Decades after first taking the stage, the Statler Brothers have announced their final touring dates.
The band will play Oct. 24 in Huntsville, Ala.; Oct. 25 in Asheville, N.C.; and Oct. 26 in Salem, Va.
The Statler Brothers — none of whom is named Statler — decided in January to retire from touring at the end of the year. The Grammy-winning artists have recorded more than 60 albums and logged more than 40 years on the road.
The band was discovered in the mid-1960s by Johnny Cash. Hailing from Staunton, Va., the foursome — Harold Reid, Phil Balsley, Lew DeWitt and Don Reid — began performing under the name The Kingsmen until another group by the same name appeared on the scene. They sat around a hotel room trying to figure out a new name and, legend has it, a box of Statler tissues inspired them.
Jimmy Fortune replaced an ill Lew DeWitt in 1982. DeWitt died in 1990.
The group plans to continue making music after this year.