The Day Elizabeth Taylor Asked to Meet the Statler Brothers

The Statler Brothers were flying high in 1983 with ten top ten hits kicking off with a big number one titled "Elizabeth". The tune was written by Jimmy Fortune just after he joined the group. He was inspired to write the song after seeing the Elizabeth Taylor movie "Giant". He never dreamed he'd meet the superstar actress.

It took three years for that to happen.The Statlers and Taylor were both in Tuscon, Arizona, in 1986. The Statlers were doing a concert there and she was making a TV movie titled "Poker Alice". Taylor had heard about the Statlers' song and contacted their manager to ask if they could meet. Of course, the group drove their tour bus right over to the movie set and invited the famous lady on board. It was her 52nd birthday.

As the famous star of movies like "Cleopatra" and "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" sat on their bus, the Statlers sang "Elizabeth" to her and admitted it was all about her. You can hear Jimmy Fortune and the gang here with the famous birthday present to Elizabeth Taylor: