Lewis Calvin DeWitt Jr. (March 12, 1938 – August 15, 1990) was an American country music singer, guitarist, and composer. He was a founding member of The Statler Brothers and the group's original tenor.
Lewis Calvin "Lew" DeWitt was born in Roanoke County and was the son of Lewis Calvin DeWitt and Rose Esther Hogan DeWitt. In his youth he learned to play the guitar and mandolin and developed the strong tenor singing voice that became his trademark. While DeWitt was still in grade school his family moved to Staunton, where he befriended Phil Balsley, Joe McDorman, and Harold Reid. By their teenage years the four had begun to sing together, and in June 1955 they performed "A Little Talk with Jesus" at a local church. Emboldened by the positive reception, they dubbed themselves the Four Star Quartet and began performing regionally at churches and talent shows. They were modestly successful, but DeWitt had to drive a taxicab to supplement his income.
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| The Kinsmen: Phil Balsey, Lew DeWitt, Harold & Don Reid |
The Four Star Quartet disbanded about 1958, and Lew DeWitt moved to Baltimore to look for work and to gain experience playing guitar in the city's clubs. In 1960 Harold Reid persuaded DeWitt and Balsley to re-form the quartet, although Reid's younger brother Don Reid replaced McDorman. Renamed the Kingsmen, the quartet sang gospel music, but they also performed separate programs of country or popular music tailored for particular venues. The group sang on local radio stations, including WTON in Staunton, and headlined their own show on WSIG in Shenandoah County. After the Kingsmen began appearing weekly on the Roanoke television station WDBJ, they discovered that audiences were confusing them with an already-established North Carolina gospel group with the same name. DeWitt's quartet adopted the Statler Brothers as a moniker after spying the name on a box of Statler-brand tissues during a rehearsal.
For most of his career, DeWitt sang tenor for The Statler Brothers. Songs he wrote for the group include "Flowers on the Wall", which was a greatest hit during the late 1960s and early 1970s that made the group popular included "Things,""Since Then,""Thank You World,""The Strand,""The Movies," and "Chet Atkins' Hand." In 1968, while the group was under contract to Columbia Records, DeWitt recorded a solo single composed of the songs "She Went a Little Bit Farther" and "Brown Eyes" (the latter was penned by DeWitt).
During DeWitt's tenure, the Statler Brothers performed at the White House three times, and late in the 1960s they had appeared regularly on Johnny Cash's television shows and specials. DeWitt's "Flowers on the Wall" helped secure the group the first two of its three Grammys, for Best Contemporary Performance by a Group and Best New Country and Western Artist for the awards honoring music in 1965. The quartet also captured Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for its 1972 single "Class of '57." Beginning in 1972 the Country Music Association honored the quartet for six consecutive years as Vocal Group of the Year.
The rigors of life on the road took their toll on DeWitt and exacerbated a stomach ailment with which he had suffered for years. His recurring attacks of debilitating pain interfered with his work and often forced the Statler Brothers to cancel or postpone engagements. While on tour in the mid-1960s DeWitt was diagnosed with regional enteritis, a form of Crohn's disease, and underwent surgery in 1981. Advised that stress could trigger DeWitt's symptoms, the other three members of the Statler Brothers took over his nonmusical obligations to the band. At his suggestion, Jimmy Fortune was tapped as his temporary replacement.
DeWitt rejoined the group in June 1982 (with Fortune having been offered a permanent position in the group's backing band), but this arrangement lasted less than a week. DeWitt officially retired that same month with Fortune becoming his permanent replacement. In all, the Statler Brothers recorded twenty-five albums during DeWitt's career with the group. During 1984, DeWitt, feeling that his health had gradually improved through continued treatment, decided to pursue a solo career. He played a less-strenuous schedule with his new Star City Band, and he moved from the Statlers' home base of Staunton to the Waynesboro area. In 1984 he initiated what became an annual appearance at Waynesboro's Summer Extravaganza. He also released two solo albums, On My Own (1985) and Here to Stay (1986).
In the face of declining health, Lewis Calvin "Lew" DeWitt retired from the music business in 1989. He died on 15 August 1990 of heart and kidney disease at his Augusta County home near Waynesboro, and his remains were cremated. The reconstituted Statler Brothers performed and toured together until 2002. The Gospel Music Hall of Fame inducted the Statler Brothers in 2007, and the following year the Country Music Hall of Fame inducted them.
(Edited from Dictionary of Virginia & Wikipedia)