Home Free was originally on contract with SME, they mutually ended their relationship with Sony and became their own publishers and joined forces with a distribution vendor for CD distribution etc. They now get to keep a majority of the profits, where SME kept a majority before. They are a bunch of very talented men that care for their country and communities as you can tell by the messages of some of their songs. Extremely conscious of current social/national events and very classy. They can have fun, or be serious. I have seen them live, and they are that good, even live. They have covered songs with the original artists, including Alabama, Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rodgers, Lee Greenwood, Billy Gillman and Don McLean. What a tribute to them for the Original artists to reach out to them to update/refresh their classic and iconic songs.
An interesting "behind the scene" on this collaboration, The Oak Ridge Boys saw Home Free performing on the American Accapella Show - "The Sing-Off" and were so impressed with Home Free, that the Oak Ridge Boys contacted Home Free and said: "Let's do something together" !!
Can't think of the name of the guy in Oakridge Boys who lead off the song but his energy made the song along with facile expressions in the original song.
Thanks for the compliments to the Home Fries and fans of Home Free! We do love them as singers, but as people, as special guys that interact with us fans and who share their love for music with us! And boy when you go to a live concert, you talk to the people around you and just feel like you're all there loving this special group of guys. Thanks so much for doing them again! Of course, this is a classic for sure with their heroes! The Boys say Home Free is the new generaiton of them. Wow!
Oh! m'gosh! I love this! I have 2 of our 4 thirteen yr old grand daughters with me. I "made" them watch and commanded them to imagine their moms and uncles as kids singing and dancing to this song. They were into it immediately. They probably will be for some time to come. Another generation conquered by Elvira. I really like that Home Free had the Oakridge Boys sing with them and that they (the O. R.Boys) were equally prominent in the performance.
They joined patreon early on. The money they raise through it is used solely for producing videos. They were gobsmacked by how quickly they reached their goals. Home Fries flocked to help them do more and better videos and we get perks depending on the level you give. When they reached $25k they threw a party for their patrons. And we flew in from all over the states, we even had a few Euro fries and I think 2 from Australia. But the $1 level gives you a preview of new videos and first access to concert tickets. How can you go wrong for just $1/month with those perks? lol You have to remember they don't get on the radio. They got popular first by winning the Sing-off but since then their growth has been word of mouth and youtube videos. And they have grown enormously over the last 5 years.
Thanks Don for sharing, been a Oak Ridge Boys fan since forever and really love the song. I'm not sure what rock I've been under but have never heard of Home Free but really love their sound, will have to check out more of them 😁 Howdy from Texas!
Love Home Free. Thanks for the reaction.. One thing I love about the guys is not only are they all extremely talented, they all take turns with being lead singer, except Adam the beatboxer.. But the most special thing is that their concerts are so much fun.. They interact with the fans, and after they have done a show, they sit at tables and greet their fans.. They sign autographs, talk, get pictures taken, give hugs, etc.. I don't know of any other group now or in the past that does things like that.. That's all at no extra charge..
I read somewhere that Adam Rupp simply doesn't believe he has the vocal chops to take "lead". However, if you listen to him on How Great Thou Art.... I think he might be wrong about that. His voice is beautiful also.
@@madamred2061 Absolutely his voice is beautiful.. I think he has the ability to take lead, but I'm glad they work with the strengths with the group.. They definitely are a team..
MeChelle Osborne I think of Adam as kind of having a solo in every song because he is always a stand-out with his beatboxing skill. I agree he has a beautiful tenor voice but Austin has a very powerful full voice and Rob’s voice is such a pure clear tenor, perhaps he doesn’t feel he can complete with them. Also consider he chose to pursue instrumental music in college vice vocal music like Chris. I don’t think he feels left out or overlooked.
"Elvira" is an iconic Oak Ridge Boys song and it took guts for Home Free to perform. Frankly, I think the only way it works is with the ORB's collaboration.
An interesting "behind the scene" on this collaboration, The Oak Ridge Boys saw Home Free performing on the American Accapella Show - "The Sing-Off" and were so impressed with Home Free, that the Oak Ridge Boys contacted Home Free and said: "Let's do something together" !!
When the original by the Oak Ridge Boys came out, I was a really little kid. And, my mom said that I absolutely loved this song,. And, when the Oak Ridge Boys bass singer would get to that oom papa mou mou thingee part or whatever , that i would just get really ticked and just start giggling my little but off. And, dance to the rest of the song and she loved it. And, said same bass singer used to sing back up for Elvis Presley for awhile. And, he would constantly get to him to go even lower . I think at one point so much so, he was in the guinness book of world records for lowest singing voice
The thing about Home Free, at least for me is that along with the amazing vocal skills, comes a self depreciating sense of humor that endears itself to me. They don't take themselves so serious, that they can't have fun. They obviously enjoy each other, and when we see them live, or watch a video it's like we are part of that family. Pleas continue down the "Home Free rabbit hole." There is good stuff there. Thank you.
Nice reaction! That is an old Oak Ridge Boys song. Fun to watch them vocally spar with each other in the video! HF being Schooled by the ORB! They also collaborated with Kenny Rogers who asked HF to sing “Children Go Where I Send Thee” with him. No need to rate this. The performance speaks for itself!
Yes, Home Free has done a lot of covers in the past, but they've also have about 10 originals out there, too. Just recently they dropped a new album with 10 new original songs. 2 of the songs were written by Tim Foust (the bass), and 2 were written by Austin Brown (their high tenor). The others were written by a highly respected team of writer's out of Nashville. They were invited to sing on tour with Alabama, and joined them on stage at one of Alabama's concerts. They also collaborated with Kenny Rogers on a song called 'Children Go Where I Send Thee'. Love both the Oaks and Home Free. It's like the older generation reaching out to the younger generation. Duane was the one who reached out to Home Free for this collaboration, btw. Hope you decide to do more Home Free in the future, and hopefully do some of their new songs. Thank you!
