He left Elvis Presley’s stage for the Oak Ridge Boys, and his bass made “Elvira” immortal. Richard Sterban has died at 83
Richard Sterban, the bass voice of the Oak Ridge Boys for more than half a century, died on Saturday in Hendersonville, Tennessee, aged 83. His family said he died of complications from bronchitis and pneumonia after a long battle with cancer. His four-word bass solo on "Elvira" is one of the most recognisable sounds in country music.
Live updates
- 10.20am AWSTLatest
Tributes from country artists follow the announcement. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
- Before 9am AWST
The Sterban family announces through the Oak Ridge Boys that Richard Sterban has died in Hendersonville, Tennessee, aged 83.
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Three things to know
- Sterban died on Saturday 14 November, US time, in Hendersonville, Tennessee. His family announced it through the band's social media.
- Before the Oak Ridge Boys, he sang behind Elvis Presley in J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, and walked away from that job to join the group in 1972.
- He stepped back from touring in 2025 while being treated for pancreatic cancer, but sang "Elvira" with the band at the Grand Ole Opry in January this year.
Richard Sterban, the bass singer whose low “oom papa mow mow” turned “Elvira” into one of country music’s best-known songs, has died at 83.
His family said he died on Saturday in Hendersonville, Tennessee, from complications of bronchitis and pneumonia after a long, hard battle with cancer. The statement, signed by the Sterban family and shared on the Oak Ridge Boys’ social media on Saturday evening US time (Sunday morning in Australia), said the family took comfort knowing he was “face to face with Jesus”.
Who was Richard Sterban?
Born in Camden, New Jersey, on 24 April 1943, Sterban sang soprano in Sunday school as a six-year-old; by his early teens his voice had dropped to the bass that would define his career.
He started in gospel, as a founding member of the Keystones, the quartet where he first met future Oak Ridge Boy Joe Bonsall. He then joined J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, the group Elvis Presley hired to sing behind him, and spent about a year and a half on stage with the King.
In late 1972 he gave that up to join the Oak Ridge Boys, then a gospel act, alongside Duane Allen and William Lee Golden. Bonsall arrived the following year, and that line-up held together for nearly five decades.
Why does “Elvira” matter so much?
Released in 1981, “Elvira” took the Oak Ridge Boys out of country radio and into the US pop top five. Its hook belonged to Sterban: a run of bass notes so deep and so playful that it became the part of the song everyone sings along to.
The song sat at the top of a remarkable run. The group placed 34 singles in the US country top 10, 17 of them at No. 1, and won Grammy, CMA and ACM awards. They are members of the Grand Ole Opry and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015.
What happened in his final year?
Sterban stepped away from touring in May 2025 and later revealed he was being treated for pancreatic cancer. Aaron McCune and Tim Duncan filled in for him on the road.
He did not disappear. He returned to the Grand Ole Opry for two nights on 30 and 31 January 2026 and sang “Elvira” with the band, and he sang on several tracks of their October album, Buried Treasures.
His death comes two years after the band lost Bonsall, who died in 2024. Allen and Golden remain in the group. Allen said having Sterban on stage with them again “was one of God’s greatest blessings”.
Tributes came quickly from across country music, with T. Graham Brown calling him one of the greatest bass singers of all time.
Sterban is survived by his wife, Donna, his daughters Lauren and Tori, his sons Rich, Doug and Chris, and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
VNN will update this story as more is confirmed.
How we got here
The key moments that brought this story into focus. Open any moment for detail.
24 April 1943Born in New Jersey
Richard Sterban is born in Camden, New Jersey.
Early 1970sOn stage with Elvis
Sterban sings behind Elvis Presley as part of J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet.
1972Joins the Oak Ridge Boys
He leaves the Stamps to become the group's bass singer.
1981"Elvira"
His bass hook carries the song into the US pop top five.
2015Hall of Fame
The Oak Ridge Boys are inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
2024Bonsall dies
Longtime bandmate Joe Bonsall dies.
May 2025Steps back
Sterban leaves the road for treatment of pancreatic cancer.
30-31 January 2026Back at the Opry
He sings "Elvira" with the band on two nights.
14 November 2026Dies at 83
Sterban dies in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
What happens next
Funeral and memorial arrangements have not yet been announced; the family and the band are expected to share details. The Oak Ridge Boys, with Allen and Golden, have not said what Sterban's death means for their plans for 2027.
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