{{short description|American singer (born 1939)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians --> | name = William Lee Golden | image = William Lee Golden by Gage Skidmore.jpg | caption = Golden in 2013 | background = solo_singer | birth_name = William Lee Golden | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1939|1|12}} | origin = Brewton, Alabama, U.S. | instrument = Vocals (baritone) | genre = Country, gospel | occupation = Singer, painter | years_active = 1965–present | label = MCA, Mercury | current_member_of = The Oak Ridge Boys | website = {{url|www.williamleegolden.com}} }} '''William Lee Golden''' (born January 12, 1939)<ref>{{Cite book |last1=McCall |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XsiL49XFbnkC&dq=william+lee+golden+1939&pg=PT1575 |title=The Encyclopedia of Country Music |last2=Rumble |first2=John |last3=Kingsbury |first3=Paul |date=2004-12-16 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-984044-1 |language=en}}</ref> is an American country music singer. Between 1965 and 1987, and again since 1996, he has been the baritone singer in the country vocal group the Oak Ridge Boys. Golden was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015 as a member of the Oak Ridge Boys.
==Career== Golden joined the Oak Ridge Boys (then a Southern gospel music group) in 1965. Golden is widely known for his waist-length beard and hair, and has become one of the most recognizable faces in the entertainment industry. He was voted out of the Oak Ridge Boys in 1987, as the other three members wanted to change the band's image.<ref name="news"/> Golden was replaced by Steve Sanders after releasing his own album as a solo artist titled ''American Vagabond'', which included two chart singles.<ref name="whitburn">{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc|date=2008|page=164|isbn=978-0-89820-177-2}}</ref> In 1990, he moved to Mercury Records and released "Louisiana Red Dirt Highway" as a single only.<ref name="news">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19940812&id=a1UxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SaIFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3648,5326579|title=When it comes to country music, he's Golden|last=Peña|first=Susan L.|date=12 August 1994|work=Reading Eagle|access-date=20 September 2011}}</ref> Sanders left the group in 1995, and Golden returned on New Year's Eve of the same year.<ref>Whitburn, p. 303</ref>
==Personal life== He has been married four times.<ref name=people>{{cite journal |last1=McCall |first1=Cheryl |title=After Months on the Warpath, the Battling Oak Ridge Boys Pass the Peace Pipe |journal=People |date=April 25, 1983 |volume=19 |issue=16 |url=https://people.com/archive/after-months-on-the-warpath-the-battling-oak-ridge-boys-pass-the-peace-pipe-vol-19-no-16/ |access-date=10 November 2018}}</ref> Golden was married to Frogene Normand from 1957 to 1975. He married Luetta Callaway in 1984 and they divorced in 1987. He was married to Brenda Kaye Hall from 1990 to 2013. Golden married Simone De Staley in 2015. He has four sons, Rusty, Craig, Chris, and Solomon, a stepdaughter, and seven grandchildren. {{citation needed|date=August 2016}} Golden's sons Rusty (who died in 2024) and Chris recorded as the Goldens for Epic Records and Capitol Records from 1988 to 1991.<ref name="whitburn"/> They also played in his band on his solo dates and on his albums.<ref name="news"/>
==The "Golden Era Plantation"== thumb|right|Golden's likeness carved into the side of an oak tree on the edge of his property, which is visible from the road
Golden's home is called the Golden Era Plantation. Built in 1786, it is recognized as the oldest brick home in Sumner County, Tennessee. The Federal-style structure was built in 1786, then called Pilot's Knob, on a military outpost by American Revolutionary War Captain James Franklin, the father of planter and slave trader Isaac Franklin (1789–1846). After the war, he was awarded a land grant to the property.
During the Civil War, the plantation became a station camp for Confederate soldiers. To protect their valuable gold and silver from approaching Union soldiers, the occupants buried the metals in the ground surrounding the house. This gold was later discovered during renovation of the home in 1976.
The area has been struck twice by tornadoes, once in 1892 and again on April 6, 2006. Originally a two-story building, the second story was removed by the first tornado. Repairs were made, leaving it as a single-story home. Following the second tornado, the home's architecture was restored, adding a second story. {{as of|2016|post=,}} William Lee Golden still resided at Golden Era. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://yoursumner.com/passing-on-the-torch-for-a-golden-era/ |title=Passing on the Torch for a Golden Era - YourSumner |website=yoursumner.com |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311093132/http://yoursumner.com/passing-on-the-torch-for-a-golden-era/ |archive-date=11 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Discography == === Albums === {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Album ! <small>US Country</small> ! Label |- | 1986 | ''American Vagabond'' | style="text-align:center;"| 53 | MCA |- | 2000 | ''My Life's Work'' | style="text-align:center;"|— | Audio Visual Arts III |- | 2010 | ''The Artist''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Artist-William-Lee-Golden/dp/B0042YG1KI |title=William Lee Golden - The Artist - Amazon.com Music |website=Amazon.com |date=2018-05-02 |access-date=2020-04-18}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|— | self-released |- | 2022 | ''The Old Country Church'' | style="text-align:center;"|— | DAVA |- | 2022 | ''Country Roads'' | style="text-align:center;"|— | DAVA |- | 2022 | ''Southern Accents'' | style="text-align:center;"|— | DAVA |}
=== Singles === {| class="wikitable" |- ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2"| Single ! colspan="2"| Chart positions ! rowspan="2"| Album |- ! style="width:50px;"| <small>US Country</small> ! style="width:50px;"| <small>CAN Country</small> |- | rowspan="2"| 1986 | "Love Is the Only Way Out" | style="text-align:center;"| 53 | style="text-align:center;"| 58 | rowspan="2"| ''American Vagabond'' |- | "You Can't Take It with You" | style="text-align:center;"| 72 | style="text-align:center;"| 52 |- | rowspan="2"| 1990 | "Keep Lookin' Up"<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1990/BB-1990-03-31.pdf|title=Single Reviews|magazine=Billboard|date=March 31, 1990}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | rowspan="2"| ''Non-album singles'' |- | "Louisiana Red Dirt Highway"<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1990/BB-1990-08-11.pdf|title=Single Reviews|magazine=Billboard|date=August 11, 1990}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |}
=== Guest singles === {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Single ! Artist ! <small>US Country</small> ! Album |- | 1990 | "Tomorrow's World" | style="text-align:center;"| Various artists | style="text-align:center;"| 74 | Single only |}
=== Music videos=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Single |- |rowspan=2|1990 | "Keep Lookin' Up" |- | "Louisiana Red Dirt Highway" |}
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== *{{Official website|http://www.williamleegolden.com/}} *[http://www.williamleegolden.com/index.php?page=bio "Biography."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213134650/http://www.williamleegolden.com/index.php?page=bio |date=February 13, 2009 }} ''William Lee Golden''. 25 October 2007. *[http://www.williamleegolden.com/index.php?page=goldenera "Golden Era Plantation."] ''William Lee Golden''. 25 October 2007.
{{The Oak Ridge Boys}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden, William Lee}} Category:1939 births Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American gospel singers Category:American baritones Category:Living people Category:MCA Records artists Category:Mercury Records artists Category:People from Brewton, Alabama Category:People from Hendersonville, Tennessee Category:The Oak Ridge Boys members Category:Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Category:Country musicians from Tennessee Category:Country musicians from Alabama Category:American male singer-songwriters Category:Singer-songwriters from Alabama