Brown and his sisters, Maxine and Bonnie, moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas as children. They formed a singing group in the early 1950s and also sang individually until 1954, when Jim Ed and Maxine signed a record contract as a duo. They earned national recognition and a guest spot on Ernest Tubb's radio show for their humorous song "Looking Back To See", which hit the top ten and stayed on the charts through the summer of 1954.
Jim Ed and Maxine were joined in 1955 by 18-year-old Bonnie, and The Browns began performing on Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, Louisiana. By the end of 1955, the trio was appearing on KWTO-AM in Springfield, Missouri, and had another top ten hit with "Here Today and Gone Tomorrow", which got a boost by their national appearances on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee. They signed with RCA Victor in 1956, and soon had two major hits, "I Take the Chance" and "I Heard the Bluebirds Sing". When Jim Ed was drafted in 1957, the group continued to record while he was on leave, and sister Norma filled in for him on tours. He was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado.
In 1959, The Browns scored their biggest hit when their folk-pop single "The Three Bells" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop and country charts. The song also peaked at No. 10 on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues listing. Remakes of the pop hits "Scarlet Ribbons" and "The Old Lamplighter" continued the hit streak, reaching the top 15 on Billboard's Pop and Country surveys. The trio had moderate successes on the country music charts for seven years thereafter. In 1963, they joined the Grand Ole Opry and in 1967 the group disbanded.
Brown continued to record for RCA Victor and had a number of country hits, starting in 1965 while still with his sisters. In 1967, he released his first solo top ten hit, "Pop a Top", which became his signature song. Beginning in 1969, he also gained his own syndicated TV series "The Country Place", which would become famous for introducing Crystal Gayle. The show ended in 1971. In 1970, he gained a crossover hit with "Morning" which went to No. 4 on the country charts and No. 47 on the pop charts. Other hits included "Angel's Sunday" (1971), "Southern Loving" (1973), "Sometime Sunshine" (1974) and "It's That Time Of Night" (1974).
Beginning in 1976, Brown released a string of major duet hits with Helen Cornelius starting with the No. 1 hit, "I Don't Want to Have to Marry You". Other hits for the duo included "Saying Hello, Saying I Love You, Saying Goodbye" (1977), "Born Believer" (1977), "I'll Never Be Free" (1978), "If the World Ran Out of Love Tonight" (1978), "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (a cover of the then-recent Neil Diamond-Barbra Streisand hit) (1979), "Lying In Love With You" (1979), "Fools" (1979), "Morning Comes Too Early" (1980) and "Don't Bother to Knock" (1981).
Brown hosted the syndicated country television show Nashville On The Road, along with Jerry Clower, Helen Cornelius, and Wendy Holcombe. The entire cast was replaced in 1981. The new host, Jim Stafford, kept hosting it until it ended in 1983. He also hosted The Nashville Network programs, You Can Be A Star (a talent show), and Going Our Way, which featured Brown and his wife traveling the U.S. in an RV. Brown lived in the south Nashville suburb of Brentwood, Tennessee with his wife Becky.
Brown hosted two nationally syndicated country music radio shows, the weekly two-hour Country Music Greats Radio Show and the weekday short-form vignette, Country Music Greats Radio Minute. Both were broadcast by over 300 radio stations to a weekly audience exceeding three million, as well as on the Internet. Recorded at the Hard Scuffle Studios in Nashville, the Country Music Greats Radio Show blended music from the 1940s through the 1990s with an interview archive of country stars past and present. Brown also told tales of living and working in the country music industry.
Beginning in 1975, Brown became a national spokesperson for the Dollar General Stores discount retailer. He appeared in frequent TV advertisements using the slogan, "Every day is dollar day at your Dollar General Store," and an autographed photo hung behind the cash register at many stores.
Jim Ed Brown remained an active and popular member of the Grand Ole Opry until his death, where he had been a member since 1963 and occasionally reunited onstage with Cornelius.
In March 2015, it was announced that The Browns would be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame later in the year. With his health declining, Brown was inducted in June.
Brown announced in September 2014 that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer and had temporarily retired from hosting his radio programs; he had since returned to hosting. After he had been diagnosed in early 2015 to be in remission, Brown announced on June 3, 2015 that the cancer had returned. He died a week later, on June 11, 2015, at the age of 81.
