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The Statler Brothers came from Staunton, a town on the edge of the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. The members of the group were, Harold Reid(bass), Lew C DeWitt(tenor), Philip E. Balsley(baritone) and Joe McDorman.They formed a Gospel quartet and although McDorman never became a "Statler"" he worked occassionally with the group.Back then they were called the Kingsmen. In 1960 McDorman was replaced by Harold's brother,Donald S Reid who became the groups lead singer. In 1963 the group auditioned for Johnny Cash and became part of his road show.Around this time another group called the Kingsmen had a hit with,"Louie,Louie" . This made it necessary for a name change.They were sitting in a hotel room when Harold saw a box of Statler tissues and suggested "The Statler Brothers" As Harold often said,"Hey,we might have been the Kleenex Brothers!".Johnny Cash also got them a record contract with Columbia but because of poor sales with thier first records the Statlers were refused further studio time.At one of Johnny Cash's sessions while he was on a break,they recorded "Flowers on the Wall".This was in 1964. It made 4 on the US Pop Charts,2 on the Country Charts and even made the UK Top 40. The Statlers continued to be part of the Johnny Cash show until 1972. And the years with him were fondly recalled in a tribute song written by Harold and Don,"We Got Paid by Cash". "We learned alot from John.He didn't always do everything he knew was right,but we learned alot of positive things from him in terms of songwriting,performing and living." The Statlers changed record label and signed on to Mercury Records in 1970 because they were dissatisfied by the promotion of thier records and the material they were given at Columbia. They teamed with producer Jerry Kennedy and turned out hits such as"Bed of Roses", "Do You Remember These?(1972), "I'll Go to My Grave Loving You"(Top hit in 1975),and the 1 hit in 1978, "Do You Know You Are My Sunshine?". This established them as the number one Country group. The Statlers remained with Mercury Records for 2 decades. The Statler Brothers member Lew DeWitt suffered from Crohn's Disease. Since a teenager Lew had suffered from intestional inflammation. On one of the groups first tours with Johnny Cash in Omaha, he had collapsed and was rarely able to shake off the stomach pain and nausea associated with the disease. Stress and travel made it worse and in November of 1981 was hospitalized. Lew decided to leave the group. His replacement,at first temporary,then permanent was Jimmy Fortune. Lew returned for one show in June of 1982 but couldn't face an upcoming tour and bowed out. He tried a solo career in 1985 after he recuperated a little but his health problems resurfaced forcing him to retire completely. The Statler Brothers were on tour when Lew fell seriously ill, but they came to see him just two weeks before he died. Lew DeWitt died on August 15, 1990 of heart and kidney failure.Jimmy Fortune turned out to be surprisingly a commercial songwriter. His first song for the group "Elizabeth" went to 1 and another "My Only Love" repeated. Adding Jimmy to the group was typical of the way the Statler Brothers seem to have an apparent ability to recharge themselves again and again. In the late 80's the group got an invitation from Jim Owens Productions to host a weekly TV Show on The Nashville Network. Worried about overexposure the Statlers at first resisted the idea. But being complete rounded entertainers with a keen sense of what it takes to mount a show,they decided it wasn't a bad idea after all.They were offered the 9:00 PM Saturday night slot. The 1st show aired October 5, 1991.The Statler Brothers Show was the top rated show on The Nashville Network(TNN) on cable. On tour and on TV the group maintains the freshness in thier show by logging songs and jokes so they don't give an audience the same show twice. "Don can go to the books" says Harold, "And tell you exactly what kind of ass I made of myself every show we've played."
The Statler Brothers have released more than 60 albums, have won more than 500 awards and were given more Music City News Awards than any other act in country music.(Voted on by the fans!) They still live in Staunton, Virginia and thier offices are located in what used to be the old elementary school, Beverly Manor. After more than 30 years of being the most popular and longest-lasting groups in the history of country music the Statlers have retired. The group concluded their concert schedule in November of 2002.The reasons cited for retirement was simply to free themselves of a rigid travel schedule and spend more time at home in Staunton. Their final concert was held on October 26, 2002 in Salem,Virginia. When tickets went on sale for that concert, they were sold out in an hour and 27 minutes! Jimmy Fortune,the youngest, has launched a solo career .The Statlers latest album "Showtime", released on April 10, 2001 was the first release of new material in almost a decade. And it was the first album released on the groups' own label Music Box Records.
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