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.
This is a non-profit, informational web page, meant to be a
reminder of the music we listened to 50 years ago. Use of copyrighted
material is consistent with the "fair use" provisions contained in
section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976; the use of copyrighted material is
of a nonprofit, educational nature, intended for the sole purposes of
research and comment and does not significantly negatively affect "the
potential market for or value of the copyrighted work(s)."