Long before he died, George H.W. Bush made one request of his favorite country group. When the time came, he wanted the Oak Ridge Boys to sing “Amazing Grace” at his funeral.
It was not a passing wish. Bush wrote it down as part of his plans. In the last months of his life, Duane Allen, Joe Bonsall, William Lee Golden and Richard Sterban took a suit and tie with them everywhere they went, so they would be ready the moment the family called.
“George Bush requested before he passed away that we sing ‘Amazing Grace,’ his favorite song, at his funeral.” — Richard Sterban
A Vice President Running Across the Lawn
The friendship began in October 1983. The Oak Ridge Boys were booked for an event at the White House, and that afternoon they were in the middle of their soundcheck. Bush, then vice president, had a problem. He was leaving for Africa and would miss the show.
He wasn’t willing to miss them completely. Joe Bonsall later remembered the vice president coming across the White House lawn toward the band in a hurry. Bush told them he couldn’t make it that night, but he was a huge country fan and a big Oak Ridge Boys fan.
So they sang for him right there. And Bush didn’t ask for the radio hits. He asked for little-known album cuts, the kind only a real fan would know. Duane Allen called that afternoon the start of their relationship with George H.W. Bush.
“Amazing Grace,” Again and Again
Over the next 35 years, the Oak Ridge Boys sang for Bush in places few musicians ever see. They performed at the White House and on Air Force One. When he became president in 1989, they sang “Amazing Grace” during his inauguration ceremonies. They sang it for him again at his family’s home in Maine.
The friendship went far beyond the stage. The four men and their wives flew to Kennebunkport and stayed in the Bush house, spending summers with George and Barbara. They fished together, hiked together and shared a lot of lobster. Bush, known for his colorful socks, even compared socks with the group. Their last visit came about two years before he died, when they all sat down for lunch.
When Bush wasn’t feeling well, the group would call him and sing. Barbara Bush swore it had a healing effect on him.
The Call Comes
Barbara Bush died in April 2018. On November 30, 2018, George H.W. Bush died in Houston at 94.
The Oak Ridge Boys had been part of the family’s plans for the service for about six months. In the final weeks, the family told them to be ready. Now the suits came out.
After a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral, Bush came home to Texas. More than 11,000 people paid their respects as he lay in repose through the night at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, where his family worshipped. On Thursday, December 6, his hometown funeral was held there. Reba McEntire sang “The Lord’s Prayer.” Then it was the Oak Ridge Boys’ turn.
Before they sang, one of them told the church about that first time in 1983, when the vice president asked them to sing. Then he lightened the room. What a lot of people may not know, he said, is that the president fancied himself a good bass singer. That is a bold belief when Richard Sterban, one of the best-known bass voices in country music, is standing next to you. “He was not,” he added, and the church broke into laughter.
Then the four men sang “Amazing Grace” for their friend one last time.
“It’s what you do for friends.” — Duane Allen
A Promise of Their Own
After the service, a train pulled by Locomotive 4141, painted to look like Air Force One, carried Bush to College Station. He was laid to rest beside Barbara at his presidential library on the Texas A&M campus.
When Bush died, the Oak Ridge Boys wrote that he had been much more than a fan. He was a dear friend. They had laughed together, shared tears together and sung together. They ended with a promise of their own: one day, they would sing for him again.
Do you remember hearing the Oak Ridge Boys sing “Amazing Grace” for President Bush that day?