The Statler Brothers Return to Virginia for a Sold-Out Hometown Show That Ended With 20,000 Fans Singing “Do You Know You Are My Sunshine”
It was August 1978, and the evening air in Staunton, Virginia felt like pure nostalgia — thick with summer heat, the smell of fresh-cut hay, and the anticipation of something sacred coming home. After years of touring the world, collecting awards, and earning their place among country music’s greatest voices, The Statler Brothers were finally returning to where it all began.
For the people of Staunton, this wasn’t just a concert. It was a homecoming — a reunion of faith, family, and four voices that carried the sound of small-town America. More than 20,000 fans crowded into the Shenandoah Valley Fairgrounds that night, filling every inch of grass and gravel. Some had driven hundreds of miles. Others had simply walked down the street. Everyone, it seemed, had grown up with a Statler song in their heart.
When the band stepped on stage — Harold, Don, Phil, and Lew — the roar that followed could have shaken the Blue Ridge Mountains themselves. They looked out across the endless crowd, smiling through tears, and for a moment no one spoke. Then Harold, ever the humorist, leaned into the microphone and said, “Well… we finally made it back home.” The laughter that followed broke the tension, and the night began.
They opened with “The Movies,” their recent chart-topper, and from the first harmony, the sound was electric. Those rich four-part blends that had become their trademark filled the open air like a cathedral — smooth, tight, and perfectly unhurried. It was the Statler Brothers at their peak: confident, connected, and completely in tune with the audience that had raised them.
As the evening went on, the setlist unfolded like a scrapbook of memories — “Flowers on the Wall,” “Bed of Roses,” “Class of ’57,” and “Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott.” Each song drew louder applause than the last. But what made the night unforgettable wasn’t just the hits; it was the feeling — the shared knowledge that this was more than music. It was heritage.
Between songs, Don Reid spoke softly about their roots — about growing up in Virginia, about singing gospel in the local church, about their parents who had believed in them long before anyone else did. “Every road we’ve taken,” he said, “leads back here.” The crowd erupted in cheers. For a brief moment, everyone in that field — young and old — felt part of the same hometown story.
Then came the moment that would enter Statler Brothers legend. As the final encore began, Harold turned to the crowd and said, “We’d like you to help us with this one. You know it.” The band struck the opening chords of “Do You Know You Are My Sunshine.” Instantly, the audience joined in — twenty thousand voices rising together beneath the Virginia stars.
The harmonies from the stage blended seamlessly with the chorus from the field. Farmers, teachers, soldiers, mothers — all singing as one. The sound rolled through the valley like a hymn. Don’s voice cracked with emotion as he tried to keep singing, and Harold’s laughter turned to tears. By the final refrain, the band had stopped altogether. The people of Staunton were carrying the song for them.
When it ended, there was silence — the kind that only follows something holy. The Statlers stood arm in arm, looking out over their hometown, visibly moved. “You’ll never know what this means to us,” Don said finally. “This is where we began. This is where our hearts still live.”
That concert became the heart of their story — a moment fans and family would talk about for decades. It wasn’t the biggest show they ever played, but it was the truest. It was proof that even after fame and fortune, four country boys from Virginia could still come home, still sing for their neighbors, and still make the world feel smaller, warmer, and kinder — if only for one night.
And when the lights faded and the crowd drifted away, the echoes of that final chorus lingered in the warm August air.
Because in Staunton, in 1978, the Statler Brothers didn’t just return home — they reminded everyone what home sounds like.