Harold Reid: 1939 - 2020

Harold Reid: 1939-2020

A founding member of the superstar group, The Statler Brothers, has recently passed away. Harold Reid, the bass singer of the retired group who also doubled as the group's resident comic, passed away on Friday (April 24th) at the age of 80 from kidney failure. He was born August 21, 1939. If you're not too familiar with the group's history it all started in 1955. The group originally consisted of Harold Reid (bass), Phil Balsley (baritone), Lew DeWitt (tenor), and Joe McDorman (lead vocals). The four members of the group were all natives of Virginia and they called their high school group The Four Star Quartet. They were all born in the late '30s and so by the mid '50s when they formed their gospel group each of them were still teenagers. In 1960 lead vocalist, Joe McDorman, exited the group and in to take his place was Harold's younger brother, Don (born June 5, 1945). The group had by this time changed it's name to The Kingsmen which proved to be short-lived, too. In addition to several other gospel acts with similar names there happened to be a rock music group that emerged called The Kingsmen. Seeking a new name to avoid confusion with other similarly titled gospel acts and from confusion with the mainstream rock music group a third group name was formed: The Statler Brothers. The name was inspired by a brand of tissue paper, Statler. The group made it's initial commercial impact with the line-up consisting of Harold, Phil, Lew, and Don. The group became part of the Johnny Cash touring ensemble for 8 years (1964-1972) and in that time period they established themselves as a country music group. The songs that the group recorded were largely written by Harold and Don as co-writers or were songs that Harold or Don wrote on their own. The group was signed to Columbia Records in 1964 upon the suggestion/recommendation of Johnny Cash.

Lew DeWitt composed the group's first big hit, 1965's "Flowers on the Wall", which went on to win a Grammy. The song is also their only single to land within the Top-40 of the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart where it peaked at number four. In the world of pop music The Statler Brothers are routinely cited as a 'one hit wonder' because they only had one single make it into the pop Top-40.

Harold and Don wrote the group's second Grammy winner, "Class of '57", but that came later into their career.

When Johnny Cash hosted his own television show for two seasons, 1969-1971, regular cast members included not only June Carter Cash but The Statler Brothers. Ironically, the year that Johnny's television series debuted, in 1969, the Statler Brothers left Columbia Records for Mercury Records.

Harold, Don, Phil, and Lew

"Bed of Rose's", one of the group's many hits, came from the pen of Harold Reid. This deep and complex story is something you probably wouldn't associate with Harold given his image of being a comic and quick with one-liners but it shows the talent hidden behind his comical reputation. It was the group's first release on Mercury Records. In those earlier Mercury albums the group issued some comical material under the alias of Lester 'Roadhog' Moran and His Cadillac Cowboys. Harold played the lead role of Roadhog in those comedy routines.

They began a lengthy producer-artist relationship with Jerry Kennedy while at Mercury. Harold and Don wrote "Class of '57", which hit the Top-10 on the country chart in 1972. As previously mentioned this song won a Grammy in early 1973 in the category of Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. Harold and Don wrote so many of the songs...the group's first number one hit was written by the Reid brothers, "Do You Know You Are My Sunshine", in 1978. One of their greatest recordings came from the pen of Harold and Don, "Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott?". In that recording Harold sings the lead vocals...and later on he sang the main lead vocals on 1984's "Atlanta Blue", from the pen of Don Reid...but let's back up a couple of years...

The group went through a major change in 1982 when long-time tenor and founding member, Lew DeWitt, retired due to health issues. His replacement, Jimmy Fortune, almost immediately added to the on-going success of the group and within the next several years had written some of the group's most sentimental songs. The group had become known for their close harmonies, comedy, and their nostalgic-themed albums and single releases and while they wrote and recorded a lot of love songs it was not their main avenue...but most of Jimmy's material was rooted in emotional complexities and feelings. The final album to feature Lew DeWitt was 1982's The Legend Goes On. The two hit singles from that album, "Whatever", was written by Harold and Don while "A Child of the Fifties" was written by Don. The first album to feature Jimmy Fortune was 1983's Today...and it is on that album which introduced country music audiences to "Elizabeth", a song from the pen of Jimmy Fortune, who titled it after seeing Elizabeth Taylor on a classic movie...and although the song is not about the movie actress countless country music media publications often say it's a tribute to her. The song was the group's second number one hit. The album also contains the hit recording "Guilty" from the pen of Harold and Don as well as their wonderful version of "Oh Baby Mine". 

The group continued to rack up hit songs and receive numerous awards...the fan voted Music City News Country Awards named The Statler Brothers their Favorite Group well over a dozen times throughout the 1970s and 1980s...dominating that category in other country music awards programs, too. The group began their famous television series in 1991...both Harold and Don were the head writers and it was the highest rated television show on The Nashville Network for it's entire seven year run (1991-1998). The group retired from the road in 2002 and were content to remain out of the spotlight. In 2008 The Statler Brothers were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame along with Tom T. Hall and Emmylou Harris.

Statler Brothers; Emmylou Harris; Tom T. Hall; 2008

The Hall of Fame plaque for The Statler Brothers also includes Lew DeWitt. It was a classy move to include him due to the fact that he was not only a founding member but he was the writer of the song that put the group on the mainstream map, "Flowers on the Wall", and his high tenor was distinct and memorable on all of the Statler recordings through 1982...as was the bass of Harold Reid and the vocalizations of Don Reid and Phil Balsley. Jimmy's addition to the group after Lew retired added to their legacy. The group retained their small town roots throughout their career and from 1970 until 1995 they hosted an annual birthday for America in Staunton, Virginia (their base of operations). The event was officially titled Happy Birthday U.S.A. and in the same year that they hosted what turned out to be their final Independence Day celebration Mercury Records issued a box set career retrospective to celebrate the group's 30th Anniversary as country music artists. The son of Harold Reid as well as the son of Don Reid have been recording and performing show dates for a number of years. The duo's original name was Grandstaff but they have since changed it to Wilson Fairchild.

One of Statler Brothers final hit songs came from the pen of Harold and Don Reid, "Let's Get Started If We're Gonna Break My Heart". It hit in the fall of 1988 and peaked early in 1989 in the Top-20. The group's final Top-10 hit arrived in the summer of 1989 from the pen of Jimmy Fortune, "More Than a Name on a Wall". As their music career began to fade on radio they unexpectedly became television stars as mentioned above. Their television show ran for 7 years and many feel it could have ran even longer but my guess is the group, in the latter stages of their television show, was already thinking about retirement and so they perhaps decided to end the show after it completed the 1997-1998 season for those reasons. The old saying 'always go out on top'. The group, as mentioned, officially retired from the road in 2002. Their Farewell Concert was released in audio format in 2003. In 2010 the Gaither Music Group issued two volumes of gospel recordings from the Statler Brothers and each release reached the Top-20 on the Country Album chart. In 2013 the Gaither company issued a compilation featuring highlights from the Statler's final concert in 2002 and that 2013 release reached the Top-30 on the Country Album chart. It was the group's final charting album.

Here they are collecting one of their many Music City News Country Awards as Vocal Group of the Year. Harold Reid left an incredible mark on gospel and country music and his comedy was infectious and a main attraction in the Statler Brothers performances...on and off the record.

Phil Balsley, Don Reid, Jimmy Fortune, and Harold Reid