Hey, Don. I had wondered if you have ever covered this collaboration. "Elvira" was written and originally recorded by Dallas Frazier in 1966. Rodney Crowell covered it in 1978. That's how the Oaks discovered it. They recorded it in 1981, going to double platinum status and over 2 million records, which was quite a feat at that time. It became their signature song and a standard in the country canon. Oh, as an aside, the inspiration for the Title was actually a street in E. Nashville. Duane Allen, the lead singer of the Oaks watched Home Free while they competed on NBC's Sing Off and eventually won in 2013. He was highly impressed with the vocal harmony and befriended Tim Foust, the Home Free bass singer. As HF was beginning to work on a new album, Duane reached out and proposed that the two groups get together on Elvira. Both groups met and it was magic. Duane told them, "We've already done it our way; I want you to cut it your way. Keep the most recognizable parts very close. Everything else, I want your touches on it." Joe Bonsall, the Oak's tenor, said that anybody who does harmony will see some of the Oak Ridge Boys in Home Free. As this collaboration was recorded in 2015, Home Free was still in the early stages of their professional careers; hence, the mention of Patreon. Like you, I like to see the older generation pass the torch to the next. The Oaks, who are considered the pinnacle of Country groups, heard something in Home Free and saw promise. That stamp of approval by the Old Guard gave them the creds to be accepted and validated by the Country music community at large.
They still perform this with The Oaks when they get together. Love it when they do, you can see that they all like and respect each other. I'm loving their new original songs Dive Bar Saints, Remember This and Catch Me if You Can. If you could get those on you list, it would be great! Thanks. ^_^
It took the 15 years to become "an overnight success". They don't get nearly the airplay or the "mainstream" support that they clearly deserve. As for the fan base.... persistence is key. Loved your reaction, you have a new sub.
When this song came out I was in like the 5th grade (mid 80's) and I would call our local radio station to requests it so many times they knew what I was going to ask for before I could get to it.
Home Free has been around for a long time. They played country fairs and festivals for a long time. They were also doing 225-250 shows per year, which will kill the voices in an a cappella band. The last few years since their win on The Sing Off, their recognition grew (Home Fries had spuds and tater tots), and so did the size of their venues. But they are still doing 100+ shows per year, internationally. They are just now getting to the point where they could fill arenas. I’m glad. They are some of the hardest working guys I see, and they deserve the recognition and ability to have lives off the road with their families. I also don’t want them to wreck their voices since they don’t play instruments (usually) during live shows, their voices don’t get much rest.
Home Free did at least one concert with "The Oaks." Some of the background videos show off how well they actually get along with each other. Pretty cool to see. Thank you for reacting to this.
@Bruce Vogel Thanks, Bruce--glad you like that. It took some work in the early days of the channel to figure out the right look, but I finally got to something that seems right. Smaller me, bigger them. Ha!
Thank you so much for this reaction. I've been waiting for you to do this one. Home Free has a brand new CD coming out soon, with 8 original songs on it. Elvira is a Oak Ridge Boys song
In the context of the song, oom papa mau mau seems like an Oh Wow for Elvira. The Mau Mau tribe is from Africa. Also was a notorious street gang in the 60s in New York.
Love Home Free and The Oakridge Boys. This song is so fun!! Thanks for this! Needed a smile and as always you made me smile. The sounds are amazing the guy makes. Can't remember what that's called🤔
LOL..love your reactions! Don't ever ask a Home Fry to rate a Home Free song:) It's a 10+ if they only hum it:) Heard "Aulde Lang Syne" yet? It will get you the harmony these guys do at their best. Thank you!!
@Dianna Kemp Ewald Thank you for the kind words, AND for the advice!! I've learned that whenever I do a Home Free song, the average rating of those who comments above a 10, since there's almost always someone who says it should be a 12. Ha!! Welcome to the channel, BTW!
Just found your channel today, this is the first reaction of yours I've watched. Thanks for appreciating Home Free! They don't get enough credit...they aren't just a cover band. They creatively rework songs to account for voices instead of instruments. Plus they sing a lot of originals! They're popular but they aren't on radio and their shows are small. So crowd funding helps them a lot. Go see them live if you can; you won't regret it! Elvira is an old Oak Ridge Boys song.
I just discovered your Home Free reaction with the ORB’s! Loved it!! It was enjoyable!! You should check out Home Free’s cover of the Eagles’ version of Seven Bridges Road!!! It’s amazing (I’m a big fan of the Eagles and the cover by Home Free blew me away!!
@Beth Coussou Thanks for the kind words, and glad you enjoyed it! Welcome to the channel, too! Here's the reaction I did to "Seven Bridges Road"--enjoy!! th-cam.com/video/CrW_hN2oSrA/w-d-xo.html
PS: Did you watch their video with Kenny Rogers, one of my favorites! Children Go Where I Send Thee. Also, cool thing is HF has been on stage at Grand Ol' Opry and also at a Boys performance with them too. They are great friends and supporters now of each other.
You may remember when you were a kid, the late night scary movies on Fri. ? nights were hosted by the very pretty/sexy goth girl named Elvira. One of the Oaks' songwriters had a crush on her and history was made. This song was huge for the Oak Ridge Boys. Of course, HF really were gobsmacked with the opportunity to collab. with them and did a great job. They, HF, have a new song out called Dreamer which pays homage to the Grand Ole Opry and is a fantastic song. Anyone who 'gets' the feeling that the Grand Ole Opry is like the holy grail for new country artists will really enjoy the song. The GOO provided some priceless photos of big stars experiencing their first time on GOO stage. btw, I confess that I am a lurker. Edited to say that the story above is apparently not true, although I think it is more fun than the song being inspired by a street name😉😉😏
I can't speak to what inspired the Oak's lyrics to "Elvira", but I can say that the music is directly from an old gospel song entitled "Go Jonah" about the Jonah and the whale story in the Bible. It is on videos on TH-cam, and there is a funny version where a quartet goes back and forth between "Go Jonah" and "Elvira". Since the Oak's were originally a gospel group, I can only guess that they "borrowed" the music from the gospel song.
great reaction I love Home Free and Oak Ridge Boys I would rate it about 9 among Home Free Videos . They have lots I like as well or better. I would rate it even higher among the country scene. It is way better than some of the artists today. I enjoy your channel very much. Home Free is so enjoyable live. It would be hard to choose one as favorite You should watch a live one.
Yeah they are doing world tours, they are getting bigger for sure. They have been on the Grand ol' Opry stage about 10x now and This year 2x for the Ryman, they sold it out in no time last year.
You've got to check out their cover of Take Me Home Country Road! Helplessly Hoping, Dive Bar Saints, Catch Me if You Can, How Great Thou Art, Mayday, Butts Remix, Colder Weather, Country Fried Pop Medley, Remember this, etc., etc., Thanks for reacting to Home Free!! Subscribed!!
You should do Dreamer. It is a Home Free original. They did it at the Grand Old Opry. They use partrion to make the videos they do. They won the Sing Off & got a recording contract. But they didn't like being used. So they dropped the label & do it this way. I have every CD they have put out.
The changing of the guard.. the new stepping in to take up the banner from the old :) And they were still working the fair circuit not that long ago and as they moved into the TH-cam market, they started a Patreon, which allowed them to make these videos that spring boarded them to selling the albums and filling concert halls. They still don't get the radio play that they deserve!!
Can you please add Home Free's cover of What We Ain't Got. I know you said you get flooded with requests, but that one rarely makes the list. It's a very thought provoking song. And the video is worth 100 views, I still find things I missed. Thank you for doing what you do!
It was The Oaks' hit in the 80's, said Home Free was the only band they saw following intheir footsteps- had to get used to Adam "spitting", lol! >Home Free & friends Ptx are the 2 Best selling/Most viewed vocal bands inthe world,w/global sold-out concerts but pop is more popular, altho now global a cappella bands cover HF co vers + Originals, like Sho-Free, Asian band! These very tall, funny, amazing, all lead vocalists, songwriters, arrangers, multi-instrumentlists are uber-talents
>Until countty radio plays HF more (a cappella "stigma"), when they performed at Grand Ol'Opry 8 x & have 5 Billboard Country Albums hit #2, #2,;#4, #8, #12 & Pop Charts $4, etc, they need more acceptance..It's new to them (beatboxer?? -tho he CAN play trumpet, bass, guitar, piano/keys, drums, etc! Patreon $ goes directly into making quality videos & they have some beautiful vids.😊
@Scott B The name of the band is Home Free, of course, but I've been informed many times by their fans that they (the fans) refer to themselves as Home Fries.
Here's my 10, why you ask, well first pitch, without any accompaniment the Key of the song only varied when they intended it to. Second, home free has a very unique blend and texture, they managed to fit a group with there own blend and texture into a mix that was very pleasing. Third, sheer entertainment value was off the charts. They used the uniqueness of both groups to entertain the listener. The first example is the high tenor duel between Austin and forgive me for not knowing the Oak Ridge Boys, member names but their high tenor. As a side note that particular resonance is a trademark of that style singing. Then, of course, the bass back and forth was very entertaining also. Lastly, these entertainment I just mentioned added to the character of the song rather than distracting from it. Now I might be a little biased I am a longtime Hone Fry. I have blown out at least 3 sets of headphones and my wife will no longer allow me to listen to Ring of Fire with Avi, over the big stereo (something lame like who is going to re-glaze the windows after I rattle them out as the reason) . Sorry about the long comment, but you asked for my reasons for the rating. Also just fill in any missing words or misspellings. Take good care, Steven
@Steven Murphy Good stuff right there--you are a HUGE Home Fry and appropriately biased---ha!! Welcome to the channel, and I hope your wife forgives you for blowing out the windows!
They also did one with Kenny Rogers.. children go where I send the.... they started on patreon to help build up money for nice videos they have gained a lot more popularity since and have been on the grand ole Opry 3 times .
It's like Pentatonix, country style 😊 No doubt they are really talented! Being honest though, it just made me want to listen to the original "Elvira." I love that song. So fun! Elvira always makes me think of my drunken family karaoke parties 😂
Saw this reaction some time ago but haven't seen you react to any of Home Free's newer stuff. Please check out some of their newer stuff. They put out some during quarantine too.
@Dinsmore Dinsmore It was a simple slip of the tongue, as that happens from time to time for anyone doing reactions. Had I written the name of the band in the description bar as Home Fries, you'd have a bigger issue (so would I). But this is a simple slip of the tongue, which is pretty easy to realize.
@@RockN2Country I think you read too far into the comment sorry. It was simply a funny that I thought i'd bring up, in case others missed it. Nothing against the video, or you :)
@Dinsmore Dinsmore Oh, my bad! My apology. I've done a couple of Home Free reactions, and the recent one had someone (or two) call me out for something that was trivial. Home Free fans are super fans of the group and are really knowledgeable, but occasionally can get a bit sensitive to the rating I give a song or how I describe it. I've also been called out a number of times for not reacting to them enough, and IIRC at some point someone had called me out for mis-saying "Home Fries" rather than "Home Free." I didn't respond to it, but this time I figured I'd try to find common ground. Thanks for the kind response. :-)
I think the fans of Home Free (at least in my case) were dying for "true" talent and they truly brought that. Yes, we are very.........enthusiastic (ya I'm sticking with that word). I can't remember where I heard this so don't know if it's actually true, other Home Fries might be able to back me up or let me know if I'm wrong, that it was the fans that got to the Oak Ridge Boys through twitter to collaborate with Home Free. In fact it seems like I remember one of them joking that Home Free owed them a new iphone cause the Home Fries blew theirs up lol. Btw you said something about hoping a video didn't get blocked I've never known or heard of Home Free blocking reaction videos.
