Athens State invites you to join us for a special engagement by Jimmy Fortune on Saturday, November 8, 2025 in historic McCandless Hall at Athens State University. Fortune will be performing two concerts, one at 2:00 pm and one at 7:00 pm. With a discounted ticket price for veterans, this concert will honor our hometown heroes and feature patriotic musical selections in celebration of Veterans Day.
The concerts conveniently occur while Athens State University hosts The Wall That Heals, a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., along with a mobile education center. The traveling exhibit honors the more than 3 million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces in the Vietnam War, and it bears the names of the 58,281 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam.
Jimmy Fortune toured, sang, and performed with the legendary Statler Brothers for 21 years. He joined them first as a temporary replacement for Lew DeWitt, after DeWitt heard him singing at a ski resort and recommended him. Following an audition in Nashville, Jimmy was contacted by The Statler Brothers and performed his first show with them on January 28, 1982, in Savannah, Georgia. Due to the debilitating effects of Crohn’s Disease, Lew was unable to return to the stage with the Statlers, and Jimmy was hired as a permanent replacement in August of 1982.
Fortune quickly lived up to his name. He wrote the group’s second No. 1 hit, “Elizabeth,” on their 1983 album Today, and followed that with two more No. 1 hits–“My Only Love” (from 1984’s Atlanta Blue) and “Too Much On My Heart” (from 1985’s Pardners in Rhyme). Fortune also wrote the top-10 hit “Forever” from 1986’s Four for the Show and co-wrote the top-10 hit “More Than a Name on a Wall” from 1988’s The Greatest Hits.
Jimmy and The Statler Brothers were inducted into the GMA (Gospel Music Association) Hall of Fame on October 29, 2007 and inducted into the CMA (Country Music Association) Hall of Fame on June 29, 2008. Jimmy, as a solo artist, was inducted into the Virginia Musical Hall of Fame in 2018.
After The Statler Brothers retired on October 26, 2002, Jimmy seized the opportunity to launch a solo career to share new music with his fans. His first solo CD, When One Door Closes, was released August 2003 on Audium/Koch. He released a gospel album, I Believe, in June 2005, a Christmas CD, Feels Like Christmas, in 2006, a live concert DVD in 2007, a country CD, “Windows” in 2009, and “Lessons” in 2012.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.athens.edu/salute.
