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HE DIED ON A FRIDAY, WHEN THE WORLD WAS LOCKED DOWN. STAUNTON COULDN’T GIVE HAROLD REID THE GOODBYE HE DESERVED — SO THE TOWN FOUND ANOTHER WAY. Harold Reid sang bass for the Statler Brothers for nearly 40 years. Three Grammys. Country Music Hall of Fame. Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Thirty-three Top 10 hits. But before all of that, he was a boy from Staunton, Virginia — the same town where he was born, raised his family, and started singing gospel with three childhood friends. On April 24, 2020, Harold died at 80 after a long battle with kidney failure. And because the world was in lockdown, the kind of goodbye Staunton wanted to give him simply couldn’t happen. So home did what home could. The mayor placed a wreath at the Statler Brothers monument downtown. Family and city leaders stood six feet apart, masks on, trying to honor a man who had spent his life bringing people together. Within 24 hours, Toby Keith — quarantined in Mexico with a guitar he had bought from a furniture store — posted a video singing “Flowers on the Wall.” No stage. No crowd. No production. Just one country singer refusing to let Harold’s voice disappear into silence. Reba McEntire, Crystal Gayle, the Oak Ridge Boys, and fans everywhere said goodbye the only way they could: through a screen. Harold Reid never had to leave Staunton behind to become a legend. And when he was gone, Staunton proved it had never left him either. What Statler Brothers song would you play for Harold tonight?

He Died on a Friday, When the World Was Locked Down Harold Reid died on a Friday, on April 24,…

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