The 4th of July and Memories
I’ve had a very emotional and fulfilling week. On the 4th of July, WILSON FAIRCHILD, my son and nephew, performed in our hometown and brought music and patriotism to the hearts of the many thousands who were there. It was their second year of carrying on a tradition the STATLERS created nearly 50 years ago and I have to tell you in all sincerity, it is just as sweet to experience it from the audience as it was from the stage all those years. There was a vesper service on the night of the 3rd; food booths galore; a parade around Gypsy Hill Park on the morning of the 4th; entertainment all day long from the main stage and then the stars of the night, WILSON FAIRCHILD at 8pm for a two-hour country-music-flag-waving performance that just stirred every nerve in my body. Maybe you were there, maybe you caught the live stream or maybe you saw it on public tv a couple of nights later. I encourage you to experience it in person next year if at all possible. The address is Staunton, VA. Then just roll down the car windows and follow the music. You’ll be glad you did.
Then just days after all this, I get word that an old album of ours has been re-released this week from 1995. THE STATLER BROTHERS SING THE CLASSICS. This brought more emotion I wasn’t planning on because this album was a very special one to Harold, Phil, Jimmy and me because of the song selections on it. Every song we chose and sang here had a profound influence on me as I was growing up. They were all from the fabulous 50s with one or two of our hits thrown in for good measure. MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS – THE GREAT PRETENDER – MOMENTS TO REMEMBER and twenty-one other old heart-wrenching songs that I get weak in the stomach just thinking about. Of all our forty years of recording, this is my favorite album to listen to. I remember just after it was released twenty-three years ago, Harold saying in an interview that the STATLERS were singing at their absolute best on this album of classics. I have to agree with him.
But I’m not here to advertise. If you want to know more about it and how to get it, check it out at statlerbrothers.com And as for the 4th of July, maybe I’ll see you in Staunton next year!
DSR 7/11/18
