music that they were making and I collected their records. I really felt like the group had a great deal of potential and I really wanted to be a part of it, so back then in 1972, I made the decision to leave Elvis and join The Oak Ridge Boys. It was a phone call from William Lee Golden and it was a decision that changed my life. Now 50 years later when I look back on that, I think I made a pretty good decision because I already touched on the fact that we’re members of the Country Music Hall of Fame. I never dreamed back when I was singing with Elvis that someday I would be in the Country Music Hall of Fame together with him and here I am. You never know how things are gonna happen in your life, so that whole thing of singing with Elvis, and leaving Elvis to join The Oak Ridge Boys, that was all a very special and important time in my life personally.

Just like Elvis, The Oak Ridge Boys have been pioneers in many ways, such as becoming one of the first country acts to play arenas. Can you tell us a bit about that and other ways you paved the way for future generations?

Sterban: Well, you’re absolutely correct. We were one of the first acts to do an arena tour, and I’ll tell you, I’ve got to thank our good friend Kenny Rogers for that. He was actually the first country act to do a big arena tour and he made The Oak Ridge Boys a part of that. He allowed us to sing in front of a large audience every night, which helped us propel that into our own arena tour. We learned so many things from Kenny Rogers. We learned the importance of a hit record and what that can mean to your career. We learned the importance of being on time, for example, and the importance of having production in a big arena. We learned all those things from Kenny Rogers and then we were able to incorporate that ourselves, so I think you’re right. We were trendsetters, there’s no question about it, and one of the most gratifying things that has happened to us over the years is talking to other artists. I remember talking to Tim McGraw and even Kenny Chesney. They told us, “you guys and what you guys did inspired us to want to do the same thing. It inspired us to want to be in the business that you were in.” I think we were trendsetters and we helped young, aspiring artists to be successful in our business.

Even more important than all of that, I think we are going to be remembered as an act that actually helped people with our music. We’ve always tried to choose the kind of material that had messages that helped people. In this day of social media, we hear all the time from people that have come to our show, people that have bought our records and listened to our music. They told us that our music has helped them get through difficult times in their lives, so yes, are we proud of the contributions we made in the music business and the position we now hold in country music, but I think we’re even more proud of the fact that we’ve been able to help people with our music. That’s the most important thing.

Another unique aspect is you were able to cross over from the country charts to pop. What was it like bridging styles and breaking down barriers?

Sterban: Well, that was a great thing. I think the best example of that is “Elvira,” a number one country record, certainly, but it was also a number one pop record. It was on multiple genre’s charts. It was even on the R&B charts, believe it or not, Black music, and not many country artists can say they’ve been able to do that in their career, but we’ve been able to do that. We were able to follow that up with “Bobbie Sue,” which pretty much accomplished the same thing as well. Big pop record as well as a big country record. That is a gratifying thing that our music hasn’t been held to just one genre or one category. It goes beyond all categories and I think we see that even today when we walk on stage. We see people of all demographic groups and ages. They’re all fans of The Oak Ridge Boys.

Do you have any opinions on country and pop music these days?

Sterban: Yeah, I do. When I listen to country radio, I realize that country music has changed over the years. I look at the awards shows and I can understand why in some ways we don’t quite fit in there any longer. We had our day and we’re an older, classic act now, but I don’t think that is necessarily a bad thing. I think country music is bigger and better than it’s every been before. I think we have a lot of new, young acts, new songwriters, that have come into our business and they’re very talented. They’ve taken the bar and they’ve raised it several levels. I think our music is bigger and better than it’s ever been before, so I don’t have a problem of what’s going on in country music. I think when I look at what’s going on, I realize the future of country music is in very good hands. The Oak Ridge Boys had to cross over into pop music before we could start playing arenas and become a household name. Country music is so big right now that the country artists don’t have to cross over because today’s country music is today’s pop music. That’s why they’re all playing arenas, and in many cases, stadiums, because the business has gotten bigger and better than it’s ever been!

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The Oak Ridge Boys perform at the Egyptian Theatre on Sunday, December 17. For additional details, visit OakRidgeBoys.com and EgyptianTheatre.org.