They performed at the national boy scout jamboree in Virginia in the early '80s, and my scouter grandfather pushed me to attend. We heard both the Oakridge Boys and the Beach Boys at the opening and closing events of the jamboree.

About that time I started listening to country radio, including Alabama, George Strait and some of the older stuff. I kept on listening up through high school and eventually lost interest. But I was almost 100% country from about 8-11th grade. And we didn't live in a typical country music part of the US.