History Music / TheStatlerBrothers

** And a hilarious real life subversion occurred when one of the lines - "When the lights go on at Wrigley Field" - became reality seven years later. They changed the lyrics to putting a dome over it.

** The Statlers themselves included musical shout outs to Johnny Cash in "We Got Paid By Cash" - the song opens with the distinctive bass entry to "Big River" and closes on the mariachi trumpets of "Ring of Fire."

* ConceptAlbum: The Statlers would frequently release albums reflecting a theme. Examples are ''Pictures of Moments to Remember'' which centered on memories, and ''Sons of the Motherland'', which focused on their love for America. Perhaps their most significant themed album was their gospel album released in 1975, entitled ''Holy Bible'', [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin which has song versions of the bible stories and divided up into a two record set called Old Testament and New Testament]]

* BrilliantButLazy: In their memoir Don and Harold Reid portray Lew [=DeWitt=] as this. He wrote "Flowers on the Wall" but was content to let the Reids handle most of the songwriting after that, as well as the day-to-day business of the group. His later health problems only added to it.

* NostalgiaFilter: Many of their biggest hit songs fit this trope, including "Do You Remember These" (reviving pop culture and personal memories of the late 1930s through late 1950s) and "The Movies" (a roll call of the biggest movie hits and stars, from the earliest days to the then-present 1977). Other "memory-type" songs are more bittersweet, such as "Class of '57," reflecting on classmates who had great success and those who were struggling (or worse). Rounding out the trope: covers of oldies and adult standards.

A [[LongRunner long-running]] (nearly 50 years!) CountryMusic quartet from Staunton[[note]]pronounced "STAN-ton"[[/note]], Virginia. The founding members were lead vocalist Don Reid (born June 5, 1945), bass vocalist Harold Reid (August 21, 1939 – April 24, 2020), baritone Phil Balsley (born August 8, 1939), and tenor Lew [=DeWitt=] (March 8, 1938 – August 15, 1990). [=DeWitt=] left in 1983 due to health issues and was replaced by Jimmy Fortune (born March 11, 1955).

Discovered by Music/JohnnyCash, the group backed him on tour from 1964-72, and launched their own recording career around that time as well. In 1965 they released "Flowers on the Wall" (penned by [=DeWitt=]), a song that became a huge crossover hit and even netted them a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward. From then until the late 1980s, they were a somewhat constant presence on the country charts, scoring even more {{Signature Song}}s along the way, such as "Do You Remember These", "The Class of '57", "I'll Go to My Grave Loving You", "Do You Know You Are My Sunshine", "The Official Historian of Shirley Jean Berrell" and "Elizabeth". The Statlers' material stood out not only because of their finely-honed harmonies, but also by being largely written by the band members themselves, with literate lyrics and a healthy sense of humor.

Due to the typical makeup of vocal groups (tenor, lead, baritone, bass), their songs are sometimes confused with those performed by Music/TheOakRidgeBoys. Musically, however, the Statlers always maintained a strong connection to GospelMusic, which the latter group moved away from; the distinction was even greater visually, as the Statlers typically wore coordinated three-piece suits onstage while the Oak Ridge Boys favored their regular clothes.

A [[LongRunner long-running]] (nearly 50 years!) CountryMusic quartet from Staunton[[note]]pronounced "STAN-ton"[[/note]], Virginia. The founding members were lead vocalist Don Reid (born June 5, 1945), bass vocalist Harold Reid (August 21, 1939 – April 24, 2020), baritone Phil Balsley (born August 8, 1939), and tenor Lew [=DeWitt=] (March 8, 1938 – August 15, 1990). [=DeWitt=] left in 1983 due to health issues and was replaced by Jimmy Fortune (born March 11, 1955). The group released "Flowers on the Wall" in 1965, a song that became a huge crossover hit and even netted them a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward. From then until the late 1980s, they were a somewhat constant presence on the country charts, scoring even more {{Signature Song}}s along the way, such as "Do You Remember These", "The Class of '57", "I'll Go to My Grave Loving You", "Do You Know You Are My Sunshine", "The Official Historian of Shirley Jean Berrell" and "Elizabeth".

* CoordinatedClothes: The group routinely wore matching suits through the 1970s and '80s. Taken UpToEleven during a TV appearance with Barbara Mandrell, for which Don and Harold wore coordinated ''[[DisguisedInDrag dresses]]''.

A [[LongRunner long-running]] (nearly 50 years!) CountryMusic quartet from Staunton[[note]]pronounced "[[ItIsPronouncedTropay STAN-ton]]"[[/note]], Virginia. The founding members were lead vocalist Don Reid (born June 5, 1945), bass vocalist Harold Reid (August 21, 1939 – April 24, 2020), baritone Phil Balsley (born August 8, 1939), and tenor Lew [=DeWitt=] (March 8, 1938 – August 15, 1990). [=DeWitt=] left in 1983 due to health issues and was replaced by Jimmy Fortune (born March 11, 1955). The group released "Flowers on the Wall" in 1965, a song that became a huge crossover hit and even netted them a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward. From then until the late 1980s, they were a somewhat constant presence on the country charts, scoring even more {{Signature Song}}s along the way, such as "Do You Remember These", "The Class of '57", "I'll Go to My Grave Loving You", "Do You Know You Are My Sunshine", "The Official Historian of Shirley Jean Berrell" and "Elizabeth".

Due to the typical makeup of vocal groups (tenor, lead, baritone, bass), their songs are sometimes confused with ones performed by Music/TheOakRidgeBoys. Musically, however, the Statlers always maintained a strong connection to gospel music, and the distinction was even greater visually, as the Statlers typically all wore three-piece suits while the Oak Ridge Boys favored their regular clothes.

