1) The Browns were … Read Full Bio ↴There are three bands under the name The Browns.
1) The Browns were an American family singing group from Pine Bluff, Arkansas made up of Jim Ed Brown and his sisters, Maxine Brown and Bonnie Brown.
Country music singers, they sang individually at rural venues until 1954 when Maxine Brown, and younger brother Jim Ed, signed a record contract as a singing duo. Eighteen-year-old Bonnie joined the group in 1955, and the following year they were signed by Chet Atkins, RCA Victor Records producer in Nashville, Tennessee. The family trio recorded several songs that met with only modest success until 1959, when their 45 rpm folk single called "The Three Bells" was a no. 1 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 pop music and country music charts. Based on a song called "Les trois cloches," the song was originally a hit in France for both the group Les Compagnons de la chanson and Édith Piaf.
The Browns followed up the success of "The Three Bells" with "Scarlet Ribbons" and "The Old Lamplighter," recordings that also did very well on both the pop and country music charts. With an international following, The Browns toured Europe extensively and recorded further moderate successes on the country music charts. In 1963, they became part of the Grand Ole Opry.
In 1965, Jim Ed Brown began working on a solo career, and in 1967 the trio formally disbanded. Jim Ed continued to record for RCA and had a number of country hits starting in 1965 while still with The Browns. In 1967, he released his first solo top 10 with "Pop A Top" which became his signature song. In 1970, he gained a crossover hit with "Morning" which went to number 4 on the country charts and number 47 on the pop charts. Other hits for Jim Ed included "Angel's Sunday"(1971), "Southern Loving"(1973), "Sometime Sunshine"(1974) and "It's That Time Of Night"(1974). In 1976, he released a string of major duet hits with Helen Cornelius starting with the #1 hit "I Don't Wanna 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"(1979), "Lying In Love With You"(1979), "Fools"(1979), "Morning Comes Too Early"(1980), and "Don't Bother To Knock"(1981).
Jim Ed has also hosted the syndicated country shows Jim Ed Brown's Country Place, and Nashville On The Road. On The Nashville Network he hosted the talent show You Can Be A Star, and the travel show Going Our Way which featured his wife, Becky, where they went traveling to different places in an RV.
Maxine Brown briefly had a solo career during the late 1960's releasing an album and single for Chart Records titled "Sugar Cane Country".
In 2006, the Browns reunited to perform "The Old Lamplighter" and "The Three Bells" for the PBS special, Country Pop Legends.
2) A horror-themed punk band. Formed in 1998, they played consistently for a year and a half around Western Canada, opening for The New Bomb Turks, Nashville Pussy, AFI, and Good Riddance. In the spring of 1998 the band self-released their first album "Getting Jiggy with The Browns". At this time, the line up was much different; Charlie - Guitar & Vocals, Emmett - Guitar, Leroy - Bass, Freddy - Drums and Lucy - Keyboards.
During the summer of 1998 Lucy and Emmet left the band, Freddy moved to Guitar and a new drummer named ODB began performing live shows, a new keyboard player was not sought out. Also around this time Charlie gave up his guitar duties and focused solely on lead vocals.
In 1999 Meter Records (Canada) released "Greatest Hits Volume One." Shortly after the release The Motherfucking Browns played what they said was their "final" show (summer of 1999) much to the dismay of both Meter Records and the Western Canadian music scene.
In 2000 Middle Man Records (USA) released a split 7" record with The Motherfucking Browns and John Q. Public. The Motherfucking Browns contributed a song from their 1999 album; "Lady, Stay Dead!" alongside a cover of "Bullet" a cover by the influential horror-rock band The Misfits.
2003 saw the release of Tony Hawk's Underground, video game for all major gaming platforms. Alongside bands like Kiss and Social Distortion, The Motherfucking Browns contributed a censored version of their song: "American Werewolf in Calgary". Tony Hawk's Underground went on to win several awards as a groundbreaking video game in 2003.
With the success of Tony Hawk's Underground a new website for the band was announced as well as a new myspace site. Both sites confirmed The Motherfucking Browns were performing with a new line-up: Charlie - Vocals, Eddie - Guitar, James - Bass, Joe - Drums.
2004 saw the release of "And Now the Screaming Starts!" on Meter Records (Canada). After much publicity, and several live shows in the Mid West USA, Horror High Records released their single "The Scream on Halloween" on their "Prom Queen Massacre" compilation, featuring other horror-rock bands such as Blitzkid and Calabrese.
After nearly three years of no activity Meter Records reported that The Motherfucking Browns have returned with the original line up that played on "Greatest Hits Volume One" (except ODB who had since passed away, and replaced by Chow Yun). In the fall of 2007 The Motherfucking Browns played a triumphant "comeback" show in their hometown of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Performing alongside fellow horror rockers Forbidden Dimension. In an interview with Beatroute Magazine a new album for 2008 was announced.
The band is known for their abrasive stage shows, wearing Balaclava ski masks on stage, and songs primarily about horror movies. Charlie Brown is also a contributing writer for horror website www.killerfilm.com
"The best band in the fucking world, you fuckers!"
3) The Browns, a gospel-influenced band, exude excitement on the stage and offer a life-changing experience to all who hear them. The Browns deliver the powerful message of the gospel through word and song that engage audiences of all ages.
The Browns have been touring across the United States since the group began its full-time ministry nine years ago. The heralded group began on the local and state level and has expanded and grown into a national touring group.
