Three Bells
#1 in 1959


The Browns were were a 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 combined elements of folk and pop. James Edward, older sister Maxine, and younger sister Bonnie Brown sang individually in Pine Bluff, Arkansas until 1954, when Maxine and Jim Ed signed a record contract as a singing duo. The Browns appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and Dick Clark's American Bandstand, and followed up with "Scarlet Ribbons" and "The Old Lamplighter". In 1963, they joined the Grand Ole Opry; in 1967, the trio disbanded as the popularity of folk music faded. In 2006, the Browns reunited to perform "The Old Lamplighter" and "The Three Bells" for the PBS special, Country Pop Legends. On June 11, 2015, Jim Ed Brown died from lung cancer at age 81. On July 16, 2016, Bonnie Brown also died from lung cancer at the age of 77. Maxine Brown died on January 21, 2019 at the age of 87 from complications of heart and kidney disease.
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