New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The Country
Music Association announced that Jim Ed Brown and The Browns become the newest members of the revered Country
Music Hall of Fame. Jim Ed Brown and The Browns (siblings Maxine and Bonnie) will be inducted in the "Veterans Era Artist" category. Other inductees will include The Oak Ridge Boys and musician Grady Martin.
"Induction into the Country
Music Hall of Fame is the highest honor achievable for a Country
Music artist, songwriter, or industry leader and this year's inductees are all highly deserving," said
Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer.
"Today is an overwhelming day 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.
"We are in the business of celebrating legendary artists, and today we have the privilege of honoring a very special group of legendary artists, the class of 2015 Country
Music Hall of Fame inductees," said Kyle Young,
Director of the Country
Music Hall of Fame and Museum. "These remarkable entertainers - The Oak Ridge Boys; Jim Ed Brown and his sisters, Maxine and Bonnie; and the late, great guitarist Grady
Martin - all represent quality and precision in their music. They exemplify harmony, whether in the blending of their magnificent voices, or in the tightly knit ensemble playing of an accomplished musician."
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.
About CMA:
Founded in 1958, the Country
Music Association was the first trade organization formed to promote a type of music. In 1961, CMA created the Country
Music Hall of Fame to recognize artists and industry professionals with Country Music's highest honor. More than 7,400 music industry professionals and companies from around the globe are members of CMA. The organization's objectives are to serve as an educational and professional resource for the industry and advance the growth of Country
Music around the world. This is accomplished through CMA's core initiatives: the CMA Awards, which annually recognize outstanding achievement in the industry; the CMA
Music Festival, which benefits music education and is taped for a three-hour special; and "CMA Country Christmas," featuring Country artists performing original music and Christmas classics for broadcast during the holiday season. All of CMA's television properties will air on the ABC Television network through 2021.
