Oak Ridge Boys promise Alexandria fans 'great night' filled with new songs, familiar hits

That distinctive deep voice on the other end of the phone calling from Nashville, Tenn., belongs to Richard Sterban, the bass singer with the Oak Ridge Boys. He’s the one who sings one of the most popular song lyrics, "Giddy up, um-poppa, um-poppa, mow, mow," in their 1981 hit “Elvira.” You'll also recognize the voice in their 1982 hit "Bobbie Sue."

The country and gospel quartet is bringing their Front Porch Singin’ tour to the Rapides Parish Coliseum at 8 p.m. Oct. 22. Tickets can be purchased at the Coliseum Box Office from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and at Ticketmaster.com.

The album"Front Porch Singin’" was released in 2021. It was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb during the COVID pandemic when recording studios started to reopen after the pandemic shut them down.

Cobb wanted “to create the feeling of four guys just kind of gathering on a front porch and just singing in a very informal way, harmonizing together in a very unstructured way,” Sterban said.

“Dave Cobb’s a master at capturing feelings like that, and we were able to do just that,” he said. “We found some great old songs. Some old gospel songs that are familiar to people that they can sing along to. Some old country songs.”

Cobb also got some of the hottest young songwriters in Nashville to write new songs the Oak Ridge Boys.

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“So it’s a nice mixture of old and new, but we captured that feeling of four guys just gathering in an informal way on a front porch,” Sterban said. “And the most important thing about this project, all of the music is very inspirational in nature. A lot of it is gospel and some of it is country, but it’s all songs with great messages that give us hope to help us get through difficult times in life.”

Performing well-known hits

The group will also perform many of its hits, including “Elvira.”

“You can count on that. You’re going to hear ‘Elvira’ and you’re going to hear me do, "Giddy up, um-poppa, mow, mow,” he said.

Central Louisiana fans will be happy to know they are likely to hear “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight.”

“We don’t have the set list made up yet, but we do that song pretty much every night,” Sterban said. “You are going to hear songs you would expect to hear from the Oak Ridge Boys."

That also includes “Y'all Come Back Saloon” and probably one of their most requested songs, “Thank God for Kids,” sung by William Lee Golden.

“He does such a great job of interpreting that lyric and then communicating it to the audience. It’s a special moment for the Oak Ridge Boys,” Sterban said. “But we’re going to include some of this music from 'Front Porch Singin’ ' because it’s very special music.”

Sterban said the night in general will be one filled with country music and family entertainment because that’s what the Oak Ridge Boys are all about.

“And I can speak for all the Oak Ridge Boys, and I can tell you we’re excited about coming your way,” he said. “We’re looking forward to it. We plan to have a great time. We’re going to do our best to make it a great night. So we want to encourage people to come on out spend some time with the Oak Ridge Boys and let us celebrate together.”

Sterban celebrates 50 years with Oak Ridge Boys

Sterban is also celebrating a milestone in his music career. October marks his 50^th year as a member of the Oak Ridge Boys. He doesn’t remember the exact date he joined but thinks it was the third weekend in October.

“When I look back on 50 years, I wonder, ‘Wow, where has the time gone?’ ” he said. “It’s unbelievable. It really is.”

The Oak Ridge Boys have had a lot of experiences over the past 50 years that have been pretty special, Sterban said. But one that sticks out in his mind is their induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

“That is so special. It is beyond words,” he said. “If you go into the rotunda here in Nashville, you’ll see the four faces of the Oak Ridge Boys in bronze.”

Another standout moment is their induction into the Grand Ole Opry in 2011.

“That’s a special group of artists and to be a part of that family is very special as well,” Sterban said. “We’ve been blessed. We’ve been very fortunate to have a great career. So many great things have happened to us.”

Backup singer for Elvis Presley

Before joining the Oak Ridge Boys, Sterban was a backup singer for Elvis Presley, who performed at the Rapides Parish Coliseum in March 1977.

“For about two years before I joined the Oak Ridge Boys, I sang in a group called J.D. Sumner & the Stamps Quartet. And for about a year and a half of that time, I was able to sing with the King of Rock 'n’ Roll. I was able to sing with Elvis,” Sterban said.

He has some great memories of the time he spent with Presley and is thankful for the experience.

“However, and this is also very important, while I was singing with Elvis, apparently on top of the world, I got a phone call that changed my life,” he said.

Golden called him and told him their bass singer was leaving and asked if he would be interested in becoming the next bass singer for the Oak Ridge Boys.

“I had to make a decision,” Sterban said.

He was a big fan of the Oak Ridge Boys and loved their music.

“I really felt like the group had a great deal of potential and I really wanted to be a part of it,” Sterban said. “So what I did was I left Elvis and I joined the Oak Ridge Boys. That was back in 1972.”

Back then, a lot of people questioned his choice, but Sterban believed with all his heart that he was doing the right thing. Reflecting back on that decision he made 50 years ago, he said he made the right one.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Oak Ridge Boys promise a 'great night' of country music in Alexandria