I'm a little surprised you never heard of Elvira before! Here's one of the original recordings they did, of Elvira, which (I believe) is the one on which the arrangement of the song was based, that Home Free used. If you listen to this, and then go back and listen to the Home Free version, you'll hear "the instruments," in the voices of the two groups singing together. For this song, Home Free asked The Oaks to sing the iconic song with them, and they were thrilled to do it. th-cam.com/video/nGKatCAQed0/w-d-xo.html Here's what the WIKI has to say about the song (which was NOT written by or originally sung by The Oaks): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvira_(song) I see that some of the others have asked you to react to another "older generation/younger generation" song Home Free has done. With this one, it was Kenny Rogers who asked Home Free to sing with him. Watch through the end, where Kenny tells about it. "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" th-cam.com/video/o4qNaAlZ1xc/w-d-xo.html Glad you enjoyed Elvira. :-D
@Grandma's Gone Gaming Welcome back!!! As for me not knowing the song, there are sooooo many songs I am hearing for the first time for the simple reason that I didn't grow up with country, and when I started the channel last year it was because I was into Nashville country. then the subscribers started requesting non-Nashville artists, and I got into it fast. But much of it was new to me, and still is. But I'm learning. ;-)
@@RockN2Country I did understand that, but I guess I was kind of surprised that you had never heard of that one at all, because it was SO big there for a while, when I was pretty young, still. ;-) It seemed to me, back then, that you couldn't go into any type of a shopping mall or anything like that (restaurants, or whatever), without hearing The Oaks sing "Elvira!" ;-) On the other hand, I shouldn't have been surprised, because I thoroughly ignored things like Heavy Metal, as long as I could...it held no appeal for me, whatsoever. Anyway...sorry...I didn't mean that comment to sound judgmental...reading it back, it does seem that way. I was just genuinely surprised. HUGS!
I don't remember you ever asking us to rate the song, but I can say that this is over a 9 for me and probably in the 9.3 to 9.4 range. I like a fair amount of Home Free's music although I don't necessarily consider myself a Home Fry, but this song is easily my favorite of theirs and in my top 10-20 songs of all time. Nothing against the original version by the ORB and I agree with Tupelo Honey that this doesn't work as well without them being included, but I do think it is a big step above the original. I know you've gotten more into the Red Dirt Country scene, but would love to see you go back to more of the mainstream country from the 90s or 2000s.
![Mark Chesnutt -- Too Cold At Home [REACTION/RATING]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wfejnJN6IUo/mqdefault.jpg)
I've never seen someone listen to the Oak Ridge Boys OR Home Free and not be impressed by those deep voices
Home Free was originally on contract with SME, they mutually ended their relationship with Sony and became their own publishers and joined forces with a distribution vendor for CD distribution etc. They now get to keep a majority of the profits, where SME kept a majority before. They are a bunch of very talented men that care for their country and communities as you can tell by the messages of some of their songs. Extremely conscious of current social/national events and very classy. They can have fun, or be serious. I have seen them live, and they are that good, even live. They have covered songs with the original artists, including Alabama, Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rodgers, Lee Greenwood, Billy Gillman and Don McLean. What a tribute to them for the Original artists to reach out to them to update/refresh their classic and iconic songs.
An interesting "behind the scene" on this collaboration, The Oak Ridge Boys saw Home Free performing on the American Accapella Show - "The Sing-Off" and were so impressed with Home Free, that the Oak Ridge Boys contacted Home Free and said: "Let's do something together" !!
Elvira is an iconic Oak Ridge Boys song that they collaborated on.
Can't think of the name of the guy in Oakridge Boys who lead off the song but his energy made the song along with facile expressions in the original song.
Remember this song from my childhood. They played it non stop at Skateland in Olympia, WA. LOL!!
The Oaks Love them, particularly Austin, Tenor !
Great mix of the old & the new! This was my Mother-In-Law's favorite song. God bless & RIP Ruth.
Thanks for the compliments to the Home Fries and fans of Home Free! We do love them as singers, but as people, as special guys that interact with us fans and who share their love for music with us! And boy when you go to a live concert, you talk to the people around you and just feel like you're all there loving this special group of guys. Thanks so much for doing them again! Of course, this is a classic for sure with their heroes! The Boys say Home Free is the new generaiton of them. Wow!
This was absolutely FUN! I enjoyed listening to this one. I'm a big fan of THE OAK RIDGE BOYS and this is even more awesome with Home Free
Adam really deserves some credit for keeping that awesome baseline beat going with his beat boxing skills.
Oh! m'gosh! I love this! I have 2 of our 4 thirteen yr old grand daughters with me. I "made" them watch and commanded them to imagine their moms and uncles as kids singing and dancing to this song. They were into it immediately. They probably will be for some time to come. Another generation conquered by Elvira. I really like that Home Free had the Oakridge Boys sing with them and that they (the O. R.Boys) were equally prominent in the performance.
They joined patreon early on. The money they raise through it is used solely for producing videos. They were gobsmacked by how quickly they reached their goals. Home Fries flocked to help them do more and better videos and we get perks depending on the level you give. When they reached $25k they threw a party for their patrons. And we flew in from all over the states, we even had a few Euro fries and I think 2 from Australia. But the $1 level gives you a preview of new videos and first access to concert tickets. How can you go wrong for just $1/month with those perks? lol You have to remember they don't get on the radio. They got popular first by winning the Sing-off but since then their growth has been word of mouth and youtube videos. And they have grown enormously over the last 5 years.
We truly love them.
I listen to everything.
But I love how they harmonize.
Awesome the Oakridge Boys had the whole world sing this song
Thanks Don for sharing, been a Oak Ridge Boys fan since forever and really love the song. I'm not sure what rock I've been under but have never heard of Home Free but really love their sound, will have to check out more of them 😁 Howdy from Texas!
