Gonna Take a Lot of River
| "Gonna Take a Lot of River" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Oak Ridge Boys | ||||
| from the album Monongahela | ||||
| Released | July 1988 (U.S.) | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1988 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:00 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Writer(s) |
Mark Henley John Kurhajetz | |||
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Bowen | |||
| The Oak Ridge Boys singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Gonna Take a Lot of River" — often known as "Gonna Take a Lot of River (Mississippi, Monongahela, Ohio)" — is a song written by John Kurhajetz and Mark Henley, and recorded by American country music group The Oak Ridge Boys. It was released in July 1988 as the lead-off single from the album Monongahela.
In October 1988, the song ascended to No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart. The band's 15th chart topper in a string dating to 1978, "Gonna Take a Lot of River" was the first to feature the lead vocals of group baritone Steve Sanders, who succeeded William Lee Golden in the group's lineup.
In 2011, the group rerecorded the song with a new arrangement and tenor singer Joe Bonsall on lead vocals for their It's Only Natural project at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. The album included songs originally sung by Sanders. The lineup included Golden on baritone vocals.
Chart positions
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
Sources
- Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits." (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 (ISBN 0-82-307553-2))
- Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs: 1944-2005," 2006.
| Preceded by "Strong Enough to Bend" by Tanya Tucker |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single October 29, 1988 |
Succeeded by "Darlene" by T. Graham Brown |