Harold Reid of the Statler Brothers Dies

Harold Reid, who sang bass for the Grammy-winning country group the Statler Brothers, has died after a long battle with kidney failure. He was 80. Reid died Friday in his hometown of Staunton, Virginia.

Bandmate Jimmy Fortune posted a message on Facebook that read in part, "Our hearts are broken tonight. Our prayers and our thoughts are with [Reid's wife] Brenda and his children and grandchildren and with my other brothers, Don and Phil. We made a lot of great memories together. I'll miss you, brother, till I see you again." 

"He is and will always be loved by his family, friends and millions of fans," a statement on the band's website said. "His singing, his songwriting and his comedy made generations happy. He has taken a piece of our hearts with him."Reid and three boyhood friends - Lew DeWitt, Phil Balsley and Joe McDorman - formed the Four-Star Quartet in 1948. The group, later known as the Kingsmen, sang mostly gospel music. McDorman quit and was replaced by Don Reid, Harold's younger brother. 

Reid with his younger brother Don and Phil Balsley and Lew DeWitt (neither of whom were related) form the Statler Brothers. Originally performing gospel music at local churches, the group billed themselves as The Four Star Quartet, and later The Kingsmen. In 1963, when the song "Louie, Louie" by the garage rock band also called The Kingsmen became famous, the group elected to bill themselves as The Statler Brothers. Despite the name, only two members of the group (Don and Harold Reid) are actual brothers and neither has the surname of Statler. The group actually named themselves after a brand of facial tissue they had noticed in a hotel room (they quipped that they could have eventually named themselves "the Kleenex Brothers").

Harold Reid was a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.  For seven years in the 90s, every Saturday night on their television series on TNN, Harold, Phil, Jimmy and Don closed every show with a gospel song. In 2010, Gaither Music released a 2-DVD and a 2-CD collection of their Gospel songs.

 

 

 

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