Jim Ed Brown
Encyclopedia
Jim Ed Brown is an American
country music
singer who achieved fame in the 1950s with his two sisters as a member of The Browns
. He later had a successful solo career from 1965 to 1974, followed by a string of major duet hits with Helen Cornelius
through 1981. Brown is currently the host of the Country Music Greats Radio Show, a syndicated country music program from Nashville
, Tennessee
.
and Bonnie
, moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas
as children. They formed a singing group in the early 1950s and also sang individually until 1954, when Jim Ed and Maxine signed a record contract as a duo. They earned national recognition and a guest spot on Ernest Tubb
's radio show for their humorous song "Looking Back To See", which hit the top ten and stayed on the charts through the summer of 1954.
in Shreveport, Louisiana
. By the end of 1955, the trio was appearing on KWTO-AM
in Springfield, Missouri
, and had another top ten hit with "Here Today and Gone Tomorrow", which got a boost by their national appearances on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee
. They signed with RCA Victor in 1956, and soon had two major hits, "I Take the Chance" and "I Heard the Bluebirds Sing". When Jim Ed was drafted in 1957, the group continued to record while he was on leave, and sister Norma filled in for him on tours. He was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado
.
In 1959, The Browns scored their biggest hit when their folk-pop single
"The Three Bells
" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100
pop
and country charts. The song also peaked at No. 10 on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues listing. The trio had moderate successes on the country music charts. In 1963, they joined the Grand Ole Opry
and in 1967 the group disbanded.
", which became his signature song. In 1970, he gained a crossover hit with "Morning" which went to No. 4 on the country charts and No. 47 on the pop charts. Other hits included "Angel's Sunday" (1971), "Southern Loving" (1973), "Sometime Sunshine" (1974) and "It's That Time Of Night" (1974).
Beginning in 1976, Brown released a string of major duet hits with Helen Cornelius
starting with the No. 1 hit, "I Don't Want to Have to Marry You
". Other hits for the duo included "Saying Hello, Saying I Love You, Saying Goodbye
" (1977), "Born Believer" (1977), "I'll Never Be Free" (1978), "If the World Ran Out of Love Tonight" (1978), "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (a cover of the then-recent Neil Diamond
-Barbra Streisand
hit) (1979), "Lying In Love With You" (1979), "Fools" (1979), "Morning Comes Too Early" (1980) and "Don't Bother to Knock" (1981).
Brown hosted the syndicated country radio show Jim Ed Brown's Country Place and the television show Nashville On The Road. He also hosted The Nashville Network
programs, You Can Be A Star (a talent show), and Going Our Way, which featured Brown and his wife traveling the U.S. in an RV
.
and the weekday short-form vignette, Country Music Greats Radio Minute. Both are broadcast by over 300 radio stations to a weekly audience exceeding three million, as well as on the Internet. Recorded at the Hard Scuffle Studios in Nashville, the Country Music Greats Radio Show blends music from the 1940s through the 1990s with an interview archive of country stars past and present. Brown also tells tales of living and working in the country music industry.
He remains an active and popular member of the Grand Ole Opry
, and lives in the south Nashville suburb of Brentwood, Tennessee
with his wife Becky.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer who achieved fame in the 1950s with his two sisters as a member of The Browns
The Browns
The Browns were an American country and folk music vocal trio best known for their 1959 Grammy-nominated hit, "The Three Bells". The group, composed of Jim Ed Brown and his sisters Maxine and Bonnie Brown, had a close, smooth harmony characteristic of the Nashville sound, though their music also...
. He later had a successful solo career from 1965 to 1974, followed by a string of major duet hits with Helen Cornelius
Helen Cornelius
Helen Cornelius is an American country singer-songwriter and actress, best remembered for a series of hit duets with Jim Ed Brown, many of which reached the U.S...
through 1981. Brown is currently the host of the Country Music Greats Radio Show, a syndicated country music program from Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
.
Biography
Brown and his sisters, MaxineMaxine Brown (country singer)
Maxine Brown is an American country music singer who was originally a member of the successful 1950s trio, The Browns, before a brief solo career.-Biography:...
and Bonnie
Bonnie Brown (musician)
Bonnie Jean Brown is an American country music singer and former member of The Browns, a trio popular in the 1950s.-Biography:...
, moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...
as children. They formed a singing group in the early 1950s and also sang individually until 1954, when Jim Ed and Maxine signed a record contract as a duo. They earned national recognition and a guest spot on Ernest Tubb
Ernest Tubb
Ernest Dale Tubb , nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...
's radio show for their humorous song "Looking Back To See", which hit the top ten and stayed on the charts through the summer of 1954.
The Browns
Jim Ed and Maxine were joined in 1955 by 18-year-old Bonnie, and The Browns began performing on Louisiana HayrideLouisiana Hayride
Louisiana Hayride was a radio and later television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of the greatest names in American music...
in Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
. By the end of 1955, the trio was appearing on KWTO-AM
KWTO
KWTO refers to two radio stations in Springfield, Missouri, USA. On AM, KWTO can be found at 560 kHz, where it airs a news-talk format. On FM, KWTO operates at 98.7 MHz and carries a sports talk format....
in Springfield, Missouri
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...
