New Country Music Hall of Fame member Jim Ed Brown has lost his battle with cancer, passing away on Thursday at the age of 81.
Brown first announced that he was fighting the disease last September only to see it go into remission. Last week, his daughter Kim announced on Facebook that the cancer had returned.
Jim Ed was born in Sparkman, AK and later resided with his family in Pine Bluff. He enjoyed singing around his home town as did his sisters, Maxine and Bonnie, but it wasn’t until 1954 that they took their interest to the next level.
Initially, Jim Ed and Maxine signed a recording deal with Fabor Records. Their first single, Looking Back to See, became a national hit going to number 8 on the Country charts. The next year, their younger sister Bonnie joined the group and the trio became regulars on the Louisiana Hayride. Another hit in 1955, Here Today and Gone Tomorrow brought the group to the attention of RCA Records who signed them in 1956. Once again, they hit with their first single for the label, I’ll Take a Chance (1956 / #2 Country) and followed the next year with I Heard the Bluebirds Sing (1957 / #4 Country).
For the next two years, Brown served in the military but, after his release in 1959, their career took a big turn when they recorded the French song Les triois cloches, now known as The Three Bells. The song not only topped the Country Singles but crossed over and became a number 1 single on the Hot 100 and a number 10 hit in R&B. They continued their hit streak with two more traditional songs, Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair) (1959 / #13 Pop / #7 Country) and The Old Lamplighter (1960 / #5 Pop / #20 Country).
After 1960, the Browns’ hits dried up with only one more top twenty country hit before the middle of the decade. In 1965, Jim Ed started recording solo material with RCA and, after a number of minor hits, scored big with Pop a Top (1967 / #3 Country).
Two years later, in 1969, Brown began hosting his own syndicated country music show, The Country Place, which ran for two years and introduced the world to Crystal Gayle. During the time, he also had a crossover hit with Morning (1970 / #4 Country / #16 Adult Contemporary).
The solo hits continued through much of the 70’s but it was his pairing with Helen Cornelius that brought him the most success. In 1976, they release I Don’t Want to Have to Marry You which went to number 1. They followed six more top ten country hits through 1981 and Cornelius was a regular on Brown’s TV show Nashville On the Road.
Brown’s last studio album was 1980’s One Man, One Woman with Cornelius until this past January when he released In Style Again on Plowboy Records.
In the intervening years, Jim Ed starred on two Nashville Network series, You Can Be a Star and Going Our Way and hosted two syndicated radio programs, Country Music Greats Radio Show and Country Music Greats Radio Minute.
He also stayed active in the Grand Ole Opry and, last March, was announced as one of the new inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame. While the official induction ceremony was set for the fall, a special induction for Brown was put together in his hospital room on June 4. Bill Anderson did the honors with the CMA’s CEO Sarah Trehern in attendance along with family.
Brown is survived by his wife of 52 years, Becky, a son and a daughter.
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