Oak Ridge Boys’ Richard Sterban, Whose Distinctive Bass Voice Powered ‘Elvira’ and Other Country Smashes, Dies at 83

Richard Sterban, the bass vocalist of the Oak Ridge Boys, died Saturday in Hendersonville, Tenn., following complications from bronchitis and pneumonia after a battle with cancer. He was 83.

Both his family and the band announced his death. “We appreciate all of your love, support, and prayers. Please continue to lift us up in this difficult time, we find comfort knowing that he is currently face to face with Jesus,” wrote his family.

Sterban joined the Oak Ridge Boys as the group’s bass singer in 1972 after previous member Noel Fox left the band. Alongside lead singer Duane Allen, baritone William Lee Golden and tenor Joe Bonsall, Sterban helped complete the gospel quartet. The group placed 34 singles in the country Top 10, 17 of them at No. 1, earned Grammy, Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music awards, and became members of the Grand Ole Opry, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Sterban’s voice was the foundation of the group’s four-part harmonies, particularly apparent on the famous song “Elvira,” among others.

Before he joined the Oak Ridge Boys, he helped found the Keystones, a gospel quartet, before joining J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, which Elvis Presley hired to sing behind him for about a year and a half.

Sterban was born April 24, 1943, in Camden, New Jersey. He began singing at age six in Sunday school and sang tenor in his seventh-grade glee club. After graduating from Collingswood High School, he studied music at Trenton State College.

Sterban is survived by his wife, Donna; his daughters, Lauren (Tyler) and Tori (Michael); his sons, Rich (Chele), Doug, and Chris; his grandchildren, Mali (Zachary), Nikolas, Tyler (Ryann), Madelyn, Alexandra, Rex, Owen, and Charli Grace; and his great-grandchildren, Salem, Asher, and Theo. He was preceded in death by his mother, Victoria, brother, Joseph, and grandson, Zachary.