GAZETTE TUESDAY, JULY 18, 2017 WWW.JGTC.COM
Tuesday, July 16, 2019 | jg-tc.com | SECTION B
Something for everyone Bagelfest to offer concerts, carnival, parade, breakfast ROB STROUD
rob.stroud@lee.net
MATTOON — The 2019 Bagelfest will offer three nights of main stage concerts, four days of carnival rides, a parade, and the event’s signature free bagel breakfast. The main stage at Grimes Field in Peterson Park will host performances by contemporary Christian music group 7eventh Time Down on Thursday, country music legends The Oak Ridge Boys on
Friday, and Beatles act 1964 The Tribute on Saturday. All of theses concerts will start at 8 p.m. Admission to the 7eventh Time Down concert will be free. Tickets for the other two concerts can be purchased in advance by calling 1-800-500-6286 or visiting mattoonbagelfest2019.eventbrite. com. Remaining tickets will be
sold at the gate. Tourism and Arts Director Angelia Burgett said they are “basically sold out” on reserved seating for the Oak Ridge Boys concert, but still have lawn seating available. “The Oak Ridge Boys concert has hit a button with people in a way I didn’t expect,” Burgett said.
seems to resonate with Beatles fans purchasing tickets for 1964 The Tribute. She said sales have been brisk for combo tickets for both shows. The Bagelfest carnival at Peterson Park is scheduled to be open 6-10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 1-11 p.m. Friday, and noon11 p.m. Saturday. Armband discounts will be available all night Wednesday, 1-5 p.m. Friday, and noon-4 p.m. Saturday. Armbands She added that many of the ticket can be purchase for $17 in advance buyers have indicated they have from the Peterson House at the been to other Oaks shows and park or $20 on site. want to “see them again.” Food vendors will accompany In addition, Burgett said the music of the Oak Ridge Boys also Please see BAGELFEST, Page B4
WHAT’S INSIDE
Bagelfest parade Annual trek through downtown promises to be crowd-pleaser PAGE 3
Run for the Bagel Organizers expand race options PAGE 4
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
The Oak Ridge Boys are scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. Friday, July 19 at the Mattoon Bagelfest in Peterson Park. The group, which traces its roots back to World War II, will perform their signature songs, including “Elvira” and their latest album, 17th Avenue Revival.
Oak Ridge Boys honor roots How cute
Newborns flock to Beautiful Baby Bagel Contest PAGE 5
Bass singer Sterban talks about “Elvira,” Elvis, President Bush ROB STROUD
rob.stroud@lee.net
Chart toppers
A distinguished list of performers have graced the Bagelfest stage PAGE 8
Yummy
View pictures from the Bagel Breakfast, the early years PAGE 10
MATTOON — “Giddy up baoom papa oom papa mow mow” Bass singer Richard Sterban of the Oak Ridge Boys will be forever associated with singing that deep-voiced solo on “Elvira,” a 1981 platinum hit single that would go on to become the signature song for these country music legends. Sterban said audiences still rise to their feet whenever they hear the introduction to “Elvira.” “You can count on the fact that whenever we come your way. That song will be in our show,” Sterban said. Visitors to the Mattoon Bagelfest in Peterson Park will hear “Elvira” when Sterban and fellow Oaks Duane Allen, Joe Bonsall, and William Lee Golden bring their four-part harmony there for a concert at 8 p.m. Friday, July 19. Sterban said concer-goers also will hear “American Made,” “Bobbie Sue,” “Dream On,” “Y’all Come Back Saloon” and other Oaks classic hits, plus music from the band’s new 17th Avenue Revival album. This Dave Cobb-produced album takes an early rock ‘n’ roll approach to connecting with the Oak Ridge Boys’ roots in gospel music.
Honoring music history
Royalty M 1
Local girls vie for Miss Teen Bagelfest, court PAGE 11
Sterban said the roots of the Oak Ridge Boys stretch back to World War II, when a group known as the Georgia Clodhop-
‘We bring a lot of history with us every time we walk on stage,’ said Richard Sterban, far right.
If you go WHAT: Oak Ridge Boys concert WHERE: Bagelfest in Peterson Park, Mattoon WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday, July 19 TICKETS: Call 1-800-5006286 or go to mattoonbagel fest2019.eventbrite.com.
association with these shows. They began making regular Grand Ole Opry appearances in the fall of 1945. In the mid-1950s, they were featured in Time magazine as one of the top drawing gospel groups in the nation. Later, the quartet became known as the Oak Ridge Boys as its membership changed over the years. Golden joined the Oak Ridge Boys in 1965, Allen in 1966, Sterban in 1972, and Bonsall in 1973. “We bring a lot of history with us every time we walk on stage,” Sterban said. “We want to honor that history and continue to allow that to go forward.”
pers, based in Knoxville, Tennessee, performed a series of country and gospel music shows for sequestered staff and families at the research base in nearby Oak Ridge where the atomic bomb was being developed. Singing with Elvis The group renamed itself the Prior to joining the Oak Ridge Oak Ridge Quartet because of its Boys in late 1972, Sterban, a New
Jersey native, toured with the J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet while the gospel group was singing backup for Elvis Presley. Sterban said he was honored to be singing in the studio with Presley in 1972 when he recorded “Burning Love,” a single that is still widely played and used in commercials to this day. Sterban said he also vividly remembers being alongside Presley during his June 10, 1972 concert at Madison Square Garden, which he described as a “special day.” During their downtime between concerts, Sterban said Presley often gathered the quartet around a piano to sing “How Great Thou Art” and other hymns. Please see OAK RIDGE, Page B2
