Interview with Jim Ed Brown

Whether as a solo artist or in a duet with with Helen Cornelius, JIM ED BROWN never fails to make magic with a song. But, any discussion about the career of Jim Ed would have to begin with the years he spent singing with his sisters Maxine and Bonnie as The Browns. Recording together for well over a decade, the trio put together a catalouge that included “Lookin’ Back To See,” “I Heard The Bluebirds Sing,” and their iconic 1959 crossover record “The Three Bells.” 

Looking back on that family blend of harmony that brought him to the dance, Jim Ed says his singing with his siblings never really had a beginning point. It was just something that always was a part of life, growing up in Sparkman, Arkansas. “We started singing when we were young kids. I lost my little brother when I was nine years old, and I remember he and I sang together. We would listen to Daddy’s old battery operated radio. If it was a clear night, we might be able to pick up the Grand Ole Opry,” he recalls. 

Jim Ed's easy going nature and movie-star good looks led to a long career on television – with stints on his own The Country Place TV show in the early 1970s, Nashville On The Road, and You Can Be A Star – which helped launch many of Music City’s greatest, including Linda Davis. Then, in 1976, fate – and Chet Atkins stepped in again. “Chet found this song, and gave it to Bob Ferguson – who was my producer at the time. It was a great song - ‘I Don’t Want To Have To Marry You.’ I wanted to do it solo, but he wanted me to do it as a duet. He said he wanted me to cut it with Helen Cornelius." 

Jim Ed Brown joins me on the show to talk about his music career and new album In Style Again.