A Major Movie Star Inspired One of The Statler Brothers’ Biggest Hits

The Statler Brothers’ 1983 song “Elizabeth” was inspired by actor Elizabeth Taylor and became one of the country group’s biggest hits. Its story links a film watched on tour, a chance encounter and a later meeting with Taylor, showing how an unexpected moment shaped the group’s music.

Band member Jimmy Fortune wrote the song entirely by himself, making it the first song he had written. He recalled watching Taylor in the 1956 film *Giant* while travelling to Tulsa, then meeting a woman named Elizabeth after a show and taking it as a sign to write the song that night. Years later, Taylor, filming in Tucson, invited the group to meet her; Fortune sang “Elizabeth” to her on the band’s bus.