JIM ED BROWN and THE BROWNS NEWEST MEMBERS OF THE COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME
JIM ED BROWN and THE BROWNS TO BECOME THE NEWEST MEMBERS OF THE COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME
Catch Jim Ed Brown and The Browns This Weekend on The Grand Ole Opry and SiriusXM’s Willie’s Roadhouse with Charlie Monk
The Browns: Bonnie, Jim Ed and Maxine Credit: Rick Diamond / Getty Images
NASHVILLE, TN ( March 27,2015) – This week, the Country Music Association announced that Jim Ed Brown and The Browns
will become the newest members of the revered Country Music Hall of
Fame in the “Veterans Era Artist” category and the excitement continues
to build!! Jim Ed Brown and The Browns (siblings Maxine and Bonnie)
will be stopping by the SiriusXM studios to appear on Willie’s
Roadhouse with Charlie Monk this Sunday, March 29th at 8 pm (ET) and
re-air on Tuesday, March 31st at 11 am (ET). In addition, Jim Ed Brown
will bring The Browns to the Grand Ole Opry during his appearances this
weekend.
“This is all very overwhelming not just for me, but for the Brown
family” said Jim Ed Brown. “Receiving this honor with my sisters, Maxine
and Bonnie, is something I had dreamed about for years, but never knew
if it would happen or not. Fame is fleeting, hit records change every
week, award show winners and nominees change every year, but being
inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame will be forever!”
CMA
created the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961 to recognize noteworthy
individuals for their outstanding contributions to the format with
Country Music’s highest honor.
About Jim Ed Brown and The Browns: Jim
Ed Brown and his family trio The Browns helped define an era while also
taking Country Music to wider, more cosmopolitan audiences. Their
smooth three-part harmonies, centered around Jim Ed’s rich baritone
complemented by Maxine’s alto and Bonnie’s breathy soprano, lifted the
soul and cut across genre lines to bring a more sophisticated sound to
Country Music.
Perhaps
the most important vocal group of the Nashville Sound era, The Browns’
harmonies were among the most influential of the time, immediately
influencing groups like the Beatles and the Osborne Brothers. And the
trio’s take on what Country Music can aspire to be can still be felt
decades later in the music of modern vocal groups like Lady Antebellum
and Little Big Town.
Jim
Ed (born April 1, 1934 in Sparkman, Ark.), Maxine (born April 27, 1931
in Campti, La.) and Bonnie (July 31, 1937 in Sparkman, Ark.) got their
start performing at church and social functions as teenagers in
Southwestern Arkansas.
Maxine
signed up Jim Ed for a talent contest on Little Rock radio station
KLRA’s “Barnyard Frolic.” Brown didn’t win, but he was invited to join
the cast. Maxine eventually joined him on a stage and the two found
quick success as a duo, landing a spot on the popular and influential
“Louisiana Hayride” in 1954 and recording “Looking Back to See,” a
surprise hit that rose to No. 8 on Billboard‘s Country chart.
Bonnie
filled out the trio by joining formally in 1955 and The Browns quickly
scored another hit with “Here Today and Gone Tomorrow.” It was an
exciting time for the siblings, as chronicled in Maxine’s autobiography Looking Back to See and famed author Rick Bass’ fictionalized account of their lives, Nashville Chrome.
They found themselves on the road with good friend Elvis Presley early
in their career and helped establish Nashville as Music City, USA, along
with acts like Presley and the Everly Brothers. Together they all
pushed the boundaries of popular music.
They
signed with RCA Records in 1955, teaming with legendary producer Chet
Atkins, and eventually recorded 250 sides with the label, including
sizeable hits “I Take the Chance” and “I Heard the Bluebirds Sing.” They
toured the U.S. relentlessly during this period and also went to Europe
with fellow RCA acts.
The
Browns reached new levels of popularity with the recording of 1959’s
“The Three Bells,” a song originally performed by Edith Piaf in France.
The song displayed The Browns’ willingness to explore folk and pop modes
in their music and the public responded, making it No. 1 on the pop and
Country charts. It even rose to No. 10 on the R&B charts, showing
its universal appeal.
The
song and subsequent hits like “The Old Lamplighter” also proved widely
popular and led the group to huge television appearance opportunities
including “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “American Bandstand,” and “The Perry
Como Show.”
After
initial friction because of their pop leanings, The Browns joined the
Grand Ole Opry in 1963. The trio, which was occasionally augmented by
younger sister Norma, formally disbanded in 1967 when Maxine and Bonnie
chose to retire to raise their young families.
The
Browns have made occasional appearances over the years, recording a
reunion album in the mid-1980s and appearing on the Opry. Jim Ed,
meanwhile, remains a beloved figure in Nashville. He continued his solo
career after the trio separated, scoring Top 10 hits like signature
songs “Pop a Top,” “Morning,” “Southern Living,” “Sometime Sunshine,”
and “It’s That Time of Night.”
Jim
Ed Brown managed to recapture the magic of boy-girl harmony again in
1976 when he began recording duets with Helen Cornelius. They were named
the CMA Vocal Duo of the Year in 1977 and recorded memorable hits like
“I Don’t Want to Have to Marry You,” which went to No. 1; “Saying Hello,
Saying I Love You, Saying Goodbye”; “Lying In Love With You”; “Fools”;
and “Morning Comes Too Early.”
Brown
hosted a number of television shows in the 1980s, including the contest
show “You Can Be a Star,” and has remained a notable figure in
Nashville, occasionally appearing on the Opry and hosting “Country Music
Greats Radio Show” for more than a decade.
