Country Legend Jim Ed Brown Has Died of Cancer
Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry member Jim Ed Brown has died. He passed away Thursday, June 11th at the Williamson Medical Center in Franklin, TN after a long battle with lung Cancer. Though Jim Ed’s Cancer originally diagnosed in September of 2014 had gone into remission earlier this year, the country star recently announced it had returned.
James Edward Brown was born April 1, 1934, in Sparkman, Arkansas. He was a member of the family band The Browns with his two sisters Maxine and Bonnie. It was just announced in March that The Browns would be the newest inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame along with Grady Martin and the Oak Ridge Boys.
According to The Tennessean, when it was clear Brown would not make it to the formal Hall of Fame induction, he was inducted in his hospital room.
The Browns were a country and folk trio that rose to prominence in the mid and late 50’s, principally with their Grammy-nominated song “The Three Bells” which became a #1 hit on Billboard’s country and pop charts, and eventually sold over 1 million copies.
Formed in Pine Bluff, Arkansas after Jim Ed and Maxine signed a record deal as a singing duo, The Browns got their big break on Ernest Tubb’s radio show after singing their original song “Looking Back to See.” After the 18-year-old Bonnie graduated high school, she joined the act and they began performing regularly on the Louisiana Hayride and the Ozark Jubilee. As the family band continued to perform and release music, their prominence only grew, eventually making appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and American Bandstand. Some of the trios other hits included “Scarlet Ribbons,” “The Old Lamplighter,” and a version of “Blue Christmas.”
In 1965, Jim Ed Brown signed a solo contract with RCA and began to record and release music outside of The Browns band, including numerous successful hits. This slowly caused the band to dissolve, eventually disbanding officially in 1967. However over the years, The Browns have reunited on many occasions and continue to perform together today.
Jim Ed Brown has become a mainstay of the Grand Ole Opry over the last few years, and also was the DJ of a radio show. In 2015, he released a new album called In Style Again his first record in 40 years.
“Just a lonely bell was ringing, in the little valley town. Twas farewell that it was singing, to our good ‘ol Jimmy Brown.”
RIP Jim Ed Brown.
June 11, 2015 @ 6:01 pm
Very sad to lose another member of country music’s greatest generation.
May he rest in peace.
June 11, 2015 @ 6:02 pm
Damn. I saw him at the Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree last year and he was one of the nicest people I ever met. He was surprised to see that I had his old records and gladly signed them and took a picture with me. What a kind man. His are another pair of shoes that will never be filled.
June 11, 2015 @ 6:07 pm
Our Jimmy Brown has passed away…
June 11, 2015 @ 6:15 pm
RIP Jim Ed. Lost my Dad to lung cancer. He was a big Jim Ed fan. He used to sing The Browns Three Bells to me when he took me fishing. A little metal boat, with a little Evinrude motor, not a care in the world, and my Daddy singing to me. Some of the best days of my life. This one hurts a little more. My sympathies to his friends and family.
June 11, 2015 @ 6:37 pm
Wow. What a touching memory.
June 11, 2015 @ 6:18 pm
Met him in 2011 and he was the kindest. This hurts. R.I.P.
June 11, 2015 @ 6:27 pm
RIP Jim Ed, I;m popping a top in your memory tonight (even though, if I recall correctly, the ones being popped in the recording of the song were Dr. Pepper.)
June 11, 2015 @ 6:29 pm
I got to meet him a couple of times at the Opry, and he was a nice man. If you want to listen to one of the great country songs ever, check out Bottle, Bottle. Here’s a link so you can hear that song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR_RNg__fnM
June 11, 2015 @ 6:31 pm
Rest in peace Jim Ed Brown you will be missed.
June 11, 2015 @ 6:37 pm
I remember the first time I heard “The Three Bells.” My dad played it for me when I was seven years old, and I fell in love with it right away. Fifteen years later, it is still one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. RIP Jim Ed.
June 11, 2015 @ 6:42 pm
RIP, always sad to see any of our legends go. May you enjoy the big concert up in the sky Mr. Brown. Prayers to his family in this time.
June 11, 2015 @ 7:09 pm
A great shame. I saw him at the Grand Ole Opry two years ago. He will be sorely missed.
June 11, 2015 @ 7:25 pm
I am kicking myself that I didn’t get to see him and meet him in 2012 when he performed at a local cowboy gathering in the town I used to live in. I didn’t really know about it until after it happened. May he live on no matter what.
June 11, 2015 @ 7:10 pm
RIP Jim Ed. 🙁
June 11, 2015 @ 7:21 pm
Very sad as he improved enough to release a new album and promote it just earlier this year. I haven’t purchased it when it came out, but he had a song that stood out to me called “Am I Still Country?” as it cuts down the bro-country songs on the radio. He and The Browns paved their ways into the country music industry, and as of around April of this year, I was starting to get the feeling that he was becoming relevant in regards to different parts of digital media since I saw his album in iTunes’ top downloads during that time. Jim Ed Brown will be very missed.
June 11, 2015 @ 7:38 pm
“In Style Again” is a nice little record from Jim Ed, and I’m glad he put it out before his passing. I think we can all think fondly how in the twilight of his life, Jim Ed rallied and give the world a reason to remember him again. With the new album and the Hall of Fame induction, he left on a high.
