One of country music’s legends, Jim Ed Brown, has died at the age of 81. Brown – who was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame – had been suffering from lung cancer, and released his last album – his first solo record for 40 years – while undergoing treatments. In Style Again featured appearances from fellow stars including Vince Gill.
In early 2015, Brown announced that he was in remission, but on 3 June his daughter Kim said the cancer had returned. The next day, his friend Bill Anderson visited him in hospital to give him the medallion marking his induction into the Hall of Fame, though the official ceremony does not take place until the autumn.
Country star Alan Jackson played tribute at his stadium show in Nashville on Thursday night, playing a snatch of Brown’s song Pop a Top and announcing: “We’re gonna miss you, Jim Ed Brown. God bless you.”
Brown was born and raised in Arkansas, and formed a duo with his sister Maxine, soon joined by a second sister, Bonnie. The Browns’ first single, Looking Back to See, became a top 10 hit in 1954. Their 1959 single In Three Bells was a No 1 hit.
The Browns split in 1967, though Jim Ed had already started making solo records. He had hits as a solo arist, and duetting with Helen Cornelius, right through the 1970s. In latter years he was better known as the host of two nationally syndicated country music radio shows.
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