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"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 single from the album Monongahela.

History

The members of The Oak Ridge Boys had contacted Don Lanier, a friend of their record producer Jimmy Bowen, in 1987 to provide the group with "up-tempo" material. One of the songs recommended by Lanier was "Gonna Take a Lot of River". The song's lyrics reference the Monongahela River, a river in Pennsylvania. Group member Duane Allen stated that the members all liked the sound of the name "Monongahela", and thus named the corresponding album Monongahela as well.

In October 1988, the song ascended to number one on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart. "Gonna Take a Lot of River" was the first song to feature the lead vocals of 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

Year-end charts

References

1. ^ Roland, Tom (1991). The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits. Billboard Books. p. 534. ISBN 0-8230-7553-2.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 252.
3. "The Oak Ridge Boys Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
4. "RPM 100 Country Singles" (PDF). RPM. November 5, 1988.
5. "Best of 1988: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1988. Retrieved May 30, 2020.

• 1988 singles
• The Oak Ridge Boys songs
• Song recordings produced by Jimmy Bowen
• MCA Records singles
• 1988 songs