Everyday ... til the end

"Hewlett Packard Enterprise Frontier, or OLCF-5, is the world's first exascale supercomputer. It is hosted at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF) in Tennessee, United States and became operational in 2022. As of December 2023, Frontier is the world's fastest supercomputer."

(Frontier [Supercomputer] / wikipedia)

Named after the town of Oak Ridge in the US state of Tennessee, about 30 miles west of Knoxville, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory research center was founded in 1943. To this day, under the motto "Solving Big Problems", it carries out scientific research in a variety of areas, inluding the operation of what is currently the fastest supercomputer in the world.

Research work at the time of its founding was however still focused on secret military agendas, which is why staff were not allowed to leave the premises as long as the Second World War was raging on. To still offer them some kind of entertainment, the gospel group Wally Fowler and the Georgia Clodhoppers was hired for regular performances. This led to the group quickly renaming itself the Oak Ridge Quartet.

In 1961, the name was no longer considered contemporary and was changed again to The Oak Ridge Boys. Almost exactly 30 years after its formation and around 25 band members later, in 1973, the group eventually began to move away from its gospel roots towards commercial country music. The switch to the new genre became official with the release of the album "Y'all Come Back Saloon" in 1977. It came with a new producer by the name of Ron Chancey and did not only reach number 8 on the Billboard Country Album chart, but also had all 3 singles reach the top-3 on the Billboard Country Singles chart.

It laid the foundation for a career that, with 17 number one hits on the Billboard Country Singles charts, is considered one of the most successful in the genre. Coming from the gospel tradition, the Oak Ridge Boys were always a vocal quartet accompanied by a band (The Oak Ridge Boys Band). For around 50 years, the voices and harmonies of Duane Allen (lead vocals), Joe Bonsall (tenor), William Lee Golden (baritone) und Richard Sterban (bass) shaped not only the country genre, but also, at times, pop music (with their hits 'Elvira' [1981] and 'Bobbie Sue' [1982]).

In 1984 the Oak Ridge Boys made a slight lyrical return to their gospel influences with the song 'Everyday', which reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart on October 6 and became already their 10th number 1 hit. While the musical production of the track was in line with what one would expect from an Oaks hit out of the 1980s, the lyrics were rather unusual with their call to bring more positivity and joy into the world.

You know with all the trouble and sorrow in the world,
it seems like the least we can do,
just take a kind word into the street
and share it with everybody you meet.

(Everyday / Dave Loggins, J.D. Martin)

Songwriter Dave Loggins, known for pop classic 'Please Come to Boston', wrote 'Everyday' specifically for the Oak Ridge Boys after hearing them on the radio shortly before. "It was unusual for both of us to write a song for a specific artist", his songwriting partner J.D. Martin said about the creation of the song. "But it was fun, because we would try to imagine the bass parts and all the harmonies and all of that."

After finishing the song, the two sent it to the Oaks, who at that time were working on their studio album "Deliver" (1983). Unfortunately, the timing was bad, as the album had already been completed. Nevertheless, the group was poised to record the song.

Consequently 'Everyday' appeared on their follow-up project, "Greatest Hits 2", released the following year, alongside 'Make My Life With You' as one of two new songs on the collection.

At the same time, 'Everyday' also became the first number one country hit for songwriter Dave Loggins, who subsequently turned into one of the most sought-after hit songwriters in Nashville.

On July 9, 2024, Joe Bonsall of the Oak Ridge Boys passed away at the age of 76 from the incurable neurological desease ALS.

On July 10, 2024, Dave Logginspassed away in Nashville at the age of 76. He was considered one of America's most well known and successful songwriters.