The Bass, Tim Foust, is from TX
(The guy with Longer dark hair)
I absolutely love this song and have listened to it umpteen times. The two groups together are amazing.
their cober of John Denver's Take me home country roads is off the charts , they did it justice
You must see the Oak Ridge Boys in concert! Such a hoot!!! You will have a blast!!!😀🎶🙌🏻
@Bobbye Crockett I hope to see them one day! And welcome aboard the channel!!
Children go where I send the, a collaboration with Kenny Rogers
That's my favorite. It's even better than this with one.
Yes we are!! Now how about doing Hillbilly Bone?? Fries never give up!! ;-)
Second and third that!
Yes, please!!!!!
Two premier bass singers and both band feature smooth, tight harmony.
I just found Home Free recently and I'm hooked. Thank you for doing this. May I suggest Man of Constant Sorrow.
Love Home Free. Thanks for the reaction.. One thing I love about the guys is not only are they all extremely talented, they all take turns with being lead singer, except Adam the beatboxer.. But the most special thing is that their concerts are so much fun.. They interact with the fans, and after they have done a show, they sit at tables and greet their fans.. They sign autographs, talk, get pictures taken, give hugs, etc.. I don't know of any other group now or in the past that does things like that.. That's all at no extra charge..
I read somewhere that Adam Rupp simply doesn't believe he has the vocal chops to take "lead". However, if you listen to him on How Great Thou Art.... I think he might be wrong about that. His voice is beautiful also.
@@madamred2061 Absolutely his voice is beautiful.. I think he has the ability to take lead, but I'm glad they work with the strengths with the group.. They definitely are a team..
MeChelle Osborne I think of Adam as kind of having a solo in every song because he is always a stand-out with his beatboxing skill. I agree he has a beautiful tenor voice but Austin has a very powerful full voice and Rob’s voice is such a pure clear tenor, perhaps he doesn’t feel he can complete with them. Also consider he chose to pursue instrumental music in college vice vocal music like Chris. I don’t think he feels left out or overlooked.
@@susanhorn4325 I didn't mean to imply that he was being left out. He's a beast. In all honesty, I meant I don't think he gives himself enough credit.
MeChelle Osborne Oh, ok. You’re probably right that he doesn’t give himself enough credit in the singing department.
"Elvira" is an iconic Oak Ridge Boys song and it took guts for Home Free to perform. Frankly, I think the only way it works is with the ORB's collaboration.
Trust this ear...she knows stuff!
An interesting "behind the scene" on this collaboration, The Oak Ridge Boys saw Home Free performing on the American Accapella Show - "The Sing-Off" and were so impressed with Home Free, that the Oak Ridge Boys contacted Home Free and said: "Let's do something together" !!
@@WaynesWorldMN Grand kids need presents...everyone wins!
@@davidemswiler4351 , aw, thank you. I consider that high praise coming from you.
Home Free actually does a great live rendition of this all on their own. As much as I LOVE this collab their live version is even better, imo 😊
This is such a fun song and seeing them together was tops! The thing about Home Free is that they make you feel good and smile!
When the original by the Oak Ridge Boys came out, I was a really little kid. And, my mom said that I absolutely loved this song,. And, when the Oak Ridge Boys bass singer would get to that oom papa mou mou thingee part or whatever , that i would just get really ticked and just start giggling my little but off. And, dance to the rest of the song and she loved it. And, said same bass singer used to sing back up for Elvis Presley for awhile. And, he would constantly get to him to go even lower . I think at one point so much so, he was in the guinness book of world records for lowest singing voice
The thing about Home Free, at least for me is that along with the amazing vocal skills, comes a self depreciating sense of humor that endears itself to me. They don't take themselves so serious, that they can't have fun. They obviously enjoy each other, and when we see them live, or watch a video it's like we are part of that family. Pleas continue down the "Home Free rabbit hole." There is good stuff there. Thank you.
They did God Bless the USA with Lee Greenwood.
They did a Christmas song with Kenny Rogers.
A Christmas song with Alabama.
You know you've gone deep when Richard Sterban looks at you like "Damn" lol
Nice reaction! That is an old Oak Ridge Boys song. Fun to watch them vocally spar with each other in the video! HF being Schooled by the ORB! They also collaborated with Kenny Rogers who asked HF to sing “Children Go Where I Send Thee” with him. No need to rate this. The performance speaks for itself!
Thanks for the Home Free!!!! They just killed it!
Yes, Home Free has done a lot of covers in the past, but they've also have about 10 originals out there, too. Just recently they dropped a new album with 10 new original songs. 2 of the songs were written by Tim Foust (the bass), and 2 were written by Austin Brown (their high tenor). The others were written by a highly respected team of writer's out of Nashville. They were invited to sing on tour with Alabama, and joined them on stage at one of Alabama's concerts. They also collaborated with Kenny Rogers on a song called 'Children Go Where I Send Thee'. Love both the Oaks and Home Free. It's like the older generation reaching out to the younger generation. Duane was the one who reached out to Home Free for this collaboration, btw. Hope you decide to do more Home Free in the future, and hopefully do some of their new songs. Thank you!
@Cindy Flory Good stuff! Thanks for the info, and welcome to the channel!!
They are opening for one of Reba's shows this year.
Hey, Don. I had wondered if you have ever covered this collaboration. "Elvira" was written and originally recorded by Dallas Frazier in 1966. Rodney Crowell covered it in 1978. That's how the Oaks discovered it. They recorded it in 1981, going to double platinum status and over 2 million records, which was quite a feat at that time. It became their signature song and a standard in the country canon. Oh, as an aside, the inspiration for the Title was actually a street in E. Nashville.
Duane Allen, the lead singer of the Oaks watched Home Free while they competed on NBC's Sing Off and eventually won in 2013. He was highly impressed with the vocal harmony and befriended Tim Foust, the Home Free bass singer.
As HF was beginning to work on a new album, Duane reached out and proposed that the two groups get together on Elvira. Both groups met and it was magic.
