Richard Sterban, Oak Ridge Boys Bass Voice Behind 'Elvira', Dies at 83

Richard Sterban, the bass singer whose "oom-papa-mow-mow" refrain powered the Oak Ridge Boys' 1981 blockbuster "Elvira," died on Saturday in Hendersonville, Tenn. He was 83.

His family and the Oak Ridge Boys confirmed his death. They said Sterban, who had cancer, died of complications from bronchitis and pneumonia.

Sterban spent more than five decades as the vocal anchor of the Oak Ridge Boys, one of the most popular vocal groups in the history of country music. Before that, he sang backup for Elvis Presley.

What made his voice singular?

Sterban was a singer of extraordinary range and power. He could hit notes so low they could only be felt, not heard. He could also hit notes higher than many tenors can reach.

His basso profundo anchored the Oak Ridge Boys' gospel-steeped sound. It also carried the occasional melodic lead, most notably on the group's 1979 remake of the Righteous Brothers' Top 40 pop hit "Dream On."

His reverberating vocals galvanized the group's version of "Elvira." The song had been recorded before by artists including Rodney Crowell and Kenny Rogers and the First Edition. It never rose above a minor hit — until Sterban's stentorian refrain, framed by shouts of "Giddy up!" and "Hi-ho Silver!", turned it into a Grammy Award-winning record and one of the most inescapable earworms of the early 1980s.

"It absolutely carried us to another stratosphere," Sterban wrote in his 2012 memoir, "From Elvis to Elvira: My Life on Stage," written with Steven Robinson. "The song, especially the lines I sang, was seemingly on everyone's lips. It was unbelievable."

The numbers back him up. "Elvira" sold two million copies, topped the country chart and crossed over to the pop Top 10.

Who was in the classic lineup?

The group's classic lineup, formed in the early 1970s, included four voices:

• Duane Allen, lead singer
• Joe Bonsall, tenor, who died in 2024
• William Lee Golden, baritone
• Richard Sterban, bass

The group began as a gospel quartet in Oak Ridge, Tenn., in the early 1940s. It disbanded and reformed at least twice before Sterban and Bonsall joined Allen and Golden, stabilizing a mercurial lineup.

Over the next two decades, the four men modernized the group's original gospel sound with pop-country elements. They placed 17 singles at the top of the country chart and 17 more in the country Top 10 — a combined 34 major hits across roughly twenty years.

With records like "Elvira" and "Bobbie Sue" (1982), Sterban and the group infused traditional country harmony singing with techniques popularized by R&B vocal groups like the Coasters and the Dominoes. They also contributed vocals to Paul Simon's 1977 Top 10 pop hit "Slip Slidin' Away."

The broader aesthetic did not come easily. At a commercial low point in the mid-1970s, the group went into the studio to sing backup on Jimmy Buffett's "My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink and I Don't Love Jesus."

"What in the world had we gotten ourselves into?" Sterban wrote in his memoir, describing the members' reaction. Their core gospel following had already accused them of being sellouts for performing covers of hits by the Eagles and Olivia Newton-John in concert.

"All we could imagine," he added, "were headlines confirming what many of our detractors already seemed to believe: 'Oak Ridge Boys don't love Jesus!'"

How did Elvis shape his career?

Richard Anthony Sterban was born on April 24, 1943, in Camden, N.J., one of three children of Edward and Victoria (Giordano) Sterban. His father, a Polish immigrant, worked as an electrician. His mother, a native of Salandra in the Basilicata region of southern Italy, worked in various settings, including a chocolate factory.

Raised in a strict religious household, Sterban began singing at the local Assembly of God church at 6. He went on to play tuba, sousaphone and other brass instruments in high school. He majored in music at Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey) before dropping out to form the Keystone Quartet, a gospel group, in the early 1960s.

That group split in early 1965. Sterban took a job selling men's wear at the Gimbels department store in northeast Philadelphia. Shortly before that, he married Sandra Wilson, with whom he had three sons: Rich, Chris and Doug.

In 1970, Sterban was hired to sing bass in the touring edition of J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, one of the premier Southern Gospel groups of the day. A year later, the Stamps were hired as Elvis Presley's background singers. They appeared with him at his four Madison Square Garden shows in June 1972 and during his five-week Las Vegas residency that summer.

Sterban sang on major Presley recordings, including "Burning Love," a No. 2 pop hit in 1972, and "Always on My Mind."

In October 1972, he accepted an invitation to join the Oak Ridge Boys, replacing bass singer Noel Fox. The reconstituted quartet initially struggled in the country market. A stint as regulars in Johnny Cash's touring revue buoyed them. They broke through with "Y'all Come Back Saloon," a Top 10 country single in 1977.

That record inaugurated a decade-plus string of hits, sold-out concert tours, regular late-night television appearances and five Grammy Awards. The Oak Ridge Boys entered the Gospel Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015.

What else did he do?

An avid sports fan, Sterban was for years a part owner of — and occasional color commentator for — the Nashville Sounds, the Triple-A minor league affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. He also did color commentary for Vanderbilt University's men's baseball team.

He is survived by his sons from his first marriage, which ended in divorce; his second wife, Donna (Summers) Sterban; their daughters, Tori and Lauren; and several grandchildren.

The group kept pushing country music's boundaries long after its commercial peak. Their haunting 2009 rendition of the White Stripes' 2003 single "Seven Nation Army," recorded with producer Dave Cobb, has been likened to Johnny Cash's partnership with Rick Rubin.

"I think Dave took us down some roads we might not have traveled on our own," Sterban was quoted as saying on the group's website. "The music may be different, but he did not try to change us; he challenged us."