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Gonna Take a Lot of River

1988 single by The Oak Ridge Boys

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 4, 2026
Entity authorityQ5582026 ↗
Source-derived summary

"Gonna Take a Lot of River", with the full name "Gonna Take a Lot of River (Mississippi, Monongahela, Ohio)", is a song written by John Kurhajetz and Mark Henley, and recorded by the Oak Ridge Boys. It was released in July 1988 as the lead single from Monongahela.

In October 1988, the song hit number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. "Gonna Take a Lot of River" was the first song to feature Steve Sanders, who succeeded William Lee Golden in the group's lineup.

In 2011, the group rerecorded the song with a new arrangement and Joe Bonsall on lead vocals for It's Only Natural.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Gonna Take a Lot of River” as 1988 single by The Oak Ridge Boys. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Gonna, Take and River.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1988, 2011—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1988-07. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Gonna, Take and River providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Gonna Take a Lot of River”, the useful work is to connect “1988 single by The Oak Ridge Boys” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5582026. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1988 and 2011.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Gonna Take a Lot of River”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Gonna Take a Lot of River primary sources, Gonna Take a Lot of River archive and Gonna research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Gonna Take a Lot of River”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Gonna Take a Lot of River” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.