The Statler Brothers

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The Statler Brothers
The cover of the Statlers' 1991 album All American Country
Background information
Origin	Virginia
Genre(s)	country music
Years active	1955–2003
Website	[1]
Members
Don Reid Harold Reid Phil Balsley Jimmy Fortune
Former members
Lew DeWitt

The Statler Brothers are an American country music vocal group founded in 1955 in Virginia.

Despite the band's name just two of its four members are brothers, and none of them are named 'Statler'. The band in fact named themselves after a brand of facial tissue (they have joked that they could have turned out to be the Kleenex Brothers). Don Reid sings lead and is the younger brother of Harold Reid, who sings bass. The other members are baritone, Phil Balsley and tenor, Jimmy Fortune, who replaced original Statler Lew DeWitt in the early 1980s due to the latter's ill health.

Since forming, the Statler Brothers have released over 40 albums. They received Grammy Awards in 1966 and 1973. Two of their best-known songs are their first big hit, "Flowers on the Wall" - famously later used in the film Pulp Fiction - and the socially-conscious "Bed of Rose's" (which was featured on the soundtrack to the videogame; Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas playing on fiction country music station K-ROSE, along with "New York City"). Late in their career they had a regular variety show on the cable television channel then known as The Nashville Network. Throughout their career, much of their appeal was related to their considerable ability for comedy and parody that they frequently interspersed into their musical act; they were frequently nominated for awards for their comedy as well as their singing. They recorded two comedy albums as "Lester Moran and the Cadillac Cowboys," and one-half of one side of the album "Country Music Then and Now" was also devoted to satirizing small-town radio stations' Saturday morning shows.

The Statlers are now semi-retired, having completed a farewell tour in 2002. Harold, Phil, and Don continue to reside in their hometown of Staunton, Virginia. Jimmy has relocated to Nashville, where he is pursuing a solo career. He has released two albums as a soloist. The Statlers continue to be the most awarded act in the history of country music.

Don has authored or co-authored three books since the Statlers' retirement in 2002. They are Heroes and Outlaws of the Bible, Sunday Morning Memories, and You'll Know It's Christmas When... He and Harold are working on a history of the Statler Brothers, to be published in 2006.