Some our greatest music and inspiring stories come from country music legends, so I was honored to catch up with Grand Ole Opry star, CMA winner, radio host, and country music icon Jim Ed Brown for my podcast Whine At 9. Brown began making music history six decades ago and he’s barely slowed down. With chart-topping songs, television appearances on landmark shows like American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show, and recognition for his work as a trio, duet and solo artist, Jim Ed Brown has made a uniquely special imprint in country music. And now, the 51-year veteran of the Grand Ole Opry and host of ‘Country Music Greats Radio Show’ has released his first solo album in 30 years, ‘In Style Again’.
The 80-year-old artist’s career history sounds like a beautiful country music song where great talent, family collaboration, hard work, and wonderful opportunities collide. With respect to landing country music success, Jim Ed Brown is modest. “Well, you know what, it was accidentally really. I think the good Lord just opened the door and I walked in or something,” chuckles Brown.
Jim Ed Brown’s new album ‘In Style Again’ is now available on iTunes and Amazon.
The music bug hit Brown and his siblings early. “Actually, I grew up on a farm and we had a little battery operated radio–you’ve heard this story many times–but this is very true. On Saturday night, if it was a clear night, we could hear the Grand Ole Opry. Well, Maxine [Brown’s sister] and I, whenever we got a little bigger, we’d save up our money. And it only cost a quarter to buy the song books from Bill Monroe and Roy Acuff and Ernest Tubb and those people. And we’d save up a quarter and we’d order that song book and then whenever they’d sing those songs in it we would sing along with them.”
Brown attributes the spark for his country music journey to those music-inspired nights on the farm in Arkansas. “That’s kind of what started it all, and then I entered an amateur contest in Little Rock Arkansas. Didn’t win, but they invited me to come back again. And then I invited Maxine up on stage with me to sing a duet. And from that day on, it was a duet. And we wrote a song called ‘Looking Back to See’ which got us started. That was our first hit and our first song that we recorded. So that started the whole career.”
The legendary country music star is like an encyclopedia of fascinating Nashville facts. “When I started there weren’t any arenas. There was football fields, but they would only hold three or four or five hundred people at the most… We played a lot of high school auditoriums and things like that–a lot of churches… but boy, it has changed.” Brown has embraced the change and continues to be a constant presence within the country music scene. He counts younger country artists like Vince Gill (whose vocals can be heard on the track ‘Tried & True’ from Brown’s new album), Craig Morgan, and Blake Shelton among his friends. Says Brown, “What a pleasure it is whenever you can have all these peers around you and you like what they are doing and enjoy it… I think it’s great what they’re doing. I can’t believe that we went from whenever we started out, there were 78 radio stations around the country that played country music. And now it’s up in the thousands, you know. And these boys and girls are going out here playing stadium tours. Golly, can you believe that? They’re pulling 50 thousand–60 thousand people.”
Jim Ed Brown admits that he’s been on the Grand Ole Opry stage more times than he can count. “I don’t know that I could go back and count them all. I don’t even know that the Opry keeps the record that long… I would have to say I’ve been on the Opry at least 30-35-40 times a year for… 51-52 years.”
And Brown’s not slowing down in the least. From album promotion to a new tour schedule, his plate is still full of music making. And he’s also keeping up with his younger colleagues on social media. When I complimented Brown on having the best #ThrowbackThursday photo on Facebook, I also quizzed him about it. What were he and his sisters doing sitting in a restaurant booth with Elvis Presley? “You know what? We started Elvis. Way back in 1954, Maxine and I had already recorded ‘Looking Back to See’, and we had been working on some places in South Arkansas, and Louisiana, and Texas, and around. And Bob Neal, who was his manager… he was a disc jockey in Memphis, Tennessee and he was managing Elvis at the time, he called and said, ‘Why don’t you kids–I know you’re doing some things, you know, by yourself–why don’t you get Elvis and you all could do better.’ So we did. We hired him. We paid him 50 dollars a day and paid Scotty and Bill [the now legendary guitarists who accompanied Elvis] 25 dollars a day.” When I confess this just might be my favorite music story ever, Brown’s matter-of-fact attitude is endearing. “Well, you know, that’s just part of history I guess,” chuckles the Opry star. And that is exactly why it’s so easy to love Jim Ed Brown.
Listen to Nancy’s interview with Jim Ed Brown here, on iTunes, or Stitcher Radio.
Nancy Berk, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, author, comic and entertainment analyst. The host of the showbiz podcast Whine At 9, Nancy digs a little deeper as she chats with fascinating celebrities and industry insiders. Her book College Bound and Gagged: How to Help Your Kid Get into a Great College Without Losing Your Savings, Your Relationship, or Your Mind can be seen in the feature film Admission starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd.
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