BIG STARS, BIG WHEELS ROLL INTO TOWN: STILL SOLID AS COUNTRY OAK

When it comes to longevity in the country music industry, the stage is every band's bread and butter.

The longer you dine on the sumptuous repast of an appreciative, toe-tapping crowd, the greater the appetite for another helping.

The trick, however, is to produce enough quality material and live-performance energy to keep the crowds coming back for more.

So explained Duane Allen, one of the Oak Ridge Boys who has developed a sophisticated taste for the stage since becoming a band member in May of 1968.

"If you just have records, you will last as long as your records do," said Allen, a native of Taylortown, Texas. "If you have a good stage show and good visibility on television and videos, you can make your valleys shallow," he added.

Indeed, Allen steered the Oak Ridge Boys away from bankruptcy in the '70s as the group's business leader.

"When things have been hard, we've still made money," said Allen. "The reason is because we have a good stage show and high visibility. We don't stop with just a record."

The Oak Ridge Boys will appear at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m. as part of the Red Man Country Concert Series. They are expected to play in over 100 cities as part of their "Playin' With The Boys" tour.

In addition, Little Texas and newcomer Faith Hill will open the night of country music at the Show Me Center.

Allen has been around long enough to experience a great deal of success. The Oak Ridge Boys recorded "Elvira" March 12, 1981. The album turned platinum shortly thereafter. The song "Bobbie Sue," cut Jan. 10, 1982, turned gold.

"A three-minute hit can do more for anybody's career than any number of polls," said Allen. "That puts more people in the seats, gets more people talking about you, puts you on television shows and gets you more headlines on the front pages of newspapers than anything else."

Like the rest of the band, Allen has a rich background in music. He had formal operatic training as well as formal quartet school training before becoming a professional singer.

His voice was so impressive that his debut album with the Oaks was called "Duane Allen Out Front."

Richard Sterban, who joined the Oaks in 1972, believes the band has thrived for three decades because music has become a labor of love.

"The real key is that we enjoy what we do," said Sterban, whose coliseum-rattling low notes are a signature of the Oaks' sound, the hook in records like "Elvira" and "Bobbie Sue."

Added Sterban," I think our enjoyment in what we do is reflected in our stage show. We are as excited now as ever. The excitement hasn't died. We thrive on it."

When Sterban isn't excited about his music, he's likely talking baseball. He is a partner in the Nashville Sounds and Huntsville Stars minor league baseball teams.

Sterban indicated the way to stay in the entertainment business is to keep the show lively and memorable. "You've got to stun a crowd, every person," said Sterban. "We keep it as fast-paced as we can."

Some of the songs the Oaks have produced in the '90s include "Baby, You'll Be My Baby"; "Soul and Inspiration"; "Lucky Moon"; "Change My Mind" and "Baby on Board."

When you've been around as long as the Oak Ridge Boys have, audiences tend to come from all walks of life.

"We see little kids, college students, rock 'n' rollers, all the way up to grandmas and grandpas, the young married couples -- they're all out there," said Joe Bonsall, a native of Philadelphia who joined the group in 1973.

Bonsall was a member of a street gang until gospel music turned him around. Bonsall and Sterban sang together in the Keystones group.

"We've done everything a musical act could want to do," said Bonsall. "We enjoy it so much, and that's the key. I think if the Oak Ridge Boys quit enjoying it, then we would definitely have problems," he added.

Judging from the way the Oak Ridge Boys have been keeping crowds and critics happy, there are no problems these days. Just plenty of country-style bread and butter being passed from stage to stage, city to city.