Statler Brothers Tip A Hat To Johnny Cash

The 2008 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees. (front, l-r) Emmylou Harris & Tom T. Hall. (back) The Statler Bros. Photo courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

July 1, 2008 — When the Statler Brothers were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday, they made a point of thanking the late Johnny Cash for his role in their career.

In August 1963, when he was hot with "Ring Of Fire," they pursued him diligently, putting bass vocalist Harold Reid in charge of persuading Johnny to let them open for him. In March 1964, they got their chance when he showed up late for a job in Canton, Ohio, and they were asked to entertain the crowd. They stayed with Johnny into the 1970s, appearing on his network TV series, "The Johnny Cash Show," and providing key vocals on his hit "Daddy Sang Bass."

"He gave us a job on a handshake for 8-1/2 years when nobody knew who we were," Don Reid told the gathering at the Hall of Fame’s Ford Theater.

Don added that Johnny’s wife, June Carter, shared an immense amount of knowledge about how the music business worked.

"They were our blood and our breath," Don said, "and also our friends."

During their recording career, the Statlers honored him in a song on the 1980 album 10th Anniversary, the cleverly titled "We Got Paid By Cash."

During their induction, the Statlers then had the tables turned on them, as two group members’ sons — Will Reid (Harold’s son) and Langdon Reid (Don’s boy), collectively known as Grandstaff — performed "The Statler Brothers Song." The lyrics weaved in numerous titles of albums and songs from the quartet’s history, including Entertainers...On And Off The Record, "(I’ll Even Love You) Better Than I Did Then," "Elizabeth," "The Official Historian On Shirley Jean Berrell," "Bed Of Rose’s," "Flowers On The Wall," "Atlanta Blue," "Susan When She Tried," "Carry Me Back" and "How Great Thou Art."

Appropriately, one of the guys on hand at the ceremony worked for both Cash — immortalized by the Statlers — and for the Statlers, celebrated by their children. Marshall Grant played bass on the bulk of Johnny’s hits, from "I Walk The Line" to "One Piece At A Time." He also managed the Statlers.