Blake Shelton is mourning the lack of Joe Bonsall.
After the tragic information of his loss of life on Tuesday, July 9, the “Sangria” singer remembered the late Oak Ridge Boys member with a tribute post on X.
“I am heartbroken to listen to of my pal Joe Bonsall’s passing. I’ve NEVER seen Joe when he wasn’t smiling and utterly energetic,” Shelton, 48, wrote alongside a photograph performing with the band.
He continued, “He completely cherished singing like nobody I ever met. My ideas and prayers are along with his household and his @theoakridgeboys brothers. All of us misplaced a particular individual at this time.”
In 2016, Shelton collaborated with the Southern gospel group on his tune “Doing It to Nation Songs.”
Bonsall died from issues of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), in keeping with a press launch shared with PEOPLE.
Per his request, a funeral won’t be held for him however he inspired donations be made to The ALS Association or to the Vanderbilt Medical Center ALS and Neuroscience Research Center.
The tenor singer introduced his retirement from touring in January. On the time, he instructed PEOPLE he was prioritizing his well being — although he saved his precise analysis non-public.
“A lot of you already know I’ve been battling a gradual onset (over 4 years now) of a neuromuscular dysfunction. I’m now to some extent that strolling is unattainable so I’ve mainly retired from the highway,” he stated. “It has simply gotten too troublesome. It has been an awesome 50 years and I’m grateful to all of the Oak Ridge Boys band crew and workers for the fixed love and assist proven to me by way of all of it.”
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The musician added, “I’ll always remember and for these of you who’ve been always holding me up in prayer I thanks and ask so that you can carry on praying.”
Bonsall — who’s survived by his spouse, Mary Ann, daughters Jennifer and Sabrina, granddaughter Breanne, grandson Luke, two great-grandsons, Likelihood and Gray and a sister, Nancy — was a member of the Oak Ridge Boys for over 50 years earlier than his loss of life.
With the group, which he joined in 1973, Bonsall landed within the prestigious Grand Ole Opry, the Vocal Group Corridor of Fame, the Gospel Music Corridor of Fame and the Nation Music Corridor of Fame. He was additionally inducted into the Philadelphia Music Corridor of Fame again in 1994.
Along with his music, Bonsall was a printed writer. He wrote 11 books, together with a memoir titled I See Myself, which shall be launched in November.
In September the band introduced a celebratory farewell tour to commemorate their fiftieth anniversary.
“We’re doing a farewell tour as a result of we owe it to our followers to say goodbye,” William Lee Golden stated in a press launch. “They’ve at all times been there for us by way of the nice instances and the unhealthy. I’ll at all times be grateful to each one who got here out to a present, purchased a T-shirt, performed our music, and general, cherished us sufficient to spend their hard-earned cash each time they may. This tour is for you!”