Duane told them, "We've already done it our way; I want you to cut it your way. Keep the most recognizable parts very close. Everything else, I want your touches on it."
Joe Bonsall, the Oak's tenor, said that anybody who does harmony will see some of the Oak Ridge Boys in Home Free.
As this collaboration was recorded in 2015, Home Free was still in the early stages of their professional careers; hence, the mention of Patreon. Like you, I like to see the older generation pass the torch to the next. The Oaks, who are considered the pinnacle of Country groups, heard something in Home Free and saw promise. That stamp of approval by the Old Guard gave them the creds to be accepted and validated by the Country music community at large.
Love this song. Love both home free and oak ridge boys. A great home free song is a cover they do of Lee Greenwood God Bless the USA
Man. that setup of you like being in the clip got me there. I forgot that it was a reaction until you paused it. Great setup.
They still perform this with The Oaks when they get together. Love it when they do, you can see that they all like and respect each other. I'm loving their new original songs Dive Bar Saints, Remember This and Catch Me if You Can. If you could get those on you list, it would be great! Thanks. ^_^
It took the 15 years to become "an overnight success". They don't get nearly the airplay or the "mainstream" support that they clearly deserve. As for the fan base.... persistence is key. Loved your reaction, you have a new sub.
@MeChelle Osborne Welcome aboard the channel!!
When this song came out I was in like the 5th grade (mid 80's) and I would call our local radio station to requests it so many times they knew what I was going to ask for before I could get to it.
Home Free has been around for a long time. They played country fairs and festivals for a long time. They were also doing 225-250 shows per year, which will kill the voices in an a cappella band.
The last few years since their win on The Sing Off, their recognition grew (Home Fries had spuds and tater tots), and so did the size of their venues. But they are still doing 100+ shows per year, internationally. They are just now getting to the point where they could fill arenas.
I’m glad. They are some of the hardest working guys I see, and they deserve the recognition and ability to have lives off the road with their families. I also don’t want them to wreck their voices since they don’t play instruments (usually) during live shows, their voices don’t get much rest.
Home Free did at least one concert with "The Oaks." Some of the background videos show off how well they actually get along with each other. Pretty cool to see. Thank you for reacting to this.
Love home free and the oak ridge boys thanks Don
I like that the video you are reacting to is full screen behind you. Nice!
@Bruce Vogel Thanks, Bruce--glad you like that. It took some work in the early days of the channel to figure out the right look, but I finally got to something that seems right. Smaller me, bigger them. Ha!
"Oom Papa Mau Mau" has been Richard Sterban's trademark for decades.
Thank you so much for this reaction. I've been waiting for you to do this one. Home Free has a brand new CD coming out soon, with 8 original songs on it. Elvira is a Oak Ridge Boys song
The new album (DIVE BAR SAINTS) has
10 original songs
+ "Go Rest High On That Mountain"
+ "Take Me Home, Country Roads"
I got mine last week. The entire CD is great
In the context of the song, oom papa mau mau seems like an Oh Wow for Elvira. The Mau Mau tribe is from Africa. Also was a notorious street gang in the 60s in New York.
Thev oom pappa oom pappa mau mau showed up in an old surfer song called Surfin' Biŕd, by The Trashmen. Just good fun.
Thanks Love 💗 Love this; My Favorite two Group of Guys 👏👏🔥💜😍❤️✌🏻
Love Home Free and The Oakridge Boys.
This song is so fun!! Thanks for this! Needed a smile and as always you made me smile. The sounds are amazing the guy makes. Can't remember what that's called🤔
I think you are referring to beatboxing.
@Teresia Diane Glad I could oblige again!! :-)
LOL..love your reactions! Don't ever ask a Home Fry to rate a Home Free song:) It's a 10+ if they only hum it:) Heard "Aulde Lang Syne" yet? It will get you the harmony these guys do at their best. Thank you!!
@Dianna Kemp Ewald Thank you for the kind words, AND for the advice!! I've learned that whenever I do a Home Free song, the average rating of those who comments above a 10, since there's almost always someone who says it should be a 12. Ha!! Welcome to the channel, BTW!
Just found your channel today, this is the first reaction of yours I've watched. Thanks for appreciating Home Free! They don't get enough credit...they aren't just a cover band. They creatively rework songs to account for voices instead of instruments. Plus they sing a lot of originals!
They're popular but they aren't on radio and their shows are small. So crowd funding helps them a lot. Go see them live if you can; you won't regret it!
Elvira is an old Oak Ridge Boys song.
We love them!
I just discovered your Home Free reaction with the ORB’s! Loved it!! It was enjoyable!! You should check out Home Free’s cover of the Eagles’ version of Seven Bridges Road!!! It’s amazing (I’m a big fan of the Eagles and the cover by Home Free blew me away!!
@Beth Coussou Thanks for the kind words, and glad you enjoyed it! Welcome to the channel, too! Here's the reaction I did to "Seven Bridges Road"--enjoy!! th-cam.com/video/CrW_hN2oSrA/w-d-xo.html
Another collaboration is Kenny Rogers and Home Free doing Children Go Where I Send Thee.
Now you need to listen to them perform with Kenny Rogers (at Kenny's request) Children Go Where I Send Thee.
PS: Did you watch their video with Kenny Rogers, one of my favorites! Children Go Where I Send Thee. Also, cool thing is HF has been on stage at Grand Ol' Opry and also at a Boys performance with them too. They are great friends and supporters now of each other.
