On October 26, 2002, The Statler Brothers stepped onto the stage at the Salem Civic Center in Virginia for a concert unlike any other in their long career.
After nearly four decades of traveling America’s highways, entertaining generations of country music fans, and creating some of the most recognizable harmonies in country music, the legendary quartet had reached the end of the road.
Don Reid, Harold Reid, Phil Balsley, and Jimmy Fortune knew this would be their final concert together as a touring group.
But they had prepared something special for the very last moments of the evening. It wasn’t one of their biggest country hits. Instead, it was a song that carried the four men back to the beginning of their time singing together.
One Last Night in Virginia
For The Statler Brothers, ending their touring career in Virginia was especially meaningful. The group had deep roots in Staunton, Virginia, where their musical journey began long before national fame arrived.
During the 1960s, The Statler Brothers became closely associated with Johnny Cash, joining the legendary singer on the road and introducing their harmonies to audiences across America.
Success followed with unforgettable recordings such as Flowers on the Wall, The Class of ’57, I’ll Go to My Grave Loving You, and Elizabeth.
But the group’s identity was never built around hit records alone. The Statler Brothers were also known for humor, storytelling, gospel music, and the special relationship they maintained with their audiences.
By 2002, the quartet had decided that it was time to retire from touring.
Rather than quietly disappear from the concert stage, The Statler Brothers chose to give their fans a proper farewell.
The final performance included familiar hits, comedy, treasured memories, and the four-part harmonies that had made the group famous.
The Song That Came Before the Final Goodbye
As the evening approached its conclusion, The Statler Brothers performed Thank You World, a song that seemed particularly appropriate for the occasion.
The recording had always expressed gratitude for the opportunity to make music and share a place alongside fellow performers. On this night, those words carried an additional meaning.
The quartet had spent years singing for audiences across the country. Now, with the final concert almost over, Thank You World offered a way to acknowledge the people who had made that remarkable career possible.
The song ended, and applause filled the auditorium.
For many performers, that would have been a fitting conclusion.
But Don Reid had one more thing to say.
The First Song Became the Last
After the applause, Don Reid addressed the audience and spoke about the possibility that the group might never pass that way again.
Then Don Reid introduced one final number with a simple explanation:
“This was the first song the four of us ever sang together.”
Those words revealed the meaning behind the final selection.
The song was Amazing Grace.
Rather than closing with another chart-topping country hit, The Statler Brothers chose one of the most beloved hymns in American music.
As the piano accompaniment began, Don Reid, Harold Reid, Phil Balsley, and Jimmy Fortune brought their voices together for one final performance.
There is an important distinction in Don Reid’s introduction. Jimmy Fortune had joined The Statler Brothers in 1982, replacing original tenor Lew DeWitt. The statement about the first song referred to the four members of the group’s final lineup, not the earliest version of The Statler Brothers from the 1950s.
For those four singers, however, the significance was unmistakable.
The first song they had shared would also be the last song of their farewell concert.
A Farewell Preserved for Generations
Fortunately, the October 26, 2002, performance was professionally recorded and later released as The Statler Brothers: Farewell Concert.
That recording preserved more than a collection of famous country songs. It captured the jokes, conversations, expressions of gratitude, and final moments of a group saying goodbye to life on the road.
And it preserved Don Reid’s introduction to Amazing Grace, allowing later generations to understand why the hymn was chosen.
The Statler Brothers had performed for countless audiences, recorded celebrated albums, and earned a permanent place in the history of country music. In 2008, the group would be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Yet when the time came to conclude their touring career, the quartet returned to something much simpler than awards or commercial success.
Four familiar voices. A gospel hymn. A shared beginning remembered at the very end.
For fans who grew up listening to The Statler Brothers, that closing performance remains a particularly meaningful part of the group’s story.
On October 26, 2002, The Statler Brothers said goodbye to the concert stage with Amazing Grace — the very song that had first brought those four voices together.