Lew DeWitt, who sang tenor for the Statler Brothers and composed "Flowers on the Wall," one of the country group's biggest hits, died Wednesday at home. He was 52.
He died of Crohn's disease, an inflammation of the digestive tract.DeWitt and three boyhood friends - Harold Reid, Phil Balsley and Joe McDorman - formed the Four-Star Quartet in 1948. The group, later known as the Kingsmen, sang mostly gospel music. The new name came from a box of Statler tissue.
The quartet switched to country music in 1964, after meeting Johnny Cash and joining his road show. Over the next two decades, the Statlers won three Grammy Awards and were named the top vocal group nine times by the Country Music Association.
The 1965 hit "Flowers on the Wall" sold more than 1 million copies and has been recorded by about 30 other artists.
DeWitt left the group in 1982 because of an intestinal disorder but continued to perform sporadically with the Star City Band. He retired in November.