You may remember when you were a kid, the late night scary movies on Fri. ? nights were hosted by the very pretty/sexy goth girl named Elvira. One of the Oaks' songwriters had a crush on her and history was made. This song was huge for the Oak Ridge Boys. Of course, HF really were gobsmacked with the opportunity to collab. with them and did a great job. They, HF, have a new song out called Dreamer which pays homage to the Grand Ole Opry and is a fantastic song. Anyone who 'gets' the feeling that the Grand Ole Opry is like the holy grail for new country artists will really enjoy the song. The GOO provided some priceless photos of big stars experiencing their first time on GOO stage. btw, I confess that I am a lurker. Edited to say that the story above is apparently not true, although I think it is more fun than the song being inspired by a street name😉😉😏
I can't speak to what inspired the Oak's lyrics to "Elvira", but I can say that the music is directly from an old gospel song entitled "Go Jonah" about the Jonah and the whale story in the Bible. It is on videos on TH-cam, and there is a funny version where a quartet goes back and forth between "Go Jonah" and "Elvira". Since the Oak's were originally a gospel group, I can only guess that they "borrowed" the music from the gospel song.
@@dolasfudge705 That is really cool to know.
"Elvira" is a street name, I believe in Nashville. ORB has said on several occasions that the actress did not inspire the song.
great reaction I love Home Free and Oak Ridge Boys I would rate it about 9 among Home Free Videos . They have lots I like as well or better. I would rate it even higher among the country scene. It is way better than some of the artists today. I enjoy your channel very much. Home Free is so enjoyable live. It would be hard to choose one as favorite You should watch a live one.
Yeah they are doing world tours, they are getting bigger for sure. They have been on the Grand ol' Opry stage about 10x now and This year 2x for the Ryman, they sold it out in no time last year.
You've got to check out their cover of Take Me Home Country Road! Helplessly Hoping, Dive Bar Saints, Catch Me if You Can, How Great Thou Art, Mayday, Butts Remix, Colder Weather, Country Fried Pop Medley, Remember this, etc., etc., Thanks for reacting to Home Free!! Subscribed!!
The Oak Ridge Boys still got it!! 😁
Adam Rupp is the one doing all the base, drums sounds with his mouth
he is the 2 time world beat boxing champion
You should do Dreamer.
It is a Home Free original.
They did it at the Grand Old Opry.
They use partrion to make the videos they do.
They won the Sing Off & got a recording contract. But they didn't like being used.
So they dropped the label & do it this way.
I have every CD they have put out.
Wonderful!
THANK YOU for this,, HOME FREE just releasedTAKE ME HOME COUNTRY ROADS. Please react to it
I love them together. I named my GT Elvira lol. Great reaction
@Brittney Gathright Good stuff all the way around! And of course you named your car---that's definitely a chick thing!!
@@RockN2Country lol not where I am from. If you love your vehicle in the south you name it. Lol
The changing of the guard.. the new stepping in to take up the banner from the old :) And they were still working the fair circuit not that long ago and as they moved into the TH-cam market, they started a Patreon, which allowed them to make these videos that spring boarded them to selling the albums and filling concert halls. They still don't get the radio play that they deserve!!
Can you please add Home Free's cover of What We Ain't Got. I know you said you get flooded with requests, but that one rarely makes the list. It's a very thought provoking song. And the video is worth 100 views, I still find things I missed. Thank you for doing what you do!
Home Free cover of John Mayer’s song “Always in the Blood” . The best one ever.
It was The Oaks' hit in the 80's, said
Home Free was the only band they
saw following intheir footsteps- had
to get used to Adam "spitting", lol!
>Home Free & friends Ptx are the 2
Best selling/Most viewed vocal bands
inthe world,w/global sold-out concerts
but pop is more popular, altho now
global a cappella bands cover HF co
vers + Originals, like Sho-Free, Asian
band!
These very tall, funny, amazing, all
lead vocalists, songwriters, arrangers,
multi-instrumentlists are uber-talents
>Until countty radio plays HF more (a cappella "stigma"), when they performed at Grand Ol'Opry 8 x & have 5 Billboard Country Albums hit #2, #2,;#4, #8, #12 & Pop Charts $4, etc, they need more acceptance..It's new to them (beatboxer?? -tho he CAN play trumpet, bass, guitar, piano/keys, drums, etc! Patreon $ goes directly into making quality videos & they have some beautiful vids.😊
Home fry REALLY I BELIEVE ITS HOME FREE
@Scott B The name of the band is Home Free, of course, but I've been informed many times by their fans that they (the fans) refer to themselves as Home Fries.
From what I've heard on this Home Free is this generations Oak Ridge Boys or Statler Brothers.
I actually love this it is a ten. I loved the collaboration and yes the oak ridge boys recorded it first!!! They are super nice.
Here's my 10, why you ask, well first pitch, without any accompaniment the Key of the song only varied when they intended it to. Second, home free has a very unique blend and texture, they managed to fit a group with there own blend and texture into a mix that was very pleasing. Third, sheer entertainment value was off the charts. They used the uniqueness of both groups to entertain the listener. The first example is the high tenor duel between Austin and forgive me for not knowing the Oak Ridge Boys, member names but their high tenor. As a side note that particular resonance is a trademark of that style singing. Then, of course, the bass back and forth was very entertaining also. Lastly, these entertainment I just mentioned added to the character of the song rather than distracting from it. Now I might be a little biased I am a longtime Hone Fry. I have blown out at least 3 sets of headphones and my wife will no longer allow me to listen to Ring of Fire with Avi, over the big stereo (something lame like who is going to re-glaze the windows after I rattle them out as the reason) . Sorry about the long comment, but you asked for my reasons for the rating. Also just fill in any missing words or misspellings. Take good care, Steven
@Steven Murphy Good stuff right there--you are a HUGE Home Fry and appropriately biased---ha!! Welcome to the channel, and I hope your wife forgives you for blowing out the windows!
They also did one with Kenny Rogers.. children go where I send the.... they started on patreon to help build up money for nice videos they have gained a lot more popularity since and have been on the grand ole Opry 3 times .
I subscribed to hear more Home Free! Try Take Me Home, Country Roads !!
I love Adam's skills.
I liked the Oak Ridge Boys.
