The serendipitous final romance of Statler Brothers tenor Lew DeWitt
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“Lew DeWitt was a very humble man who made it big and never understood how or why.” At last the original Statler Brother’s widow Judy Wells breaks her silence to commemorate the anniversary of the Country Music Hall of Famer’s passing from the tortuous Crohn’s disease at age 52 on August 15, 1990. The haunting high tenor-voiced guitarist wrote “Flowers on the Wall,” whose combined YouTube views exceed 15 million. He shared a stage with Johnny Cash for eight years, was covered by Waylon Jennings [“I Tremble for You”],” and loved B-westerns wholeheartedly. Wells is a former newspaper columnist and school superintendent’s secretary whose resilience and sense of humor kept DeWitt contented for the final 11 years of his existence. An undemanding country girl from Virginia, Wells was not enamored with music. When DeWitt learned that his future flame did not compose songs or poetry, he retorted, “Thank God.”
The Judy Wells DeWitt Interview
How did you meet Lew?
The Statler Brothers started out singing gospel as the Kingsmen. My neighbor Joe McDorman was originally with them [bassist Harold Reid’s younger brother and future lead singer Donnie was my age…