Hear Blake Shelton, Oak Ridge Boys’ Loose Performance of ‘Elvira’

Six weeks after teaming up for a pair of unannounced duets at the Grand Ole Opry, Blake Shelton and the Oak Ridge Boys have released live-in-the-studio versions of the two songs performed that night: Shelton’s “Doing It to Country Songs” and the Oaks’ timeless “Elvira.”

Originally released last year on Shelton’s If I’m Honest, “Doing It to Country Songs” receives a loose makeover during the live recording, which was tracked at Sound Stage Nashville. Here, Shelton takes center stage, with the Oak Ridge Boys chiming in during the double entendre-filled choruses. The table is flipped with “Elvira,” the most immortal, singalong-worthy hit of the Oak Ridge Boys’ career. This time, it’s Shelton who’s the guest, manning the microphone for half of the second verse and, elsewhere, slotting his voice into the thick gobs of vocal harmony that stand as the song’s centerpiece. Listen to the revamped “Elvira,” whose original recording topped the country charts in May 1981, below.

Although Blake Shelton and the Oak Ridge Boys are currently wrapping up their respective summer tours, their paths will intersect next month at the American Kickoff festival in Colorado Springs. Encore performance of “Elvira,” perhaps?