Richard Sterban, Oak Ridge Boys Bass Singer on “Elvira,” Dies at 83

A voice that anchored the quartet

Sterban joined the Oak Ridge Boys as bass singer in 1972, after Noel Fox left the group. He sang alongside lead Duane Allen, baritone William Lee Golden and tenor Joe Bonsall. Bonsall died July 9, 2024, at 76.

The group placed 34 singles in the country Top 10, 17 of them at No. 1. It won Grammy, Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music awards. The Oak Ridge Boys joined the Grand Ole Opry in 2011, and Kenny Rogers inducted them into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015.

Sterban could hit notes so low they were felt more than heard, and also reach notes higher than many tenors can. "Elvira" made that range famous. The song reached No. 1 on the country chart and No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981.

Sterban wrote in his 2012 memoir, "From Elvis to Elvira: My Life on Stage," that the song "absolutely carried us to another stratosphere." He added that the lines he sang were "seemingly on everyone's lips."

Over his career he won five Grammys. One came in 1982 for best country performance by a duo or group with vocal, for "Elvira."

From Camden to Elvis Presley's stage

Sterban was born April 24, 1943, in Camden, New Jersey. He began singing in Sunday school at age six and studied music at Trenton State College. He helped found the gospel quartet the Keystones, in which Bonsall also sang.

Before the Oak Ridge Boys, he sang with J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, the backing group Elvis Presley hired for about a year and a half. The group appeared in the 1972 concert film "Elvis on Tour."

Sterban disclosed a pancreatic cancer diagnosis in September 2025. At the time he said he was "under the care of the best cancer doctors in the country." He retired from touring last year.

He is survived by his wife, Donna, and five children, Lauren, Tori, Rich, Doug and Chris, along with grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.