This year The Browns received the prestigious honor of Top 10 Mixed Group of the Year for the second year in a row. The Browns will be attending the Singing News Magazine fan awards at the National Quartet Convention in Louisville, KY. “It started out with the Singing News magazine fans voting for the top ten,” Michaela said. “We had no idea we were up for this ward until we got an e-mail to tell us. We were up with some wonderful groups. This honor is very rewarding coming from the fans and knowing that we’ve touched their hearts or ministered to them in some way.” Previously The Browns had been awarded the Top Horizon Group of the Year for 3 consecutive years.
The group has finished their newest recording at the Sound Kitchen and Daywind Studios in Nashville, TN with Grammy award winning producer, Bubba Smith. ”A New Day” will be the Browns 10th national CD release. The newest single on the album has just climbed to #25 on the national radio charts. It is written by group member Jessica, and her fiance, Nick Trammell intitled “It’s A God Thing”.
Scarlett Ribbons
The Browns Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I heard my child in prayer.
She said, "And for me some scarlet ribbons,
Scarlet ribbons for my hair."
All the stores were closed and shuttered,
And all the streets were dark and bare.
In our town, no scarlet ribbons,
Through the night my heart was aching.
And just before the dawn was breaking,
I peeked in and on her bed,
In gay profusion lying there,
Lovely ribbons, scarlet ribbons.
Scarlet ribbons for her hair.
If I live to be a hundred,
I will never, never know from where,
Came those lovely scarlet ribbons,
Scarlet Ribbons for her hair.
Scarlet ribbons, there's magic in the air.
Scarlet, scarlet ribbons for her hair.
The song, "Scarlet Ribbons" by The Browns feat. Jim Ed Brown, tells the story of a parent who hears their child pray for some scarlet ribbons to wear in their hair, but finds that all the stores in town have closed and there are no ribbons available. The parent spends the night heartbroken until the early hours of the morning when they peek into their child's room and find, to their delight, that there are now scarlet ribbons lying on the bed in gay profusion. The parent muses that they will never know where the ribbons came from.
On one level, the song is a heartwarming story of a parent's love for their child and the lengths they will go to make them happy. The image of the scarlet ribbons becomes a symbol of the magic and mystery of life, as well as the power of faith and love to bring unexpected blessings.
Line by Line Meaning
You know I peeked in to say goodnight,
I looked into my child's room to say goodnight.
When I heard my child in prayer.
While I was in her room, I heard her pray.
She said, "And for me some scarlet ribbons,
The child prayed to have some scarlet ribbons.
Scarlet ribbons for my hair."
To be specific, she wanted scarlet ribbons for her hair.
All the stores were closed and shuttered,
Unfortunately, all the stores were already closed and shuttered.
And all the streets were dark and bare.
The streets were likewise empty and lacking of any activity.
In our town, no scarlet ribbons,
In this town, there were no scarlet ribbons available.
Not one ribbon for her hair.
There was no ribbon for the child's hair and to no avail.
Through the night my heart was aching.
All through the night, the singer's heart was saddened.
And just before the dawn was breaking,
Right before the break of dawn,
I peeked in and on her bed,
The singer looked once again into the child's bed.
In gay profusion lying there,
There, in abundance, were lovely and colorful ribbons lying on the bed.
Lovely ribbons, scarlet ribbons.
The ribbons were really lovely and scarlet.
Scarlet ribbons for her hair.
Finally, the child's desire for scarlet ribbons for her hair has been fulfilled.
If I live to be a hundred,
Even if the singer lives until the age of a hundred,
I will never, never know from where,
He will never be able to figure out from where,
Came those lovely scarlet ribbons,
The singer will never know where those lovely scarlet ribbons came from.
Scarlet Ribbons for her hair.
Those lovely ribbons were specifically intended for the child's hair.
Scarlet ribbons, there's magic in the air.
There's something magical in those lovely scarlet ribbons.
Scarlet, scarlet ribbons for her hair.
The final line repeats the child's request for lovely and scarlet ribbons.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: EVELYN DANZIG, JACK SEGAL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MsMamabear42
Another beautiful childhood memory....my Mother had such a lovely voice and she would sing this to me every night at bed time when I was a little girl
nowvoyagerNE
60-some years ago my mother sang this song too.
musicman201047
Of all the versions of this song I have heard by various artists,this one by the Browns is by far the best.... it is to this kind of music to which I write, create my own songs,stories,poetry as it plays in the background.
Let Your L⚡️GHT Forever Shine ❤️
For me Jimmie Rodgers version had more deep emotion & intensity.
Trebor Eclap
Nothing like the Browns around anymore. They were awesome!
Rick Via
When I was a toddler, My Ma would play this for me. - this from the Browns on a Sivertone record player. She would explain the story. I will never forget that. I Love and miss You Ma.
Denise Culton
So many have done this! I must have listened to 8 different ones last 2 days. Jimmie Rogers,Kingston Trio,and more. I see a couple yet to hear! Lovely song!
Cats&Company
My brother signed up for the U. S. Marines @ Camp Pendleton! Gave all his 45’s to his slimy girlfriend, I, at 5 years old begged for his records but no, she got at least 100, of them…all but this one! It reminded me of my late brother! I got this one & still have it! It’s going to my son one day! My very first favorite song! Loved it! Still do!
ridho purnomo
wonderful,good harmony,sounds feel warm...thank's for posting this.in past day,I was think only The cats sang this beautiful song......
Maxine Russell
This is a follow up to The Three Bells. It also sold well over a million, I have some great memories associated with this song...(Maxine)