Joe Bonsall

May 18, 1948 – July 9, 2024

Joe was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and since childhood he has loved the Philadelphia Phillies. According to him, “I live and die with the Phillies, no matter where they are in the standings. They have been playing great of late and that makes me happy!” 

Now a Nashvillian for almost five decades, Joe is also a Tennessee Titans football fan. He has had season tickets since they arrived in Nashville in 1998.

Joe is an avid writer and songwriter and became a published children’s book author in 1997 with The Molly Books, a four-book series published by Ideal’s Children’s Books. In 2003, New Leaf Press published G. I. Joe and Lillie: Remembering a Life of Love and Loyalty, an inspirational biography Joe penned about his parents. His song by the same name was included on the Oaks’ Colors album, released the same year. A music video of the song reemerged in the summer of 2009 and became a YouTube phenomenon with almost six million views. 

Joe also wrote the title song for the Oaks’ The Journey album, as well as the text for The Oak Ridge Boys’ coffee table book, An American Journey, published in 2004. In 2014, New Leaf published Joe’s Christmas short story, An Inconvenient Christmas, which was inspired by an Oak Ridge Boys’ song from an album by the same name. 

In September 2010, Journey Press, a division of Sheaf House, released From My Perspective, a collection of Joe’s commentaries, stories, and other writings. His book Christmas Miracles, a collection of Christmas short stories and commentaries, originally published in 2008, was updated in 2012. His most recent book, On the Road with The Oak Ridge Boys, was published by Harvest House Publishers in May 2015.

For relaxation, Joe retreats to his farm on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line, where he can often be found on his John Deere tractor mowing part of his 350-acres—or sitting on his front porch and playing banjo, an instrument he has played for more than a decade. He plays a step-out lead on the Oaks’ Rock of Ages CD.

Joe has been singing since he was about four years old and in his mid-teens fell in love with Southern Gospel music harmony. A born-again Christian, he is always quick to give God the credit for everything he has accomplished. He joined the Oaks in 1973, just prior to the group’s emergence on the Country music scene. As with the other group members, much of Joe’s time has been spent on the road performing, but he found his own way to get the maximum possible enjoyment out of touring.  

“My life has been simple,” says the Oak who was the principal spokesman on stage for five decades. “I go out there and try to sing the best I can and give them physically and mentally everything I’ve got. When it’s done, I go back to my room or the bus, eat some pizza or sushi, call my Mary, get on my Apple laptop, do a little writing, and say to myself, ‘Hey, I’ve done what I’m supposed to be doing and I feel great about it.’”

Joe and his wife, Mary, have two daughters, Jennifer, and Sabrina; two grandchildren, Breanne and Luke, who recently served in the U.S. Navy; and one great grandson, Noah Chance. They also have four cats, Mitty, Crockett, Barney, and Maggie Mae.

In early 2024, Joe announced his retirement from touring due to the onset of a neuromuscular disorder. He passed on to Glory on July 9, 2024, due to complications from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). He leaves behind his precious wife, Mary Ann, daughters Jennifer and Sabrina, granddaughter Breanne, grandson Luke, two great grandsons, Chance and Grey, and a sister, Nancy. He is preceded in death by his parents Joseph S. Bonsall Sr. and Lillie Bonsall.

A memoir written by Joe in early 2024, entitled I See Myself, will be released in November.