Richard Anthony Sterban (born April 24, 1943) is an American bass

Bass (voice type)

A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...

 singer born in Camden, New Jersey

Camden, New Jersey

The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...

, who joined the country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 and gospel

Gospel music

Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

 quartet The Oak Ridge Boys

The Oak Ridge Boys

The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet.The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in southern gospel during the 1950s...

 in 1972. Prior to joining The Oak Ridge Boys, Sterban toured with J. D. Sumner

J. D. Sumner

John Daniel "J. D." Sumner was an American gospel singer, songwriter, and music promoter noted for his extremely deep bass voice, his use of the vocal technique known as vocal fry, and his associations with Elvis Presley....

 and the Stamps Quartet, who were singing backup for Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

 at that time. Sterban ultimately became famous for his "oom-pa-pa-oom-pa-pa-maw-maw" bass solo in the Oak Ridge Boys' 1981 smash hit, "Elvira

Elvira (song)

"Elvira" is a song written by Dallas Frazier which became a famous country and pop hit by The Oak Ridge Boys. A Number One hit on the Billboard country music charts, The Oak Ridge Boys' version is considered one of their signature songs.-Song history:...

." Sterban grew up in Collingswood, New Jersey

Collingswood, New Jersey

Collingswood is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 13,926....

  and now lives in Hendersonville, Tennessee

Hendersonville, Tennessee

Hendersonville is a city in Sumner County, Tennessee, United States, on Old Hickory Lake. The population was 51,372 at the 2010 census. Hendersonville is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located 18 miles northeast of downtown Nashville. The city was settled around 1784 by...

 with his wife, Donna, and two daughters, Lauren and Tori. Richard also has three sons from a previous marriage: Rich, Doug and Chris; and several grandchildren.
Sterban has recorded public service announcements for NOAA Weather Radio. He served as the voice of The Roadhouse

The Roadhouse

The Roadhouse was a Classic Country radio station on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 62, XM Satellite Radio channel 10 and DISH Network channel 6062...

, the classic country

Classic country

Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country hits from past decades.This genre generally follows one of two formats: those specializing in hits from the 1920s through the early 1970s, and focus primarily on innovators and artists from country music's Golden...

 Sirius Satellite Radio

Sirius Satellite Radio

Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...

 channel. Sterban was a minority owner of the Nashville Sounds

Nashville Sounds

The Nashville Sounds are a minor league baseball team of the Pacific Coast League , and the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the city's association with the music industry...

 minor league baseball

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 team, the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

, from 1978 to 2008.