Jim Ed Brown

James Edward Brown (April 1, 1934 – June 11, 2015) was an American country 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 fellow country music vocalist Helen Cornelius, through 1981. Brown was also the host of the Country Music Greats Radio Show, a syndicated country music program from Nashville, Tennessee.

Jim Ed was born on April 1, 1934, in Sparkman, Arkansas, to Floyd and Birdie Brown. His parents owned a farm and his father also worked at a sawmill. As small children, Jim and his sisters, Maxine and Bonnie, moved with their parents to Pine Bluff, Arkansas. As young adults, the three siblings sang together and individually. This changed in 1954 when Jim Ed and Maxine signed a recording 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.

Jim Ed and Maxine were joined in 1955 by 18-year-old Bonnie, and The Browns began performing on Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, Louisiana. By the end of 1955, the trio were 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. Remakes of the pop hits "Scarlet Ribbons" and "The Old Lamplighter" continued the hit streak, reaching the top 15 on Billboard's Pop and Country surveys. The trio had moderate successes on the country music charts for seven years thereafter. In 1963, they joined the Grand Ole Opry and in 1967 the group disbanded.

Brown continued to record for RCA Victor 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 Top", which became his signature song. Beginning in 1969, he also gained his own syndicated TV series "The Country Place", which would become famous for introducing Crystal Gayle. The show ended in 1971. 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).

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.