On April 25, 2002, Doris Young pulled into the parking lot of the Salem Civic Center in Virginia at 5:10 in the afternoon. The concert was still six months away, and tickets wouldn’t go on sale until the following morning.
But Doris Young wasn’t taking any chances.
The Statler Brothers had announced their farewell tour, and the October 26 performance would be the final concert of a remarkable career. Doris Young had already seen the group four times in different locations. This time, she wanted to make certain she had a seat.
So Doris Young spent the night in her car.
81 Minutes to Say Goodbye
At 10 a.m. on April 26, tickets finally went on sale. Fans could buy them at the box office, over the telephone, or online. At one point, sales reached approximately 120 tickets per minute.
By 11:21 a.m., all 6,000 tickets were gone.
It was the fastest sellout in the history of the Salem Civic Center.
Local television station WDBJ7 interviewed Doris Young that morning. Doris explained that she loved The Statler Brothers and had waited overnight because getting good seats for the final performance meant so much to her.
That devotion said something about the relationship The Statler Brothers had built with their audience over the years.
For many fans, songs like “Flowers on the Wall,” “The Class of ’57,” and “Elizabeth” weren’t simply records. They were part of family memories, Saturday nights, and the passing years.
A Farewell on Their Own Terms
Unlike many legendary acts whose careers ended because of tragedy or internal conflict, The Statler Brothers had chosen to stop touring.
Don Reid explained during the farewell tour that nobody was sick or angry. The members simply wanted to spend more time with their families after decades on the road.
On October 26, 2002, Harold Reid, Don Reid, Phil Balsley, and Jimmy Fortune gathered at the Salem Civic Center, not far from their hometown of Staunton, Virginia.
The concert was particularly special because The Statler Brothers allowed an indoor performance to be professionally videotaped, something the group had never previously permitted.
That decision preserved what became an extraordinary musical farewell.
The audience heard familiar favorites, including “Susan When She Tried,” “I’ll Go to My Grave Loving You,” “Flowers on the Wall,” and Jimmy Fortune’s “Elizabeth.”
There were jokes, stories, gospel songs, and the familiar humor that had always been part of a Statler Brothers performance.
But eventually, the evening reached its final moments.
The Song They Saved for Last
Near the end of the concert, The Statler Brothers performed “Thank You World,” a song that expressed gratitude for the opportunity to make music and share it with others.
The audience applauded.
Then came one final announcement.
Before leaving, a member of The Statler Brothers explained that there was one more song the quartet wanted to share.
It was the first song that Harold Reid, Don Reid, Phil Balsley, and Jimmy Fortune had ever sung together.
That distinction mattered. Jimmy Fortune had joined The Statler Brothers in 1982, replacing original member Lew DeWitt, whose health problems had forced him to leave the road. The four men standing onstage in 2002 had spent two decades building their own history together.
Now they had decided to finish with the song that began that chapter.
The song was “Amazing Grace.”
There was no need for an elaborate farewell speech. With a piano accompaniment, the four familiar voices came together in the old hymn, bringing their final performance back to the beginning of their time together.
When the last note faded, applause filled the auditorium.
Then came the parting words:
“Good night, America! We love you! We’re going home now.”
And with that, The Statler Brothers walked away from their final concert.
A Goodbye That Fans Can Still Hear
The performance was preserved on the album and DVD The Statler Brothers: Farewell Concert, allowing later generations to experience that last night in Salem.
For Doris Young and thousands of other devoted fans, the concert represented an ending they had known was coming but still didn’t want to miss.
And for Harold Reid, Don Reid, Phil Balsley, and Jimmy Fortune, ending with “Amazing Grace” brought their years together full circle.
They had spent decades singing for audiences across America. On their final night, The Statler Brothers chose to finish with the song that had first brought those four voices together.