"No Matter How High" is a song written by
Even Stevens and
Joey Scarbury, 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 December 1989 as the second single from the album ''
American Dreams''. The song was The Oak Ridge Boys' seventeenth and final number one on the country chart. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of twenty-one weeks on the country chart.
Music video
The music video, directed by Larry Boothby, features each of the Oaks in their hometowns, each visiting with their respective mothers. The original intent was to have the group sing the song to their mothers in the video, however,
Duane Allen
Duane David Allen (born April 29, 1943) is an American singer/songwriter who had formal training in both operatic and quartet singing before becoming a member of The Oak Ridge Boys in 1966. Allen is the lead singer for the quartet and is hear ...
's mother was ill at the time, so Boothby decided to incorporate their hometowns, thus avoiding any lengthy or strenuous travel.
Chart performance
Year-end charts
Remake
In 2011, the group rerecorded the song with a new arrangement and lead singer
Duane Allen
Duane David Allen (born April 29, 1943) is an American singer/songwriter who had formal training in both operatic and quartet singing before becoming a member of The Oak Ridge Boys in 1966. Allen is the lead singer for the quartet and is hear ...
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
Steve Sanders, who succeeded
William Lee Golden on baritone vocals. The lineup on the new album included Golden.
References
1989 singles
The Oak Ridge Boys songs
Song recordings produced by Jimmy Bowen
MCA Records singles
Songs written by Even Stevens (songwriter)
1989 songs
{{1989-country-song-stub