While Harold and the Statler Brothers are unquestionably one of the great gifts to country music, to me the crowning achievement was the comedy side project they did in the 1970s. Harold's alter-ego character was Lester 'Roadhog' Moran, and the rest of the Statlers were His Cadillac Cowboys -- "mah right hand man Wichita Rankin playin' takeoff lead guitar," and "the two young country singers, Red and Wesley."
They hail from Rainbow Valley, VA, and host a Saturday morning radio show on local station WEAK, where they'd play "15 minutes of good old country music". Then, "each and ever' Saturday night we got that dance over at the Johnny Mack Brown High School."
Always off-key and out of tune, butchering lyrics, never finishing a song, Wichita picking guitar in his first-lesson "Check Ackins" impression, it's comedy gold. You know the Statlers were good musicians to be able to play this bad in parody!
Ralph Emery even got in on the act a few times, doing interviews with the Ol' Roadhog on the radio from Nashville and a pair of TV spots. In musician circles, even to this day, players in the know will still use some of Hog's most notable quotes on each other to much hilarity.
I've heard many tales over the years from people who recall driving around late at night in the 1970s and happening to pick up a station playing some of the bits and thinking they were actually real! Rumor has it George Jones once caught a clip and was deeply incensed that such a terrible band was covering one of his songs so badly. Truly great clean down home comedy that reminds me of a much simpler and wholesome past. Heck, even Outlaw Country on Sirius XM satellite radio plays bits between songs to this day -- makes me smile every time.
If you're not familiar with these hilarious recordings, go try some on at YouTube. There are even a couple TV clips when they were on Pop Goes The Country in character. As the Ol' Roadhog would say, "Mighty fine, mighty fine!"
Thanks for allowing me this nostalgic ramble.
RIP Mr. Reid.
