In 1972, Richard Sterban had a job most singers could only dream about. He was singing bass behind Elvis Presley. Then the phone rang, and he gave it up to join a gospel quartet that was still trying to find its way.
Plenty of people could not understand why. Nine years later, his deep bass voice was booming out of radios across America on “Elvira.”
From New Jersey to Elvis Presley’s Stage
Richard Sterban grew up in New Jersey, born in Camden in 1943. After a year at Trenton State College, he left school to tour with a gospel group called the Keystone Quartet.
His big break came when J.D. Sumner’s son-in-law called to offer him the bass spot in the Stamps Quartet, which meant moving to Nashville. Soon after, Sumner got the call to back Elvis Presley, and Richard went with him. The Stamps toured with Elvis for a little over a year, and Richard appears with them in the concert film Elvis On Tour.
He never forgot the first time he saw Elvis walk into a rehearsal in Minneapolis.
“Wow. Now I know why he’s the biggest star in the world.” (Richard Sterban)
Elvis greeted the singers by their first names and welcomed them to the Memphis Mafia. Offstage, he loved to gather everyone around a piano and sing gospel songs. Richard has said he believes gospel was Elvis’s favorite music of all.
The Phone Call From William Lee Golden
While Richard was out on tour with Elvis, William Lee Golden of the Oak Ridge Boys called him. The Oaks’ bass singer, Noel Fox, was coming off the road. Did Richard want the job?
On paper, it made no sense. He was on stage with the biggest star in the world. The Oak Ridge Boys were a respected gospel group, but they were a long way from stardom.
Richard saw it differently. He was already a fan, the kind who collected their records. He believed the group had a great deal of potential. And he wanted something Elvis’s show could not give him.
“I wanted to be more than a back-up singer.” (Richard Sterban)
He has said there was very little hesitation on his part.
“How Could You Leave Elvis?”
Not everyone understood. Richard has recalled that people kept asking him the same question.
“How could you leave Elvis and join the Oak Ridge Boys?”
Even Elvis, according to Richard’s old college magazine, later asked him to come back. Richard was flattered, but he said no.
His explanation, all these years later, is simple.
“I followed my heart.” (Richard Sterban)
The Lean Years, Then “Elvira”
The decision did not pay off overnight. A year after Richard arrived, Joe Bonsall joined as tenor, completing the lineup of Duane Allen, William Lee Golden, Richard Sterban and Joe Bonsall. Together they spent much of the 1970s caught between gospel and country, working through what Bonsall later called the grey years.
The breakthrough finally came with “Y’all Come Back Saloon” in 1977. Then, in 1981, “Elvira” went to No. 1 on the country chart and No. 5 on the pop chart, and won a Grammy. Richard’s deep bass line became the signature sound of the record.
Looking back on the choice he made in 1972, Richard has put it with a bass singer’s understatement.
“I think that back then I made a pretty good decision.” (Richard Sterban)
He even named his autobiography for the journey: From Elvis to Elvira.
Still Singing It
In March 2025, Richard Sterban was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and stepped away from the road for treatment. On January 30 and 31, 2026, at 82, he returned to the Grand Ole Opry stage with the Oak Ridge Boys and sang “Elvira” again. The crowd rose to its feet.
“Having Richard on stage with us again was one of God’s greatest blessings.” (Duane Allen)
More than half a century after he hung up the phone with William Lee Golden, Richard Sterban is still an Oak Ridge Boy.
Did you ever see the Oak Ridge Boys live, or hear that famous bass line for the first time on the radio? We would love to hear your memories.