Morning
Jim Ed Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When all sorrow has drifted away
I'll be standing at the portals when the gates open wide
At the end of life's long dreary day.
I'll meet you in the morning with a how do you do
And we'll sit down by the river
And when all the rapture old aquaintance renewed
When I meet you in the morning
In the city that is built four square.
--- Instrumental ---
I'll meet you in the morning at the end of the way
On the streets of that city of gold
Where we all can be together and be happy once more
While the years and the ages shall roll.
I'll meet you in the morning with a how do you do
And we'll sit down by the river
And when all the rapture old aquaintance renewed
You'll know me in the morning by the smile that I wear
When I meet you in the morning
In the city that is built four square...
The lyrics of Jim Ed Brown's song "Morning" speak of a promise of reuniting with a loved one in the afterlife. The first verse describes the meeting place as a bright riverside where all sorrows have drifted away, and at the end of life's long dreary day, they will be standing at the portals when the gates open wide. This verse speaks of a place of peace and freedom from pain, where the reuniting of loved ones can occur without any of the pain and sadness of separation that may have been experienced on earth.
The second verse describes the reunion itself, with the singer promising to meet their loved one in the morning with a how do you do. They will sit down by the river and all the rapture of old acquaintances will be renewed. The singer assures their loved one that they will know them in the morning by the smile that they wear when they meet in the city that is built four square. The city could be interpreted as a metaphor for Heaven, and the idea of a "how do you do" is a nod to the familiar expressions and greetings that we might use when we meet up with someone we haven't seen in a long time.
The final verse speaks of the end of the way, and meeting once more on the streets of the city of gold. The singer promises that they will be happy in each other's company once more. Again, the idea of the years and ages rolling by seem to suggest a place beyond time itself. The stanza repeats the promise of reuniting with a how do you do, and the renewal of old acquaintances with a smile.
Overall, the song is an uplifting and hopeful meditation on the afterlife, and the joy that can be found in the reunion of loved ones.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll meet you in the morning by the bright riverside
I will see you again in a new life where everything is brighter and more beautiful, by the river where all the troubles of the past have been washed away
When all sorrow has drifted away
Once all our sadness and pain has disappeared, we will find each other by the riverside
I'll be standing at the portals when the gates open wide
I will be waiting at the entrance of the afterlife, ready to receive you when the gates open up
At the end of life's long dreary day.
After a full and difficult life, we will meet once more at the end of our journey
I'll meet you in the morning with a how do you do
I will greet you cheerfully when we meet again in the afterlife
And we'll sit down by the river
We will relax by the peaceful riverside
And when all the rapture old aquaintance renewed
When we finally see each other again, all the joyfulness of our past relationship will come back to us
You'll know me in the morning by the smile that I wear
You will recognize me by the happiness that I wear on my face in our new life together
When I meet you in the morning
When we finally reunite in the afterlife
In the city that is built four square.
In the beautiful and symmetrical city of heaven
I'll meet you in the morning at the end of the way
I will find you at the end of our respective journeys
On the streets of that city of gold
On the streets of the heavenly city full of riches
Where we all can be together and be happy once more
Where we can all be reunited and joyfully together again
While the years and the ages shall roll.
For all time, forever and ever
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@debbirbodner5358
Always loved listening to Jim Ed Brown. What a gifted singer, even though he is gone his music lives forever.❤ Rest with respect
@32a34a
That third verse is some amazing writing. Whoever wrote that has been through the wringer
and not come back. Brilliant writing.
@FXmattFX
Haunting both as a sample and as a complete song. Beautiful in the most devastating way.
@loraschultz772
Love to hear Jim sing this, and a dear friend for years ,he is missed
@TheBrooklynbodine
This came out when I was 7 (I'm 55 now). Still love it to death!
@TheBrooklynbodine
This song even reached the pop charts, but it neither got very far up nor stay on very long, but it did reach the Hot 100.
@dlsofsetx
Beautiful song,one of the all time greats.
@douglaskeller4269
This is certainly one of his absolutely beautiful Country songs he ever done! D. k. Keller absolutely
@marlenematthews9072
Love this song. A great classic!
@bettyboop2946
RIP Jim Ed Brown. Thank you for this song!! Thank you for the love this song evokes.