, and had another top ten hit with "Here Today and Gone Tomorrow", which got a boost by their national appearances on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee
Ozark Jubilee
Ozark Jubilee is the first U.S. network television program to feature country music's top stars, and was the centerpiece of a strategy for Springfield, Missouri to challenge Nashville, Tennessee as America's country music capital...
. They signed with RCA Victor in 1956, and soon had two major hits, "I Take the Chance" and "I Heard the Bluebirds Sing". When Jim Ed was drafted in 1957, the group continued to record while he was on leave, and sister Norma filled in for him on tours. He was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado
Fort Carson, Colorado
Fort Carson is a United States Army installation located near Colorado Springs, primarily in El Paso County, Colorado. It is north of Pueblo, Colorado in Pueblo County. The 137,000 acre installation extends south into Pueblo and Fremont counties...
.
In 1959, The Browns scored their biggest hit when their folk-pop single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"The Three Bells
The Three Bells
"The Three Bells", also known as "Jimmy Brown" or "Little Jimmy Brown", is a song made popular by The Browns in 1959. The single reached number one on the U.S. country and pop charts,. outperforming a competing version by Dick Flood. The version by The Browns also hit number ten on the Hot R&B...
" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and country charts. The song also peaked at No. 10 on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues listing. The trio had moderate successes on the country music charts. In 1963, they joined the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
and in 1967 the group disbanded.
Solo career
Brown continued to record for RCA and had a number of country hits, starting in 1965 while still with his sisters. In 1967, he released his first solo top ten hit, "Pop a TopPop a Top
"Pop a Top" is a song written by Nat Stuckey, and recorded by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It is the lead-off single to his 1999 album Under the Influence. It peaked at number 6 on the United States Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, and number 2 on the Canadian RPM...
", which became his signature song. In 1970, he gained a crossover hit with "Morning" which went to No. 4 on the country charts and No. 47 on the pop charts. Other hits included "Angel's Sunday" (1971), "Southern Loving" (1973), "Sometime Sunshine" (1974) and "It's That Time Of Night" (1974).
Beginning in 1976, Brown released a string of major duet hits with Helen Cornelius
Helen Cornelius
Helen Cornelius is an American country singer-songwriter and actress, best remembered for a series of hit duets with Jim Ed Brown, many of which reached the U.S...
starting with the No. 1 hit, "I Don't Want to Have to Marry You
I Don't Want to Have to Marry You
" I Don't Want to Have to Marry You is a 1976 single by the duo of Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius. "I Don't Want to Have to Marry You" would be the most successful single for both Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius as both a duo and as solo artists...
". Other hits for the duo included "Saying Hello, Saying I Love You, Saying Goodbye
Saying Hello, Saying I Love You, Saying Goodbye
"Saying Hello, Saying I Love You, Saying Goodbye" is a single by American country music artists Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius. Released in November 1976, it was the second single from their album I Don't Want to Have to Marry You. The song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles...
" (1977), "Born Believer" (1977), "I'll Never Be Free" (1978), "If the World Ran Out of Love Tonight" (1978), "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (a cover of the then-recent Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
-Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
hit) (1979), "Lying In Love With You" (1979), "Fools" (1979), "Morning Comes Too Early" (1980) and "Don't Bother to Knock" (1981).
Brown hosted the syndicated country radio show Jim Ed Brown's Country Place and the television show Nashville On The Road. He also hosted The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows...
programs, You Can Be A Star (a talent show), and Going Our Way, which featured Brown and his wife traveling the U.S. in an RV
Recreational vehicle
Recreational vehicle or RV is, in North America, the usual term for a Motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities found in a home.-Features:...
.
Radio host
Brown currently hosts two nationally-syndicated country music radio shows, the weekly two-hour Country Music Greats Radio ShowCountry Music Greats Radio Show
The Country Music Greats Radio Show is a syndicated radio program recorded in Nashville, Tennessee. The show began in 2003 and has steadily grown, covering the United States with nearly 200 affiliate stations. The Country Music Greats Radio Show is hosted by Grand Ole Opry legend Jim Ed Brown...
and the weekday short-form vignette, Country Music Greats Radio Minute. Both are broadcast by over 300 radio stations to a weekly audience exceeding three million, as well as on the Internet. Recorded at the Hard Scuffle Studios in Nashville, the Country Music Greats Radio Show blends music from the 1940s through the 1990s with an interview archive of country stars past and present. Brown also tells tales of living and working in the country music industry.
He remains an active and popular member of the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
, and lives in the south Nashville suburb of Brentwood, Tennessee
Brentwood, Tennessee
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,445 people, 7,693 households, and 6,808 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 7,889 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.63% European American, 1.89% African American,...
with his wife Becky.