Chưa phân loại

AFTER 19 YEARS, “ELIZABETH” BECAME THE STATLER BROTHERS’ LAST FAREWELL.

Bởi

AFTER 19 YEARS, THE STATLER BROTHERS TURNED ‘ELIZABETH’ INTO THEIR FINAL GOODBYE IN 2002. When ‘Elizabeth’ first reached Number One in 1983, it sounded like a love song filled with hope. But nineteen years later, under the fading lights of The Statler Brothers’ farewell concert, the words hit differently. As Jimmy Fortune stepped to the … Đọc tiếp

THE STATLER BROTHERS CHOSE NEVER TO LEAVE THEIR HOMETOWN—AND FOR A QUARTER OF A CENTURY, THEIR HOMETOWN BECAME THE HEART OF AMERICA’S FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION. WHEN THEY RETIRED, THE TRADITION ENDED WITH THEM.

Bởi

THE STATLER BROTHERS NEVER LEFT THEIR SMALL TOWN — AND FOR 25 YEARS, THEY BROUGHT 100,000 PEOPLE TO IT EVERY FOURTH OF JULY. THEN THEY RETIRED, AND THE BIGGEST DAY IN STAUNTON, VIRGINIA, DISAPPEARED OVERNIGHT. They weren’t brothers. None of them was named Statler. They got the name from a box of tissues in a … Đọc tiếp

SOMETHING ALWAYS FELT UNUSUAL ABOUT THE EMPTY MICROPHONE ON STAGE—BUT ONLY AFTER HAROLD REID’S PASSING DID THE REAL REASON COME TO LIGHT.

Bởi

NO ONE UNDERSTOOD WHY HAROLD REID ALWAYS LEFT ONE MIC ON STAGE EMPTY… UNTIL HIS BROTHER TOLD THE TRUTH For years, at every Statler Brothers show, Harold Reid made sure there was always one extra microphone set up on stage. No one stood behind it. No one used it. The crew thought it was a … Đọc tiếp

THE STORY BEHIND “FLOWERS ON THE WALL” IS FAR MORE HEARTBREAKING THAN MOST FANS EVER KNEW.

Bởi

THE UNTOLD STORY BEHIND “FLOWERS ON THE WALL”: THE STATLER BROTHERS WROTE THEIR BIGGEST HIT IN A HOSPITAL ROOM — WHILE ONE OF THEM WASN’T SURE HE’D MAKE IT OUT ALIVE. Before they were country legends, The Statler Brothers were just four guys from Staunton, Virginia, singing in churches and praying for a break. They … Đọc tiếp

THROUGH 47 YEARS WITH THE STATLER BROTHERS, PHIL BALSLEY NEVER ASKED FOR THE SPOTLIGHT — AND HE NEVER NEEDED IT.

Bởi

PHIL BALSLEY NEVER ONCE SANG A SOLO IN 47 YEARS WITH THE STATLER BROTHERS — AND NOBODY EVER HEARD HIM COMPLAIN For nearly five decades, Phil Balsley stood on stage with one of the most famous vocal groups in country music history. Harold Reid had the comedy. Don Reid had the lead voice. Jimmy Fortune … Đọc tiếp

THERE WAS NOTHING FLASHY ABOUT HIM — AND THAT WAS EXACTLY HIS STRENGTH.

Bởi

NASHVILLE SAID HIS MUSIC WAS “TOO BORING”… Don Williams never shouted. Never wore rhinestones. Never smashed a guitar. In an industry built on drama, heartbreak anthems, and honky-tonk chaos — he just stood there. Barely moved. Sang so quietly you had to lean in to hear him. Critics called his sound “too mellow.” Producers said … Đọc tiếp

SHE STOOD BEFORE THE BLACK GRANITE WITH A BOUQUET IN HER HAND — AND IN THAT MOMENT, THOUSANDS OF NAMES BECAME ONE MOTHER’S HEARTBREAK.

Bởi

SHE WALKED UP TO THE WALL HOLDING FLOWERS — AND 58,000 NAMES WENT SILENT WHILE ONE MOTHER SAID THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERED. Jimmy Fortune had never written a song before he joined the Statler Brothers. Not one. He was a twenty-something kid from Nelson County, Virginia, called in to replace a dying man — … Đọc tiếp

MERLE, WAYLON, AND JOHNNY CASH RARELY SAW EYE TO EYE—BUT THEY ALL AGREED ON ONE VOICE: GEORGE JONES.

Bởi

MERLE, WAYLON, AND CASH NEVER AGREED ON ANYTHING — EXCEPT ONE SINGER’S NAME.George Jones wasn’t just respected in country music — he was feared. The man could walk into any recording studio, open his mouth, and make every other singer in Nashville feel like an amateur.Merle Haggard once said, “When the greatest singer of all … Đọc tiếp

EVERY LABEL TURNED IT DOWN. THE STATLER BROTHERS TOOK THE RISK THEMSELVES — AND IT BECAME THE HIT THAT REDEFINED THEIR CAREER.

Bởi

HAROLD REID PITCHED IT TO EVERY DOOR IN NASHVILLE — KENNY ROGERS SAID THE SUBJECT MATTER WAS TOO RISKY. EVERYBODY PASSED. SO IN OCTOBER 1970, THE STATLER BROTHERS RECORDED IT THEMSELVES — THE VERY FIRST SINGLE ON THEIR NEW LABEL. IT HIT #9 AND CHANGED EVERYTHING. Nobody in Nashville wanted to touch it. Harold Reid … Đọc tiếp