Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 3, 1994 TAG: 9407030133
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: STAUNTON LENGTH: Medium
The Statlers, whose special guests for the July 4th bash have included Johnny Cash and Reba McEntire, will be the sole act for the 25th celebration.
In the 1970s, the concerts drew crowds of about 4,000. Last year 80,000 showed up, and this year's finale is expected to be the biggest.
"We're expecting 100,000 fans," said Ann Peters, office manager at the Statler Complex in Staunton.
Maynard Stoddard, chairman of the Happy Birthday U.S.A. committee, said most hotel rooms are booked between Harrisonburg, about 30 miles northeast of Staunton, and Lexington, about the same distance southwest.
The Statler Brothers are in their 30th year as performers.
Tenor vocalist Jimmy Fortune - the only non-original Statler Brother, replacing the late Lew DeWitt in 1982 - was born in Williamsburg but grew up near Staunton. Don and Harold Reid, the only two brothers in the group, sing lead and bass vocals. Phil Balsley sings baritone.
The three-time Grammy Award-winning group recently finished its third season of the weekly TV variety series, "The Statler Brothers Show," on The Nashville Network.
The main events Monday are the 10 a.m. parade and the 8:30 p.m. concert. On Sunday, former Secretary of the Army John O. Marsh Jr., will lead a prayer service in Gypsy Hill Park at 7 p.m.
Marsh, a Winchester native, spoke at the first "Happy Birthday U.S.A." celebration.
Despite national recognition, locals see the Statler Brothers as just neighbors.
"The local folks just look at them as fellows that grew up around here," said Stoddard, who occasionally runs into the Statlers around town. "They're just plain old people who know how to sing."
Not everyone in Staunton is looking forward to the celebration.
Thomas Nuckoles, who owns T&S Music and Antiques a few blocks from where the crowd will be concentrated, said tourists do not improve his business much.
"They might come and look, but that's all," he said.
In fact, he doesn't much care for the celebration itself, though he does consider himself a fan of the Statlers' music.
by CNB