‘The Code of the Road’: Statler Brothers’ songwriter releases first novel

Retired teacher John Rimel of Fluvanna County is best known for songs sung by the Statler Brothers.

But the “More Than a Name on a Wall” writer can now add novelist to his resume.

Before retiring from Buford Middle School in Charlottesville, where he taught English, in 2014 Rimel also wrote Statler Brothers’ hits such as “Right on the Money” and “One Size Fits All.” He said the latter song he wrote when tasked to write a song and seeing inside his baseball cap “one size fits all.” The Statler Brothers enjoyed songs based on puns, and Rimel was able to create another with that phrase.

He began writing songs and playing piano when he was 6 years old. He was so young that he did not realize how unique was his talent until he asked his piano teacher if he could write a song for a piano recital. He asked if the other students were also writing songs and she said he was the only student writing a song for the show.

Rimel, 76, said his songs are inspired by almost anything in everyday life.

“It could be from something I overheard,” he said.

He travelled with singer Jimmy Fortune, formerly of the Statler Brothers, after the Statler Brothers stopped touring. In 2003, Fortune and Rimel performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, considered the Super Bowl for country music singers.

“We’re still in touch all the time,” Rimel, who grew up in Charlottesville, said of Fortune.

In his first novel, “The Code of the Road,” the main character is a woman reporter for Rolling Stone magazine and follows a rock band on tour in the 1970s.

He said he began writing the novel during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to relieve stress from teaching.

Each chapter of “The Code of the Road” begins with lyrics from an original song by Rimel. The lyrics are connected to that chapter’s content. He said his second novel may carry the same technique.

Rimel also plays keyboard and performs as a duo with his son, Brian Rimel, at venues in and around Charlottesville. The Rimels sing original songs they have written.

Rimel’s second novel, which he is writing now, is about a country music band from Nelson County. A chapter of “Raven’s Roost” is on Waynesboro with a recording studio set in Dooms and the main character is another strong woman.

“I seem to write a lot about female protagonists,” Rimel said.

In 2024, he might start a novel on a third idea, another music-based story.

“All of my books are music related, because they say write what you know.”