This week in 1965: LBJ outlined the goals for his Great Society during his State Of Union address; Interagency Council on Smoking announced that 125,000 Americans would die from smoking in 1965: two U.S. planes were shot down on a combat mission in Laos; and four good friends from Virginia who called themselves brothers were about to enjoy their first hit record.
Harold Wilson Reid, Lew C. DeWitt and Phillip Balsey had began singing together at The Lyndhurst Methodist Church in Staunton, Virginia.
The three called themselves The Kingsman but split up in 1958. They reunited two years later and added Harold's younger brother, Donald Sidney Reid. The four auditioned for Johnny Cash backstage during a concert in Berryville, Virginia. Cash managed to get the four a record contract with Columbia Records. The label was about to cancel their contract two years later when Cash brought them in at the end of one of his recording sessions to record a song titled "Flowers On The Wall" which Lew Dewitt had written.
By this time the four had changed their name to The Statler Brothers -- a name they had read on a box of Statler tissues they found on a motel room table. When asked to describe The Statler Brothers, Reid replied "We're actually "The Bland Brothers." We don't have a gimmick or a hook. We're patriotism, mom and apple pie and that's it."
And that seemed to be enough.
"Flowers On The Wall" came on the country music charts September 25th,1965, made it to No. 2 and stuck there for four weeks. It was their first charted single and was charted for 27 weeks.
The Columbia single also scored a No. 4 on the pop charts the weeks of September 8th, 1965.
The Statler Brothers were named CMA "Group Of The Year" each year from 1972 through 1977 and again in 1979 and 1980.
Between 1965 and 1990, they placed 66 songs on the country music charts, 11 of which also placed on the pop charts. Their 1975 "Best Of The Statler Brothers" album sold over two million copies.
Lew DeWitt was forced to leave the group in 1982 because of health issues. He was replaced by Jimmy Fortune. DeWitt died in 1990.
