JIMMY FORTUNE WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO FILL IN FOR 6 WEEKS — THEN HE SPENT THE NEXT 21 YEARS REPLACING A MAN COUNTRY MUSIC THOUGHT COULD NEVER BE REPLACED. In 1982, Crohn’s disease forced Lew DeWitt to leave The Statler Brothers. Fans thought the group was over. DeWitt had written “Flowers on the Wall.” His voice was part of everything. Then a young singer from Virginia named Jimmy Fortune got a phone call. He was only supposed to stay six weeks. Instead, he stayed for 21 years. Fortune wrote “Elizabeth,” “Too Much on My Heart,” and “More Than a Name on a Wall” — three of the biggest songs the Statlers ever had. The man hired as a temporary replacement ended up carrying the group through the final half of its career. But Jimmy Fortune later admitted he never stopped wondering if fans were listening to him — or quietly wishing Lew DeWitt was still standing there instead. So what does it feel like to spend 21 years inside another man’s shadow — and how did Jimmy Fortune finally earn a place beside the legend he was never supposed to replace?
Jimmy Fortune Was Meant to Stay Six Weeks. He Stayed Long Enough to Change The Statler Brothers Forever. When people…