Former Statler Brother Jimmy Fortune recovering from heart surgery

Update from Fortune's Facebook page at 10:40 a.m. Friday:

"Jimmy is improving every hour. He walked early this morning and will be out of ICU later today. Thank you again for all the prayers. The venues we were supposed to be at this weekend (Newberry SC and Weirsdale FL) hopefully have notified ticket holders. Those shows will be rescheduled."

Original story:

Jimmy Fortune is recovering following a quintuple bypass surgery Wednesday per the musician's Facebook page. Just before 10:30 a.m. Thursday, a post on the Facebook page said that "Jimmy is sitting up and talking this morning. The doctors say he’s doing extremely well. Thank you for all the prayers."

Fortune is a former member of Staunton's Statler Brothers, joining the group in 1982 and performing with the quartet for 21 years. He is now a solo performer singing both gospel and country music, and also part of the group Brothers of Heart. Fortune lives in Nashville but does make occasional trips back to the Shenandoah Valley for concerts.

According to his Facebook page, Fortune went in for a test on his heart and the doctors had some concerns about what they found. They decided bypass surgery was the next step.

"Unfortunately the doctor has given us a direct order to rest which means no work for a time," the Facebook post says. "So there will be no shows this weekend! However, he has said that many people go back to normal activity after the 12 weeks! So we plan on being back on the road soon!"

He was scheduled to play at Nelson County High School April 30. No announcement has been made about that show, but with the timeframe for recovery posted on his page it seems unlikely he'll be back on the road by late April.

Bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent commented on the Facebook post, "Prayers for our brother."

The Oak Ridge Boys Twitter account posted, "Prayers this morning for our long time friend and brother JIMMY FORTUNE."

The original post on Facebook generated 5,000 comments.

"He still has a long road ahead of him but we are so thankful to God, his family, and friends who have prayed and watched over him," the post reads. "Nina and his daughters have actually been able to see him and he looks really good! Y’all keep the prayers coming for a speedy and safe recovery with no complications!"

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— Patrick Hite is The News Leader's education reporter. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Former Statler Brother Jimmy Fortune recovering from heart surgery