"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 Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

group

the Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...

. It was released in July 1988 as the lead single from the album '' Monongahela''. In October 1988, the song ascended to No. 1 on the ''

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' Hot Country Singles chart. "Gonna Take a Lot of River" was the first song 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 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., doing business as simply Cracker Barrel, is an American chain of restaurant and gift stores with a Southern country theme. The company was founded by Dan Evins in 1969. Its first store was in Lebanon, ...

. The album included songs originally sung by Sanders. The lineup included Golden on baritone vocals.

Chart positions

Year-end charts

Sources

* Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits." (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 ())

References

{{authority control 1988 singles The Oak Ridge Boys songs Song recordings produced by Jimmy Bowen MCA Records singles 1988 songs