Hidden Gems: Oak Ridge Boys – “The Christian Way”

This cut comes from the 1965  Skylite album I Wouldn’t Take Nothing For My Journey Now (which is my favorite cut of the classic song, by the way).  Personnel on this recording include Willie Wynn – Tenor, Smitty Gatlin – Lead, Jim Hamill – Baritone, and Herman Harper – Bass.  This is a fast paced barn burner that seems way too short at 1:23, but it’s a gem of a song.  The verse is sung by the quartet.  The chorus features some great bass vocals from Harper on the first two lines before the rest of the quartet joins.  The chorus is then repeated with a key change after Harper’s solo lines and the melody shifts to Wynn and the harmony gets inverted leading to a nice high power ending.  There’s also some incredible guitar licks on the track.  It’s a short little song, but is actually one of my favorite Oak Ridge Boys tracks from their early days.  This entire album is still one of my favorites by the group.  You can also find this on the recently released CD The Inspirational Collection.  Give it a spin if you’ve got it!