"Gonna Take a Lot of River" — often known as "Gonna Take a Lot of River (Mississippi, Monongahela, Ohio)" — is a song made famous by the country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 group The Oak Ridge Boys

The Oak Ridge Boys

The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet.The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in southern gospel during the 1950s...

. Originally released in 1988

1988 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1988.-Events:* May 21 — Country music stars highlight a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York. Featured: Alabama, The Judds, George Strait and Randy Travis.-No dates:...

, the song was the lead-off single to the band's 1988 album Monongahela

Monongahela (album)

Monongahela is a studio album by American country music group The Oak Ridge Boys. It was released in 1988 via MCA Records. The album peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.-Track listing:...

.

In October 1988, the song ascended to No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

 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

William Lee Golden

William Lee Golden , a native of Brewton, Alabama, is an American country music singer. Between 1965 and 1987, and again from 1995 onward, he has been the baritone singer in the country music group The Oak Ridge Boys.-Personal life:...

in the group's lineup.

Chart positions

Chart (1988)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1

Sources

• Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits." (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 (ISBN 0-82-307553-2))
• Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs: 1944-2005," 2006.