Lew DeWitt

{{Infobox musical artist | name = Lew DeWitt | image = Lewis_Calvin_DeWitt.jpg | caption = | background = solo_singer | birth_name = Lewis Calvin DeWitt Jr. | birth_date = {{birth date|1938|3|12|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Roanoke, Virginia]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1990|8|15|1938|3|12}} | death_place = [[Waynesboro, Virginia]], U.S. | genre = [[Country music|Country]] | occupation = [[Musician]], [[songwriter]] | instrument = [[Guitar]], [[Singing|vocals]] | associated_acts = [[The Statler Brothers]] | label = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]], [[Mercury Records|Mercury]], Compleat | years_active = 1955–1982 (with The Statler Brothers)<br />1985-1990 (as a solo artist) }} '''Lewis Calvin DeWitt Jr.''' (March 12, 1938 – August 15, 1990) was an American [[country music]] singer, guitarist, and [[composer]]. He was a founding member of [[The Statler Brothers]] and the group's original [[tenor]].

==Biography== For most of his career, DeWitt sang tenor for The Statler Brothers. Songs he wrote for the group include "[[Flowers on the Wall]]"— a major pop and country hit in the mid-1960s that made the group popular — "The Junkie's Prayer", "Things", "Since Then", "The Strand", "Chet Atkins' Hand", and the hits "Thank You World" and "The Movies". In 1968, the group was under contract to [[Columbia Records]] when DeWitt recorded a solo single, "She Went a Little Bit Farther" backed with "Brown Eyes", the latter of which was penned by DeWitt.

In November of 1981, DeWitt took a leave of absence from The Statlers due to surgery and treatment for [[Crohn's disease]],<ref name=randommemories>{{cite book |last1=Reid |first1=Don |last2=Reid |first2=Harold |date=2007 |title=Random Memories |location=Nashville, Tennessee |publisher=Yell Publishing Company |page=95 |isbn=978-0-9800883-0-4}}</ref>{{rp|95}} from which he had suffered since [[adolescence]]. At his suggestion, [[Jimmy Fortune]] was tapped as a temporary replacement. DeWitt rejoined in June of the following year (with Fortune having been offered a permanent position in the group's backing band), but this arrangement lasted less than a week. DeWitt officially retired that same month, with Fortune becoming his permanent replacement.<ref name=randommemories/>{{rp|96}}

Three years later, DeWitt, feeling that his health had gradually improved through continued treatment, decided to pursue a solo career. During this time, he returned to touring and released two albums, ''Here to Stay'' (1984)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19860726&id=4_hNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VIsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5683,4535062&hl=en|title=DeWitt to visit Orange fair|last=Moses|first=Ellen|date=26 July 1986|work=[[The Free Lance-Star]]|access-date=13 July 2016}}</ref> and ''On My Own'' (1985).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GN4cAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CGMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5248,6572439&dq=lew-dewitt+on-my-own&hl=en|title=Statlers' Lew DeWitt back on his own|last=Sharpe|first=Jerry|date=8 December 1985|work=[[The Pittsburgh Press]]|access-date=26 March 2010}}</ref> The latter album gave Dewitt his only solo chart appearance with a cover of "[[You'll Never Know]]", which made it to number 77. He remained with the Compleat label through 1987.

DeWitt was married three times. From 1961 through 1973, he was married to Glenda Kay Simmers, with whom he had two sons and two daughters. He was later married to Joyce Anne Arehart, and then Judy Fitzgerald Wells.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/dvb/bio.asp?b=DeWitt_Lew |title=Lewis Calvin "Lew" DeWitt (1938–1990) |first=Jacques |last=Vest |website=Dictionary of Virginia Biography |date=2015 |accessdate=July 21, 2018}}</ref>

