“Heartbroken” Blake Shelton Mourns Joe Bonsall’s Death
on Jul 10, 2024
Oak Ridge Boys Member Joe Bonsall Died On July 9 At The Age Of 76 Following A Battle With ALS
Blake Shelton joins the rest of the country music community in mourning Joe Bonsall’s death.
Bonsall sang with the Oak Ridge Boys for 50 years before he retired in January of this year. He decided to retire due to his worsening symptoms associated with a neuromuscular disorder, which he battled for several years. Bonsall did not reveal the name of his disorder at that time.
Sadly, Bonsall passed away on July 9, 2024, at the age of 76. The Oak Ridge Boys released a statement about his death and revealed that Bonsall battled ALS.
“Joseph S. Bonsall (76) of Hendersonville, Tennessee passed on to Glory on July 9, 2024, from complications of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis [otherwise known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease].“
RELATED: OAK RIDGE BOYS’ JOE BONSALL’S MEMOIR TO BE RELEASED POSTHUMOUSLY THIS FALL
Per Bonsall’s request, there will be no funeral services. Instead of sending flowers, his family has asked those wishing to pay tribute to donate to The ALS Association or the Vanderbilt Medical Center ALS and Neuroscience Research Center in Bonsall’s memory.
Blake Shelton Shares Emotional Statement About Joe Bonsall’s Death
As longstanding figures in the country music community, the Oak Ridge Boys have many friends in the business, including Blake Shelton. He even enlisted the Oaks’ help on one of his tracks, 2016’s “Doing It to Country Songs.”
The comical song has a hilarious music video to match, which features Shelton and the Oaks as animated woodland animals.
They performed the song at CMA Fest in 2016 and at the Grand Ole Opry in 2017. During the latter performance, they also joined forces to sing the Oaks’ iconic song, “Elvira.”
Because of his close connection to the Oak Ridge Boys, Shelton was devastated when he learned that Joe Bonsall had passed away. He shared an emotional statement about his death on X (formerly Twitter), writing:
“I’m heartbroken to hear of my friend Joe Bonsalls passing. I’ve NEVER seen Joe when he wasn’t smiling and completely full of life. He absolutely loved singing like no one I ever met. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and his @oakridgeboys brothers. We all lost a special person today.”
I’m heartbroken to hear of my friend Joe Bonsalls passing. I’ve NEVER seen Joe when he wasn’t smiling and completely full of life. He absolutely loved singing like no one I ever met. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and his @oakridgeboys brothers. We all lost a special… pic.twitter.com/RKVJ7KcXyL
— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) July 9, 2024
You can honor Bonsall by watching him and the rest of the Oak Ridge Boys sing with Shelton in the video below.
Although Bonsall is no longer with us, his legacy will live on through the many people who loved him. Our prayers are with his family and bandmates during this sad time…
