In March 1965, Johnny Cash stepped away from a Nashville recording studio for lunch. While Cash was gone, four singers who had been traveling with Cash took advantage of an unexpected opening.
Those singers were The Statler Brothers, and one of the two songs recorded during that break would become their first major hit: “Flowers on the Wall.”
The remarkable circumstances of that session were later recounted by Don Reid in his book The Music of The Statler Brothers: An Anthology. It was a small opportunity in a recording career that had yet to produce a hit, but its results would reach far beyond Nashville.
Johnny Cash Had Already Given Them Their First Big Chance
By early 1965, Don Reid, Harold Reid, Phil Balsley, and Lew DeWitt had spent about a year working with Johnny Cash.
Johnny Cash had brought the Virginia quartet onto his road show in 1964. Impressed by their harmonies, Cash also pushed Columbia Records to sign The Statler Brothers to a recording contract.
But getting a record deal and making a hit record were two very different things.
The Statler Brothers had already recorded for Columbia, yet their early singles had failed to establish them on the national charts. Audiences attending Johnny Cash concerts knew their voices, but the quartet still needed a record that could stand on its own.
That opportunity arrived during Cash’s recording session in March 1965.
Two Songs During One Lunch Break
According to the studio story preserved in Don Reid’s book, Johnny Cash left for lunch, giving The Statler Brothers enough time to record two songs.
One was “Billy Christian,” written by a young songwriter named Tom T. Hall.
The other was “Flowers on the Wall,” an unusual composition by Statler Brothers tenor Lew DeWitt.
The group recorded both at Columbia’s Nashville studio. The session was produced by Don Law and Frank Jones, and the two recordings eventually appeared together on a Columbia single.
For a quartet still looking for its first major success, the recording was particularly important. The group finally had a song with a personality unlike most of what country radio was playing.
The Strange Inspiration Behind “Flowers on the Wall”
The story behind Lew DeWitt’s composition was nearly as unusual as the recording opportunity itself.
In a later interview, Don Reid explained that the idea came from boredom and the flowers printed on wallpaper.
Lew DeWitt had imagined someone with so little to occupy his time that counting the flowers on a wall became an activity.
From that simple thought came a song about a lonely man insisting that everything was perfectly fine, even as his daily activities suggested otherwise.
The clever humor suited The Statler Brothers beautifully.
Don Reid’s lead vocals, Harold Reid’s deep bass, Phil Balsley’s baritone, and Lew DeWitt’s tenor gave the recording a distinctive sound. The brisk rhythm also helped separate the song from the slower heartbreak ballads familiar to country audiences.
There was sadness underneath the humor, but the song never needed to announce it.
The Recording That Reached Beyond Country Music
Columbia released “Flowers on the Wall” in June 1965, backed with “Billy Christian.”
Success did not arrive immediately.
The record entered Billboard’s country chart that September and steadily gained an audience. By early 1966, it had reached No. 2 on the country chart and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The recording also brought The Statler Brothers Grammy recognition, including an award for the performance and another as Best New Country & Western Artist.
It was the breakthrough they had been seeking since joining Johnny Cash’s show.
A Lunch Break Worth Remembering
Johnny Cash had already done something important for The Statler Brothers by giving them a place on his touring show and helping them secure a Columbia recording contract.
But the unusual opportunity that arrived while Cash was away from the studio became another memorable chapter in their relationship.
One song was written by Lew DeWitt after noticing something as ordinary as flowered wallpaper. The recording was made during a break in another artist’s session. Within months, it was being heard on country and pop radio across America.
For longtime Statler Brothers fans, that may be the most enjoyable part of the story.
“Flowers on the Wall” became one of the quartet’s signature recordings, yet the opportunity to record it came during something as ordinary as Johnny Cash going out for lunch.