June 11, 2015 @ 7:57 pm
Friend of mine on my twitter put this entire day in perspective:
Today, what do we say to the god of death? SLOW DOWN.
(I apologize in advance if it’s inappropriate or a little coarse)
June 11, 2015 @ 10:15 pm
What a sad week! My condolences go out to all his loved ones! ; __ ;
June 12, 2015 @ 12:03 am
Sad news. Saw him this time last year at the Opry (it was a classic line-up also featuring people like Mel Tillis and Charley Pride) and loved his short set. I’m so pleased that he was able to see how well received his “In Style Again” album was!
June 12, 2015 @ 3:07 am
Oh, dang… this is very sad news. 🙁
I was discouraged recently to see that Jim Ed’s cancer had returned, but I had hoped and expected that he would pull through once again and continue singing on the Opry for years to come.
I really enjoyed listening to Jim Ed on the Grand Ole Opry, and had the pleasure of seeing him perform live at the Opry several years ago. He had a smooth, seemingly effortless vocal style that was very enjoyable to listen to, and his voice was very well preserved over the years, even after his initial bout with cancer. He was also one of the last living links to the really old days, and after Little Jimmy Dickens’ passing, I felt like Jim Ed took on the mantle of being the “patron saint” of the Opry’s golden years (if that makes sense) especially after originally beating cancer and returning to the Opry for a final round of performances . Upon his return, he performed on the Opry two nights in a row and received a rapturous standing ovation both nights. I was listening on the second night, and it was quite a treat – he sang “Pop A Top,” as well as “In Style Again,” from his new album. (I’ve also heard that the night before that, on which he sang “The Three Bells,” for the first time back was really emotional.) Finally, after Jim Ed and The Browns’ induction into the Hall of Fame was announced not too long after that, he and his sisters all seemed very touched and relieved to be receiving the honor, especially while they were all still alive.
My thoughts go out to Maxine and Bonnie, Jim Ed’s friends and family, and to everybody at the Grand Ole Opry.
Rest in peace, Jim Ed.
June 12, 2015 @ 4:27 am
Nice one Applejack!
June 12, 2015 @ 8:32 am
He had recovered so well from the initial Cancer diagnosis, when I hear it returned, I never dreamed it would take him this quickly. He appeared like he was doing so well.
June 12, 2015 @ 3:28 am
Here’s a really great song by The Browns which I heard for the first time on the Eddie Stubbs show on WSM. I don’t think it’s very well known, but it really shows off the group’s amazing harmonies. Apparently, it was originally written by the Louvin Brothers, but The Browns converted it into smooth, three-part harmony.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPeJiv5bG1o
Also, speaking of Eddie Stubbs, he had a great relationship with the Browns and interviewed them on his show several times. I’m sure he will be putting together a tribute show for Jim Ed on WSM sometime soon, as he has done for Little Jimmy Dickens, George Jones, and others, and hopefully it will also be made available online as the other tribute shows were.
June 12, 2015 @ 3:45 am
Man, I just listened to that song again, and it is really freakin’ beautiful. Wow.
Also, come to think of it, some of Jim Ed’s duets with Helen Cornelius were really nice too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNE_zV3rpb4
June 12, 2015 @ 8:38 am
‘I Don’t Want To Have To Marry You’ is so refreshingly old fashioned (even for the late seventies). I’ve always loved that song.
June 12, 2015 @ 8:46 am
I was listening to Eddie Stubbs on WSM last night when the news of Jim Ed’s passing broke. Eddie played a lot of Jim Ed’s music last night and said that there will be a proper tribute to Jim Ed coming up soon on WSM.
The only time I ever saw Jim Ed perform live was at George Jones’ fan club party at the Nashville Palace in 2011. Now those two giants are no longer with us.
June 12, 2015 @ 9:12 am
It’s days like this that make me wish I still drank.
June 12, 2015 @ 9:36 am
Trigger,
Those were my thoughts as well. I had no idea that the cancer had not only returned, but spread. Maybe I missed something? As you said, his previous treatments seemed to go so well, I had hoped that the cancer’s return was a setback that could be overcome. The headlines stating that he had passed away really took me by surprise.
I’ve noticed that there have been a large amount of comments and tributes being spread on various websites and Facebook pages, which is nice to see.
But man, there sure has been a lot of grim news in the country music world lately…
June 12, 2015 @ 10:04 am
It came in 3’s this week losing Christopher Lee/Dusty Rhodes/Jim Ed Brown.
RIP to all.
June 15, 2015 @ 7:38 am
a few years back i wrote a traditional country lyric about many of the deceased greats of real country music called “phantoms of the opry” put to music by a band of that name…i sent it to Mr Brown who within minutes responded with positive comments and suggested i try and get a publisher…the moral of the story is…i was in awe that this famous great actually took the time to read and return my email! i feel that was one small but very shining example of the kind of man he was…sadly now i have to add another verse.
July 16, 2019 @ 10:21 am
Growing up in Kansas, long before I knew anything about country music, I remember hearing The Three Bells on the radio and being drawn in by the sound of Brown’s voice, the lovely melody and background singing and the lyric’s message of a life well and simply lived. By coincidence, I happened to hear that song again just yesterday, in, of all places, a rerun of the Sopranos, a show set in the same area where I lived much later in my life, the suburbs of northern New Jersey.