SCOTCOUNTRY MUSIC NEWS

Bass singer, songwriter and humorist Harold Reid of The Statler Brothers died Friday April 24 at age 80 of kidney failure.
Don Reid was the group’s chief songwriter, but his brother Harold collaborated with him on a number of the act’s biggest hits of the 1970s, including “Do You Remember These” (1972), the Grammy Award-winning “Class of ‘57” (1972), “Carry Me Back” (1973), “Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott” (1973), “Some I Wrote” (1978), “Do You Know You Are My Sunshine” (1978), “The Official Historian on Shirley Jean Burrell” (1978) and “How to Be a Country Star” (1979).
Reid and the other members of his quartet were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008. The Statler Brothers were the CMA Vocal Group of the Year every year from 1972 to 1977, then again in 1979, 1980 and 1984. The act hosted its own TNN cable TV series in 1991-98. It was the network’s top-rated program.
Harold Reid was also the foundation of the Statlers’ comedic alter ego, Roadhog Moran & The Cadillac Cowboys. He was the parody act’s leader, Lester “Roadhog” Moran.
Bass harmony vocalist Reid founded The Four-Star Quartet in 1948. The gospel act also performed as The Kingsmen. After Harold’s lead singing younger brother Don Reid joined, the quartet became known as The Statler Brothers in 1955.
Based in Virginia, the group took its name from a box of Statler facial tissues. After working on the gospel-quartet circuit, the group was discovered by Johnny Cash. He made the Statlers part of his roadshow in 1964-71. They were also featured on Cash’s national television series in 1969-71.
During its 1965-90 heyday as hit makers, The Statlers placed 66 titles on the country charts. Of these, 33 became top-10 hits.
The Statler Brothers remained in Staunton, VA throughout their career. Beginning in 1970, the act staged annual July 4th celebrations in Staunton. These “Happy Birthday U.S.A.” events lasted for 25 years and eventually attracted crowds approaching 100,000.
A huge fireworks display always capped the festivities. These fountains of explosion were launched near Harold Reid’s home, Boxley Farm. The city of Staunton dedicated a monument to the group in 2002.