Don Reid Biography | Country Music | Ken Burns

In 1964, before Don was 20, the Statler Brothers were discovered by Johnny Cash. They burst onto the scene almost immediately: traveling on the road with Cash, receiving their first recording contract, and delivering their first hit single, “Flowers on the Wall,” which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard country charts and crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 4. The Statlers toured with Cash’s road show – Don acting as emcee – for more than eight years and were a weekly mainstay on ABC’s nationally televised The Johnny Cash Show (1969—1971), performing their own hits and backing Johnny and the Tennessee Three.

The Statler Brothers would come to be one of the most award-winning acts in the history of country music, with three GRAMMY Awards, three American Music Awards, three ACM Awards, and nine CMA Awards – including eight consecutive years (1972-1980) as CMA Vocal Group of the Year. They were inducted into the Gospel Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008, becoming only the sixth act to have been entered into both. After the group retired from traveling in 2002, Don turned his attention to writing and is the author of eight books – four non-fiction, three fiction, and one collection of “short stories and true stories.”

Born: June 5, 1945, Staunton, Virginia

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