DON REID: Giving Nashville Variety

This week, the Statler Brothers--Don and Harold Reid, Jimmy Fortune and Phil Balsley--are starring in The Nashville Network’s first original variety series.

“The Statler Bros. Show.”, 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.

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.

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

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.

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 is gone and folk is gone.

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.

How did you come up with the name “Statler Brothers”?

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.

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