You crack me up!😂😂😂😂
@Tupelo Honey and @David Emswiler I love it when my prediction of DE's reaction is spot on!! Life can be so good sometimes. :-)
@@RockN2Country and @Tupelo Honey I guess I've lost my edge...y'all always just see me comin' now! :-(
@David Emswiler I know that feeling.... ;-)
@@RockN2Country , you definitely nailed it! LOL!
Casey Donahew- Still Ain’t Made It Home. Guaranteed 9+ rating.
It's like Pentatonix, country style 😊 No doubt they are really talented! Being honest though, it just made me want to listen to the original "Elvira." I love that song. So fun! Elvira always makes me think of my drunken family karaoke parties 😂
Home fries for life! I like their original Dreamer!
Damn!!!!!
Here it is. Don’t mind the previous comment I left on the other Home Free video! lol 😂😂😂
Saw this reaction some time ago but haven't seen you react to any of Home Free's newer stuff. Please check out some of their newer stuff. They put out some during quarantine too.
"I've done a few other home fry songs" ~RockN2Country 2019
@Dinsmore Dinsmore It was a simple slip of the tongue, as that happens from time to time for anyone doing reactions. Had I written the name of the band in the description bar as Home Fries, you'd have a bigger issue (so would I). But this is a simple slip of the tongue, which is pretty easy to realize.
@@RockN2Country I think you read too far into the comment sorry. It was simply a funny that I thought i'd bring up, in case others missed it. Nothing against the video, or you :)
@@RockN2Country Though now that you mention it... Had you written it as Home Fries in the description, i'd have laughed even harder lmao
@Dinsmore Dinsmore Oh, my bad! My apology. I've done a couple of Home Free reactions, and the recent one had someone (or two) call me out for something that was trivial. Home Free fans are super fans of the group and are really knowledgeable, but occasionally can get a bit sensitive to the rating I give a song or how I describe it. I've also been called out a number of times for not reacting to them enough, and IIRC at some point someone had called me out for mis-saying "Home Fries" rather than "Home Free." I didn't respond to it, but this time I figured I'd try to find common ground. Thanks for the kind response. :-)
@@RockN2Country Of course! In a world filled will crap, and toxicity, especially over the internet, it doesn't pay to be rude.
Homefree man of constant sorrow
I think the fans of Home Free (at least in my case) were dying for "true" talent and they truly brought that. Yes, we are very.........enthusiastic (ya I'm sticking with that word). I can't remember where I heard this so don't know if it's actually true, other Home Fries might be able to back me up or let me know if I'm wrong, that it was the fans that got to the Oak Ridge Boys through twitter to collaborate with Home Free. In fact it seems like I remember one of them joking that Home Free owed them a new iphone cause the Home Fries blew theirs up lol. Btw you said something about hoping a video didn't get blocked I've never known or heard of Home Free blocking reaction videos.
the cover of maren morris my church
❤❤
N Sync meets Sha na na.
You have to here oak ridge boys do Elvira
Do Ring of Fire !!!!! Unreal!
You should react to some of the new Home Free originals. Remember this is awesome =)
Still waiting on my Tracy Lawrence "Find out who your Friends Are" lol
Mind if I wait with you? Lol.
I'm a little surprised you never heard of Elvira before! Here's one of the original recordings they did, of Elvira, which (I believe) is the one on which the arrangement of the song was based, that Home Free used. If you listen to this, and then go back and listen to the Home Free version, you'll hear "the instruments," in the voices of the two groups singing together. For this song, Home Free asked The Oaks to sing the iconic song with them, and they were thrilled to do it.
th-cam.com/video/nGKatCAQed0/w-d-xo.html
Here's what the WIKI has to say about the song (which was NOT written by or originally sung by The Oaks):
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvira_(song)
I see that some of the others have asked you to react to another "older generation/younger generation" song Home Free has done. With this one, it was Kenny Rogers who asked Home Free to sing with him. Watch through the end, where Kenny tells about it.
"Children, Go Where I Send Thee"
th-cam.com/video/o4qNaAlZ1xc/w-d-xo.html
Glad you enjoyed Elvira. :-D
@Grandma's Gone Gaming Welcome back!!! As for me not knowing the song, there are sooooo many songs I am hearing for the first time for the simple reason that I didn't grow up with country, and when I started the channel last year it was because I was into Nashville country. then the subscribers started requesting non-Nashville artists, and I got into it fast. But much of it was new to me, and still is. But I'm learning. ;-)
@@RockN2Country I did understand that, but I guess I was kind of surprised that you had never heard of that one at all, because it was SO big there for a while, when I was pretty young, still. ;-) It seemed to me, back then, that you couldn't go into any type of a shopping mall or anything like that (restaurants, or whatever), without hearing The Oaks sing "Elvira!" ;-)
On the other hand, I shouldn't have been surprised, because I thoroughly ignored things like Heavy Metal, as long as I could...it held no appeal for me, whatsoever.
Anyway...sorry...I didn't mean that comment to sound judgmental...reading it back, it does seem that way. I was just genuinely surprised. HUGS!
Home free should do "lady" by Kenny Rogers. That would be the bomb. Com
And Lady Down On Love by Alabama.
cold hard cash by home free
elvira was first done by the oak ridge boys
Interesting, fragmented review.
Great video as always.
Would you consider doing a reaction it review of a Forever Country artists from then and now?
I don't remember you ever asking us to rate the song, but I can say that this is over a 9 for me and probably in the 9.3 to 9.4 range. I like a fair amount of Home Free's music although I don't necessarily consider myself a Home Fry, but this song is easily my favorite of theirs and in my top 10-20 songs of all time. Nothing against the original version by the ORB and I agree with Tupelo Honey that this doesn't work as well without them being included, but I do think it is a big step above the original.
I know you've gotten more into the Red Dirt Country scene, but would love to see you go back to more of the mainstream country from the 90s or 2000s.
elivra is an oak ridge boy original
Dallas Frazier wrote and sang the song in 1961!!
You need to react to denim jones - backwoods lullaby