Jimmy Fortune Remembers Harold Reid on Coffee, Country & Cody

from the station that made country music famous 6:50 am WSM this is a coffee country and Cody podcast hi it's Charlie Madison in this episode we sit down with Country Music Hall of Famer Jimmy fortune Jimmy joined us on zoom' to chat about his old friend Harold Reed Harold read of the Statler Brothers passed away on Friday April the 24th at the age of 80 and Jimmy has some wonderful memories to share enjoy our coffee country and Cody podcast with hall-of-famer Jimmy fortune Tilley Statler Brothers bed of roses coffee country and Cody and that was lewd to wit with his remarkable tenor memorable tenor only to be replaced by a guy who is equally as remarkable but didn't sound like Lou do it he created his own way and that is Jimmy fortune hall-of-famer with the Statler's joining us this morning to remember Harold read your dear friend and brother of the road for how many years Jimmy well I was with him for almost 21 years and now it's been you know 18 almost 18 years this year since the Statler Brothers retired so actually known first him personally for about 40 years now and Lou was with them how long before you came along was with them about 20 years right around 20 years before I came along but you know he wrote flowers on the wall of course Harold wrote that song you just played bitter roses and I got a funny story about that my mom when I first went with the stout opposed my mom was straight-laced Christian woman you know and she she met Harold and she said there's only one thing I don't like about Charles music he said what's that he said she said I don't like it better roses song I don't like what it's about you know he laughed he got the biggest kick out of that he thought that was the funniest thing he said man I don't know if I want to sing bed of roses a my wife your mama don't like to get out there but that's the way her was yeah is a consummate entertainer to see the Statler Brothers live he made the show I mean Donna he cut drove the show but the guy who brought it home was Harold right when you when you watched establish that was the that was the person that you focused on because young kids all ages when you tune into our TV show whether you came to a concert you wanted to hear what in the world he was gonna do next you had no idea love you know I'm gonna go to the show because I want to see what Harold's gonna do I want to see the show Saturday night because I want to see what Harold's gone today I mean that's what it was about and how much of that was rehearsed on the stage show did you guys sometimes not know what he was gonna do a lot of times we did not know what he's gonna do buddy but the rehearse stuff was was funny as all get-out but when he would go off the cuff he was even funnier so when you say he was funny when he was on TV but when he was by himself although he was with us on the bus oh my gosh it was stuff that would happen he would not believe did you audition for who is in on your audition all the members mean yeah when I feel and when I came over to to a midfield first I got out of the car and Stan Virginia and I I got out of the car to come in and meet her meet all of them in the met field first and then I went in and I met Harold in his office and more than a deep voice I mean he was very intimidating I mean just unbelievably intimidating and I was scared to death anyway and then I met Don but we didn't actually get to two two I had kind of had laryngitis at that date I tried out but that we actually went to Harold's house and sang around the piano we sang Amazing Grace around the piano that was the first thing we we sang and so I thought I went on back to work that day and thinking well I you know I got something to tell my kids I said even if this doesn't work out I sang around the piano with a staff about this one day and so I was I was going back with just thinking maybe I probably won't make well but I won't get the job but hey at least got the same with them you know and that was pretty cool so then eventually they called me like week later fly to Nashville to record just to put on something to see see what it sounded like and so when I went into the foot of Nashville my first flight ever and with snowing and everything else I'm gonna scared to death got on got out off the airplane they drove me over to young and Sound Studios cool pulled up to the there was a door there and and the guy says you're gonna walk through that door and the stouter brothers and Jerry Kennedy and the band gonna be sitting there you got a microphone and they're gonna tell you the saying and when you walk through that door you start singing in that microphone and and that's what I did I mean you talk about nerve-racking it was their friend and so I was the last audition they had in Nashville and and long story short after that they told me they said we want you to I want you to do the job you know as a temporary thing for about six months while Lou is gonna be out and I had no idea that Lou was would eventually make the decision to not go back on the road because he didn't think he could do it so he asked me he said after about six months he said you think you would mind being a full-time member of the style brothers and I said I'd be an idiot to turn this down when you don't and so it turned into 20 20 almost 21 years and how old were you at this time Jimmy I was 26 going on 12 yeah pretty much but they you know they made it so easy for me Harold and Don and feel they the ultimate professionals you know they knew they knew my strengths and they knew my weaknesses and they took up for my weaknesses and and let me show my strengths and and that's what I think coming in to help them out was if they'd have told me right off the bat we want you to come in and take a little bit's place I would have probably rethought the whole thing because I just never thought to be one of those people that would come in to really take somebody else's place you know I want to do I wanted to be the person that helped and and so they let me do that they let me be that person and then of course Lou was his decision not to come back and so I think that was why the fans accepted it so much but Harrell Reed right from the start of me he was a brilliant it was just brilliant him and Dawn both and filled they they knew what they had to do and they did what they had to do to keep things going they wanted to I'm sure get it get a few more years out of this business because they weren't ready to retire at the time and so thankful they took took an old boy from Virginia that I never had nothing probably never would have had nothing one for those guys and they took you all over the world didn't they all over the world meet all of our heroes to do things that we that you never ever dreamed of and you talk about the road hog I think about the road hog all the time and that's the Moran and the Cadillac Cowboys and I think if some people would ask him from time to time well you know worse where's the road hog at it's a will he's recovering from an autopsy we've actually got an encore segment from 2008 which was the year you guys went into the Hall of Fame and the book came out random memories yes so we're gonna share that in the next half-hour of the show at a couple minutes we have left Joe you said one of the things that comes to mind for you when I say Statler Brothers was award show time ya know I mean we we talked about this in the last interview that we had with you Jimmy and yeah I mean my memory from childhood when I think of a cma awards show the image in my mind is is you guys the Statler Brothers standing up there and you're just regalia and just looking like you know country music royalty and that is my memory and you know I just I'm so sorry for your loss I'm just sitting here listening to you talk about him and I so relate because I lost a friend in Somalia that's personality sounds so much like his just bigger than life and when they're gone from love it's hard I still cannot grapple that he's gone because he was so full of life and so funny and just so yeah how long had he been ill is this something he had suffered with for a long time that yeah we're up and they for years it's been a couple of years and you know we knew that he was he was sick but Harold you know he kind of he wouldn't talk about it much he would just kind of keep it to himself he talked to dawn more about it than he did anybody I think but we knew he was sick and that he was dealing with it but didn't know and we knew it was bad but he actually lasted longer than not then I think anybody thought he would considering what what he had you know Jimmy Ford's ladies you were wonderful to take the time to call us we got to go to the break here and we'll be back with memories an encore of the Statler Brothers god bless you in this time buddy yeah god bless you too thank you all so much thanks for listening to our coffee country and Cody podcast our program director at WSM radio is J Patrick tittle our digital producer is haley hall marketing and promotions director is a man to Cannon and I'm Charlie vanos if you like what you've heard make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode and leave us a review on iTunes it really does help new people find the show

Channel: WSM Radio

Views: 52,950

Rating: 4.9386191 out of 5

Keywords: country, music, nashville, wsm

Id: hfjMPv_oa_s

Length: 9min 52sec (592 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 30 2020