B-side "Private Lives" Format 7" Genre Country | Released July 1988 (U.S.) Recorded 1988 Length 3:00 | |
"Gonna Take a Lot of River" — often known as "Gonna Take a Lot of River (Mississippi, Monongahela, Ohio)" — is a song written by John Kurhajetz and Mark Henley, and recorded by American country music group The Oak Ridge Boys. It was released in July 1988 as the lead-off single from the album Monongahela.
In October 1988, the song ascended to No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart. The band's 15th chart topper in a string dating to 1978, "Gonna Take a Lot of River" was the first to feature the lead vocals of group baritone Steve Sanders, who succeeded William Lee Golden in the group's lineup.
In 2011, the group rerecorded the song with a new arrangement and tenor singer Joe Bonsall on lead vocals for their It's Only Natural project at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. The album included songs originally sung by Sanders. The lineup included Golden on baritone vocals.