Richard Sterban, whose low, unmistakable bass voice helped define the Oak Ridge Boys’ sound and became a signature element of their 1981 hit “Elvira,” has died at 83.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum lists Sterban’s date of death as Nov. 14, 2026. The museum’s announcement did not include a cause of death.
The Oak Ridge Boys mourned him in a social media statement, calling him “our partner and brother.”
Sterban was born in Camden, New Jersey, on April 24, 1943. Before joining the Oak Ridge Boys in 1972, he sang with J.D. Sumner and the Stamps, a gospel group that also performed with Elvis Presley, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
With the Oak Ridge Boys, Sterban’s bass vocals became a focal point of “Elvira,” which reached No. 1 on the country chart and No. 5 on the pop chart in 1981. The group was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015.
Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, remembered Sterban as a performer who linked genres through his voice.
“Richard Sterban was a musical bridge builder,” Young said in a statement. “He used his unmistakable bass voice to connect commercial country music to its deep gospel roots.”