Jimmy Fortune keeps his Thursday date at The Mansion

The former Statler Brothers tenor brings the songs of his Gaither album, and a few he wrote for the Statlers, back to The Mansion Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 5.

Some Branson acts arrive on a tour bus and leave the next morning. Jimmy Fortune has been treating The Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts on Expressway Lane more like a standing appointment this fall, and his next stop there is Thursday, Nov. 5, at 8 p.m.

That night is one of a string of fall dates Fortune has on the books at the 3,000-seat room, with further Thursday shows listed for Nov. 12 and Nov. 19. If you have family in town for an early Thanksgiving, or you're simply the person in your house who still knows every word of "Elizabeth," there is more than one chance to go. Next Thursday is the nearest.

The song is the place to start. Fortune joined the Statler Brothers in 1982, first as a stand-in for an ailing Lew DeWitt and then as a full member, and he wrote "Elizabeth," which became the group's second No. 1 hit off the 1983 album *Today*. According to his Wikipedia entry, his other songs for the group included "My Only Love" and "Too Much On My Heart." The Statlers retired in 2002, and Fortune has been working as a solo singer and songwriter ever since.

What he's carrying into The Mansion now is the album that looks back over all of it. Songs of an American Dreamer, released June 27, 2025, on Gaither Music, is a 14-track record cut live in the studio at Ricky Skaggs' place. A companion DVD is hosted by Skaggs and Sharon White. Gaither's release notes describe it as a record that runs from Fortune's Virginia childhood through the Statler years to his solo work, and it mixes the old hits ("Elizabeth," "My Only Love," "More Than a Name on a Wall") with solo songs and newer writing.

The focus track is "I Believe," a song Fortune has said his mother inspired. The album's second single, "Thank God for Mama and Daddy," came out May 30, 2025, and Gaither's announcement frames it as a song about the family that raised him. Faith, family and gratitude sit at the centre of this record. In a Branson theatre on a weeknight, that is pretty much the brief.

The Statlers retired in 2002. The tenor who wrote "Elizabeth" is still singing it on Thursday nights in Branson.

The room suits him. The Mansion is one of the bigger theatres on the strip, with space for a full house to sing along to a four-part chorus that's now led by one voice. Fortune's show is the opposite of a nostalgia act going through the motions: the songs he wrote for the Statlers are his to sing, and the newer material shows he's still writing.

A practical note: our records have Fortune in Branson more often than any other market, so a Thursday night at The Mansion is as close to a home game as he gets. Check the time on your ticket before you head out. Listings give 8 p.m., and Thursday traffic on 76 is still Thursday traffic on 76.

Bring the person who taught you the harmony part. That's who this show is for.

Sources: Gaither Music: Jimmy Fortune releases Songs of an American Dreamer (gaither.com); Gaither Music: Jimmy Fortune celebrates the power of family with new single 'Thank God for Mama and Daddy' (gaither.com); Jimmy Fortune official bio (jimmyfortune.com); Jimmy Fortune (Wikipedia) (en.wikipedia.org); TickPick: Jimmy Fortune, Thu Nov 5, 2026, 8:00 PM, The Mansion, Branson (tickpick.com); TickPick: Jimmy Fortune, Thu Nov 12, 2026, The Mansion (tickpick.com); TickPick: Jimmy Fortune, Thu Nov 19, 2026, The Mansion (tickpick.com); Jimmy Fortune (Eventworld) (eventworld.com)