The Oak Ridge Boys Tennessee Music Pathways Marker was unveiled near the entrance to the Historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge, TN, on Monday, November 20, 2023. William Golden and Richard Sterban were there representing the group. The marker recognizes that Wally Fowler and the Georgia Clodhoppers entertained in the Grove Theater during the Manhattan Project. When the group was invited to appear on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Wally suggested changing the name of their quartet, The Harmony Quartet, to the Oak Ridge Quartet. He did this because when World War II ended, the name Oak Ridge was "going to be a big thing." So they announced the name change and Wally kept the name until he sold the rights to it and eventually the Oak Ridge Quartet evolved into The Oak Ridge Boys.
The group appeared in Oak Ridge in 2007, and I gave them a tour of Y-12 including the Calutrons inside Building 9204-3 (Beta 3) and took them up on Chestnut Ridge to overview the Y-12 National Security Complex.
