Fact #99439
When:
Short story:
When The Johnny Cash Show plays in Canton, Ohio, USA, The Statler Brothers are added to the bill.
Full article:
Harold Reid (The Statler Brothers) : I talked to Carlton Haney [country music promoter] one day on the phone, this was in '63, I guess, and he said, "The Johnny Cash Show is coming to Roanoke, y'all should come up and meet him."
I said, "We'll come up and meet him, but I want to talk to him," because at that time there were only two people packaging their own shows; Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, and Elvis wasn't working the road, so John was the only thing. We'd sung everything out in our part of the country; sung for everybody two or three different times. We were running out and decided if we were ever gonna make a break, let's get out and do it now. We did not audition for any other roving Nashville show.
After the Johnny Cash Show was over in Roanoke, I walked up to him and said, "I've got a group I'd like for you to hear." He said, "OK, can you come to Berryville Sunday?" Watermelon Park at Berryville, Virgina, and we said, "Yeah, we can be there." That was on Friday night, so Sunday we rolled into Berryville. He comes in and tells us to go out there and open the show and he had never heard us.
Lew De Witt (Statler Brothers) : That's one thing that makes us a little unique. That's the first time we'd given any real serious consideration to doing that sort of thing and so we landed something good right away. There's not much difference between a fair professional and a good amateur, and we were good amateurs.
Don Reid (Statlet Brothers) : We were just dumb enough to think we could go ahead and do it. Looking back, we've often wondered just why he even listened to us, 'cause it happens so many times and he just doesn't have the time to listen to everyone who comes to him hoping to get a break.
Harold Reid : After the show Johnny said we were very good. I said, "Could we go to work?" He said, "Yeah, I'd like to have you." I said, "When?" and he said, "I don't know." So I went home and called him twice a week on the telephone for four months. I called one night his home in California, New York, and Texas, and finally run him down doing some TV show somewhere. I got to talk to him.
(Source : unknown)
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I said, "We'll come up and meet him, but I want to talk to him," because at that time there were only two people packaging their own shows; Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, and Elvis wasn't working the road, so John was the only thing. We'd sung everything out in our part of the country; sung for everybody two or three different times. We were running out and decided if we were ever gonna make a break, let's get out and do it now. We did not audition for any other roving Nashville show.
After the Johnny Cash Show was over in Roanoke, I walked up to him and said, "I've got a group I'd like for you to hear." He said, "OK, can you come to Berryville Sunday?" Watermelon Park at Berryville, Virgina, and we said, "Yeah, we can be there." That was on Friday night, so Sunday we rolled into Berryville. He comes in and tells us to go out there and open the show and he had never heard us.
Lew De Witt (Statler Brothers) : That's one thing that makes us a little unique. That's the first time we'd given any real serious consideration to doing that sort of thing and so we landed something good right away. There's not much difference between a fair professional and a good amateur, and we were good amateurs.
Don Reid (Statlet Brothers) : We were just dumb enough to think we could go ahead and do it. Looking back, we've often wondered just why he even listened to us, 'cause it happens so many times and he just doesn't have the time to listen to everyone who comes to him hoping to get a break.
Harold Reid : After the show Johnny said we were very good. I said, "Could we go to work?" He said, "Yeah, I'd like to have you." I said, "When?" and he said, "I don't know." So I went home and called him twice a week on the telephone for four months. I called one night his home in California, New York, and Texas, and finally run him down doing some TV show somewhere. I got to talk to him.
(Source : unknown)