DeWitt remained active as a performer through 1989,<ref>{{cite news |last=Wiese |first=Cleve |date=25 March 2008 |title=Still making his mark |url=http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/still-making-his-mark/article_d94258f3-f3b9-55d5-ab71-5cc79b6dc127.html |newspaper=The Daily Progress |location=Charlottesville, Virginia |access-date=14 November 2015 }}</ref> when his health declined, culminating in his death on August 15, 1990, in [[Waynesboro, Virginia]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22065262/former_statler_brother_lew_dewitt_dies/ |title=Former Statler Brother Lew DeWitt dies at 52 |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |newspaper=[[The Des Moines Register]] |page=8 |date=August 16, 1990 |accessdate=July 21, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> The cause of death was heart and kidney disease, due to complications of Crohn's. Lew Dewitt Boulevard was named in his honor in Waynesboro in 1992.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22065983/dewitt_blvd_dedicated_singer_lauded/ |title=DeWitt Blvd. dedicated; singer lauded |first=Sam |last=Carter |newspaper=[[The News Leader]] |location=[[Staunton, Virginia]] |page=1 |date=June 13, 1992 |accessdate=July 21, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

In 2008, DeWitt was inducted into the [[List of Country Music Hall of Fame inductees|Country Music Hall of Fame]] as a member of The Statler Brothers.

In 2011, amateur video of DeWitt performing at the Burley Tobacco Festival in the late 1980s surfaced and was posted onto [[YouTube]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7varb0Tehw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/z7varb0Tehw |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=LEW DEWITT - Live In Concert - * RARE * |date=8 November 2011 |via=[[YouTube]] |quote=Published on Nov 8, 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The set is notable for the inclusion of what became his final single, "Moonset".

None of DeWitt's solo recordings were released in any digital format until 2022, when most of his discography was finally released on Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming services.

==Discography==

===Albums=== {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Album ! Label |- | 1984 | ''Here to Stay'' | align="center"| Self-released |- | 1985 | ''On My Own'' | align="center"| Compleat |- |}

===Singles=== {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! A-Side ! B-Side ! [[Hot Country Songs|US Country]] ! Label ! Album |- | 1967 | "She Went a Little Bit Farther" | "Brown Eyes" | align="center"| — | align="center"| [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] | single only |- | 1985 | "You'll Never Know" | "Wanda Glen" | align="center"| 77 | align="center" rowspan="4"| Compleat | align="center" rowspan="2"| ''On My Own'' |- | rowspan="2"| 1986 | "I Love Virginia" | "She Must Have Lovin' Eyes" | align="center"| — |- | "Hello Houston" | "Don't Our Love Look Natural" | align="center"| — | align="center" rowspan="3"| single only |- | 1987 | "Slow Dance" | "Welcome to the Holiday Inn"{{ref|a}} | align="center"| — |- | 1990 | "Moonset" | "Moonset" | align="center"| — | align="center"| [[Oak Records|Oak]] |}

== Notes == :1.{{note|a}}"Welcome to the Holiday Inn" was previously released on the ''On My Own'' album.

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading== * {{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/11/17/lew-dewitt-after-illness-and-despair-a-statler-brother-makes/ |title=Lew Dewitt: After Illness And Despair, A Statler Brother Makes A Comeback |first=Jack |last=Hurst |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=November 17, 1985 |access-date=July 21, 2018}}

==External links== * {{Find a Grave|20735}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dewitt, Lew}} [[Category:1938 births]] [[Category:1990 deaths]] [[Category:American country singer-songwriters]] [[Category:American male singer-songwriters]] [[Category:American tenors]] [[Category:People from Roanoke, Virginia]] [[Category:People from Staunton, Virginia]] [[Category:American people of Dutch descent]] [[Category:Deaths from kidney failure in Virginia]] [[Category:Deaths from Crohn's disease]] [[Category:People with Crohn's disease]] [[Category:The Statler Brothers members]] [[Category:Country musicians from Virginia]] [[Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees]] [[Category:Members of the Country Music Association]] [[Category:20th-century American singer-songwriters]] [[Category:Grammy Award winners]] [[Category:Singer-songwriters from Virginia]] [[Category:20th-century American male singers]]