Toby Keith Pays Tribute to the Statler Brothers’ Harold Reid With ‘Flowers on the Wall’ [WATCH]
Toby Keith sang "Flowers on the Wall" to pay tribute to Harold Reid, singer for the Statler Brothers. Reid died at the age of 80 on Friday (April 24).
Within 24 hours of Reid's death, Keith had a video on YouTube to honor the Country Music Hall of Fame singer. "We lost a good one," Keith says, adding, "Rest in peace, Harold," as he strums the first chord of the song.
"Flowers on the Wall" was the B-side to a song called "Billy Christian" that was being pushed by the Statler Brothers' record label in late 1965. However, a DJ in Kansas City chose to play this one instead, thus breaking the song at radio and breaking the group's career.
Per Billboard they'd notch 33 Top 10 hits and four No. 1 hits during their career, and while "Flowers on the Wall" may not be their most successful on the charts, it has certainly endured the test of time. The peppy track was used on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack and in a scene from the 1994 movie where Bruce Willis' character tries to run over Marcellus Wallace, played by Ving Rhames.
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Keith's version of "Flowers on the Wall" flattens the melody somewhat. He also makes no attempt to impersonate Reid's bass, best heard when he comes in a beat early on "Captain Kangaroo" during the chorus.
The Furniture Store Guitar Sessions on Keith's YouTube page have been his way of performing during the coronavirus pandemic; the first came on April 17 and is a tribute to the late John Prine. While quarantined in Mexico Keith has been covering songs by Cal Smith and Eddie Rabbitt, as well as his own deep cuts.
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