A [[LongRunner long-running]] CountryMusic Quartet (nearly 50 years!) from Staunton [[note]]pronounced [[ItIsPronouncedTropay STAN-ton]][[/note]], Virginia. Former members are: lead vocalist Don Reid (June 5, 1945-), bass vocalist Harold Reid (August 21, 1939-April 24, 2020), baritone Phil Balsley (August 8, 1939-), and tenor Lew [=DeWitt=] (March 8, 1938-August 15, 1990). [=DeWitt=] left in 1983 due to health issues and was replaced by Jimmy Fortune (March 11, 1955-). The group released "Flowers on the Wall" in 1965, a song that became a huge crossover hit and even netted them a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward. From then until the late 1980s, they were a somewhat constant presence on the country charts, scoring even more {{Signature Song}}s along the way, such as "Do You Remember These", "The Class of '57", "I'll Go to My Grave Loving You", "Do You Know You Are My Sunshine", "The Official Historian of Shirley Jean Berrell" and "Elizabeth".

* CoordinatedClothes: The group routinely wore matching suits through the 1970s and '80s. Taken UpToEleven during a TV appearance with Barbara Mandrell, where Don and Harold wore coordinated ''[[DisguisedInDrag dresses]]''.

* CoordinatedClothes: The group routinely wore matching suits through the 1970s and 1980s. Taken UpToEleven during a TV appearance with Barbara Mandrell where the guys wore coordinated ''dresses.''

!!Countin' Tropes on the wall, that don't bother me at all.

* ChristmasSongs: Their albums ''Christmas Card'' (1978) and ''Christmas Present'' (1985).

* ChristmasSongs: Their albums ''Christmas Card'' (1978) and ''Christmas Present'' (1985).
* ConceptAlbum: The Statlers would frequently release albums reflecting a theme. Examples are ''Pictures of Moments To Remember'' which centered on memories and ''Sons of the Motherland'' which focused on their love for America. Perhaps their most significant themed album was their gospel album released in 1975, entitled ''Holy Bible'', [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin which has song versions of the bible stories and divided up into a two record set called Old Testament and New Testament]]

* YouCantGoHome: "You Can't Go Home Again" is about a beloved aunt, uncle and cousin who took in the singer when his mom died - the uncle is now crippled, the aunt is pretty much blind, and the cousin has gone to war, leaving the singer with no way to return to what he knew before.

A [[LongRunner long-running]] CountryMusic Quartet (nearly 50 years!) from Staunton [[note]]pronounced [[ItIsPronouncedTropay STAN-ton]][[/note]], Virginia. Former members are: Don Reid (lead vocals), Harold Reid (bass, died April 24, 2020), Phil Balsley (baritone), and Lew [=DeWitt=] (tenor). [=DeWitt=] left in 1983 due to health issues (he died in 1990), with Jimmy Fortune taking his place. The group released "Flowers on the Wall" in 1965, a song that became a huge crossover hit and even netted them a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward. From then until the late 1980s, they were a somewhat constant presence on the country charts, scoring even more {{Signature Song}}s along the way, such as "Do You Remember These", "The Class of '57", "I'll Go to My Grave Loving You", "Do You Know You Are My Sunshine", "The Official Historian of Shirley Jean Berrell" and "Elizabeth".

* BandOfRelatives: [[SubvertedTrope Despite the name, they weren't all brothers]]--[[DoubleSubversion but two, Don and Harold Reid, were.]]. No one in the group had the last name Statler, though.

* IncrediblyLongNote: At the end of "Noah Found Grace in the Eyes of the Lord," DeWitt or Fortune would blast out the word "high" on an A4 note for as long as possible before the entire group would conclude on "...and dry!"

* LongRunnerLineUp: Two of them, actually. The group was Don and Harold Reid, Phil Balsley and Lew [=DeWitt=] from 1960 to 1982 (22 years), when [=DeWitt=] had to quit because of Crohn's Disease ([=DeWitt=] eventually died of it in 1990), then the Reids, Balsley, and Jimmy Fortune from Fortune replacing [=DeWitt=] in 1982 to 2004 when the band called it a day (22 years).

* ObsessionSong: "The Official Historian of Shirley Jean Berrell" comes across as this, given the near-exhaustive knowledge the narrator has of the girl in question. Subverted in the final verse when he has to admit that "The only thing that I don't know is where she is right now."

* CoordinatedClothes: The group routinely wore matching suits through the 1970s and 1980s. TakenToEleven during a TV appearance with Barbara Mandrell where the guys wore coordinated ''dresses.''

* OldFlameFizzle: Treated humorously in "Atlanta Blue" where the singer never got over his old love, but doesn't want her to come back because the memories always seem better than the reality.

A [[LongRunner long-running]] CountryMusic Quartet (nearly 50 years!) from Staunton [[note]]pronounced [[ItIsPronouncedTropay STAN-ton]][[/note]], Virginia. Former members are: Don Reid (lead vocals), Harold Reid (bass), Phil Balsley (baritone), and Lew [=DeWitt=] (tenor). [=DeWitt=] left in 1983 due to health issues, with Jimmy Fortune taking his place. The group released "Flowers on the Wall" in 1965, a song that became a huge crossover hit and even netted them a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward. From then until the late 1980s, they were a somewhat constant presence on the country charts, scoring even more {{Signature Song}}s along the way, such as "Do You Remember These", "The Class of '57", "I'll Go to My Grave Loving You", "Do You Know You Are My Sunshine", "The Official Historian of Shirley Jean Berrell" and "Elizabeth".