(Richard Sterban, right at Hempstead Hall, in 2022. Terri Perkins photo) (Photo by Annie Leibovitz (1984)
NASHVILLE, TN — Richard Sterban, whose deep bass voice anchored The Oak Ridge Boys for more than half a century and whose rumbling refrain on “Elvira” became one of the most familiar sounds in American music, died Saturday, November 14, 2026, in Hendersonville, Tennessee due to complications from bronchitis and pneumonia after fighting a long, hard battle with cancer. He was 83. His death was announced by his family and The Oak Ridge Boys.
Sterban and his bandmates had packed Hempstead Hall in Hope twice, in 2016 after the Watermelon Festival was moved due to weather, an again 2022. The venue was packed both time.