DON REID: Giving Nashville Variety

The Statler Brothers--Don and Harold Reid, Jimmy Fortune and Phil Balsley--are the most award-winning act in the history of country music. This week they are adding another milestone to their 26-year career. The foursome are starring in The Nashville Network’s first original variety series, “The Statler Bros. Show.”

The weekly series, which tapes in Nashville, Tenn., will feature such country greats as the Oak Ridge Boys, Charley Pride, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Gatlins, Conway Twitty, Jimmy Dean, Roger Miller and Ricky Skaggs. Barbara Mandrell is the guest on Saturday’s opener. Regulars Rex Allen Jr. and Janie Fricke, comedian Royce Elliot and newcomer Butch Baker fill out the bill.

Since their first hit song in 1965, “Flowers on the Wall,” the Statlers have won three Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, 10 Country Music Association Awards and 46 Music City News Awards. Their latest album, “All American Country,” was released in June.

Statler Don Reid, who writes the show with his brother, Harold, talked with Susan King about the new series by phone from Staunton, Va., the Statlers’ hometown and home base.

Is there an audience for variety shows?

I think there is. The way the show is presented is what’s important.

I think we are presenting the acts that are right. We are presenting variety acts. We are using jugglers, musicians, ventriloquists and comedians. I think if it’s not overproduced and if it’s done well with a sense of simplicity then people can come out and do what they do best. I think that’s what people enjoy. We tell the people (in the audience) this show is the TV we grew up with.

The Nashville Network originally came to us about doing a series of specials and then it turned into us doing a series. We weren’t sure we wanted to tackle that, but with the freedom they gave us we couldn’t afford not to do it.

What type of freedom?

We (Don and Harold) write (the shows) and we are co-producing them and getting whatever guests we want. We have the total freedom.

You look like you’re having the time of your lives up on stage. Are you enjoying doing the series?

Yeah. We looked forward to the writing of it and the creating of it and the whole process and then we got into the groove of doing it.

I will be honest with you--it’s long hours, but it’s enjoyable. If work is enjoyable, all of a sudden it’s not like work. It’s a total switch from what we have been doing. We have been doing a lot of years on the road and this is so different. It really has been fun.

Has the country music audience changed over the past 25 years?

There are yuppified and young rock fans and that sort of thing. And then you have nostalgia fans, people who like the ‘50s and ‘60s rock. They are most apt to be country fans now.

But I think (basically) you have the grass-roots people, you have Americana. The reason they like country music is because it’s about real things, real people. It’s the only music anymore that has a significant lyric content--pop music is gone and folk music is gone. Country is the only place you have it.

Your first big hit, “Flowers on the Wall,” also was a huge hit on the rock charts. How did that happen? Did rock radio stations begin playing it?

Yeah. Some people thought it was folk music and some people thought it was country. You had Simon and Garfunkel hitting at the same time and they had the same type of rolling guitars. Nobody knew what (genre) it was, and we didn’t either. I was 18 and was fresh out of high school and we were green. We said, “Are we country or are we rock?” We didn’t know what field to shoot for next.

Did a lot of people try to persuade you to leave country and become a rock group?

Oh yeah. We did all the rock TV shows at that time. We did “Where the Action Is” and “The Lloyd Thaxton Show.” Remember him?

It was a confusing time, as the ‘60s were for everybody, and then we decided country music is where our audience is and where our heart is. I think we made the right decision. We may not have lasted ... in the rock field. We were lucky to make the right decision.

Do you spend most of the year on the road touring?

No. Fortunately, we haven’t had to do that for a number of years. We work less than 100 days a year. We are (in Staunton) the rest of the time. All our offices are here. We bought our old grade school and turned it into an office. It’s pretty nice. We still record in Nashville. It’s a second home.

One thing I have been wondering: How did you come up with the name “Statler Brothers”?

This is a true story. We were looking for something. We wanted to be different and there was a box of facial tissues sitting on the table. They were Statler tissues. You never heard of them because it is a regional product. They make them up in New England.

Someone was sitting there saying, “Statler, that has a nice ring to it.” And for no other reason we became the Statler Brothers. We don’t know anybody named Statler. Now the company sends us tissues.

“The Statler Bros. Show” premieres Saturday at 6 and 9 p.m. on TNN.