Richard Sterban, the bass singer for the Oak Ridge Boys, died Saturday in Hendersonville, Tenn., at age 83 from complications of bronchitis and pneumonia after a battle with cancer.
Richard Sterban, the bass singer for the Oak Ridge Boys, died Saturday in Hendersonville, Tenn. He was 83. His death was confirmed by his family and the Oak Ridge Boys. They said that Mr. Sterban, who had cancer, had died of complications from bronchitis and pneumonia.
Sterban joined the Oak Ridge Boys as the group’s bass singer in 1972 after previous member Noel Fox left the band. He replaced bass singer Noel Fox who had left the group. Bonsall would join the group in 1973, replacing Wynn, and forming a lineup that would last for nearly five decades.
The Oak Ridge Boys had 47 entries on the Hot Country Songs chart, including 17 No. 1s that spanned 1978-90. They also had 39 entries on the Top Country Albums chart, including three No. 1s (Fancy Free in 1981, Bobbie Sue in 1982 and Deliver in 1984). On the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, the group notched four entries, including two top 40-charted hits: “Elvira” (No. 5 in 1981) and “Bobbie Sue” (No. 12 in 1982).
“Elvira” — The Oak Ridge Boys’ highest-charting single on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, a song that became one of the quartet’s numerous No. 1s on the Hot Country Songs chart, and the winner of a trio of major awards (a Grammy Award, a CMA Award and an ACM Award) put Sterban’s deep vocal front and center in the hit’s chorus.
Throughout his decades-long career with The Oak Ridge Boys, Sterban won five Grammys, including the award for best country performance by a duo or group with vocal in 1982 for “Elvira,” which had already been named single of the year by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
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.
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 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.
Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.
Sterban’s death marks the passing of a foundational voice in country and gospel music. His bass vocals anchored the Oak Ridge Boys’ sound for more than 50 years, including on the group’s hit “Elvira.” The group became members of the Grand Ole Opry, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame.
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