Chords for The Browns in the Hall of Fame

[A] _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ Their sound was whimsical [E] and magical.
Their [D] sweet voice blend [A] was a one-in-a-million union [G] of [D] three pleasing voice tones that fit each other like a glove.
_ During the [B] largest part of the 1950s and 60s, America [Db] knew of no greater sounding [Gb] harmony trio than the Browns,
[Db] Jim [Bb] Edd, and his beautiful sisters Maxine and Bonnie, a singing team who came [Eb] to the country music world from Pine Grove, Arkansas,
with [Ebm] ambitious [Em] drive and infectious talent.
Throughout their 13 [Eb]-year run in country and pop [G] music, the Browns championed close sibling [D] harmony better than just about [C] any other singing group of their day.
[E] Starting as a duo of [G] Jim Edd and Maxine for two years, [E] and then bringing younger sister Bonnie on [A] board in early 1955 to [D] become a trio act,
the Browns were hard-working troopers who pioneered country music performance,
[G] traveling a [D] lot in the early years with greats like Elvis Presley and Jim Reeves,
[G] performing as regulars on such shows as the legendary radio broadcast, Louisiana [D] Hayride,
and later the very popular [E] ABC television show, Red Foley's Ozark Jubilee. _
They began their recording career with Faber Records [B] produced by Faber Robinson from [A] Shreveport,
having two top-tech [D] records with the label, both now considered pinky classics,
[A] a novelty number, [B] Looking Back to See, [C] and a beautiful ballad, You're Today and Gone Tomorrow, both songs composed by Maxine [F] Brown.
It wasn't long until Jim Reeves persuaded the trio to [C] sign a record deal with the mighty RCA Victor label following [G] he and her former circuit traveling buddy Elvis.
Signing to Victor was a [E] dream come true for the Browns, [Bm] but they would realize a [E] roller coaster adventure [A] in their career for the next 11 years.
Their first single release for the label, [D] I Take the Chance written by Ira Levin and [E] Maxine,
was a smash hit and one of the biggest records for the year of 1956.
_ _ [D] A [Gbm] string of successes [E] followed that kept them on country radio, including an [B] eternal favorite, [E] I Heard the Bluebirds [A] Sing,
but when Jim Ed was drafted to a two-year tour in New [E] York, it affected the momentum of the popular trio's success.
By 1959, the Browns were getting discouraged and ready to give up performing for good.
They found [A] a gem of a song just in time to halt their plans for retirement, [E] The Three Bells, known by many simply as the [Gbm] Jimmy Brown [D] Song.
_ _ Their genius producer, Chet Atkins, with Anita Kerr, assisted the Browns in an arrangement and performance that would prove to be solid gold.
_ It was the first Nashville sound recording [G] to cross over to the pop [D] charts and reach number [Em] one.
That [Gbm] is, [G] number one for four weeks, ten weeks on the country charts, and also to the top of the R&B rankings.
After a successful career in the music business, [D] selling three million copies for RCA and the Browns,
this is a monumental success story in country music [B] history.
Two [Am] more crossover smashes followed, [Dm] Scarlet [Eb] Ribbons for her hair and The Old [Am] Lamp Lighter.
[G] And soon the Browns were seen on The Ed Sullivan [D] Show, numerous appearances on [B] the American Bandstand,
the Arthur Murray Dance Party, and many other notable programs in America [G] and England. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Em] _ _ In the [A] recording studio, the [C] Browns continued creating pure magic [D] with the guidance of Chet Atkins
and backed [G] by the very best musicians in the Nashville recording [Em] scene.
They continued to record country [Bm] songs but also waxed many sensational [B] performances in the pop style of the day
[E] that sounded so authentically pop [B] that reaction from peers was mixed,
and they also found resentment from country disc jockeys around [Gb] the nation
who refused to spin the trio because they were too pop.
At the same time, [B] many pop DJs were boycotting the Browns because they had been a country [Em] act.
[A] The Browns found themselves between [G] a rock and a hard [A] place but just persevered
and kept creating [Em] masterpiece [A] cuts in the studio with a string [Em] of successful albums
[A] that had them [D] delving into folk and sacred genres in addition to a consistent [A] mix of pop and [D] country.
By [G] 1961 all three [A] Browns were [D] married and Maxine and Bonnie were mothers
[C] and the group's personal appearance [G] tour became sporadic and challenging.
[C] In 1963 they happily returned to their [Bm] country roots and became members of the Grand Ole Opry.
They enjoyed success with a string of [G] great charting hit [D] singles through the [G] 1960s including
Then I'll [F] Stop Loving You, Meadow Green, [Db] I'd Just Be Cool Enough, and You [Ab] Can't Grow Peaches on [D] a Cherry [G] Tree.
Jim Edd began recording [A] separately from the Browns as a solo in [D] 1965
[C] while still touring, recording and making opry appearances [G] with his sisters.
But when it became ever more difficult [Em] for the young mothers to leave [Dm] their small [C] children behind to work
they began to consider [Eb] retirement to their private life for good.
On February 10, [Bb] 1967, [Eb] the Browns, [Ab] by then one [Ebm] of the most well [Bb]-known and well-loved singing groups in [G] the music business
recorded their final [Cm] session for RCA at the [F] new Studio A.
_ _ [D] _
_ _ _ [G] On October 7, 1967, [D] they performed a farewell performance to the gathered National Disc Jockey Convention delegates
[G] some of their longtime friends among [A] them, a special medley of some of the best [D]-loved songs of their career [F] together
just after Bonnie and then [Bb] Maxine tearfully announced the [F] news of their decision to retire. _
_ _ [C] The Browns had won every [F] award that the industry offered a singing [Bb] group including four Grammy [F] nominations. _
One [C] of those they lost to [F] some young men they had met in [Gm] England [A] five years [C] earlier
and enjoyed an evening at a Liverpool pub, [Dm] The Beatles, with their A Hard Day's [G] Night album.
_ _ _ _ [C] _ _
Now [D] this vibrant and much-loved group was out [C] of the business of [G] creating fabulous music.
News of their breakup reached their [C] fans and many would years later tell Maxine [D] and Bonnie
that they were heartbroken by the [G] retirement from the music business.
But with that, the saga of the Browns was not [A] over.
Jim Edd continued to record solo with [G] great success including [D] the wildly popular Ska-Ka [G]-Top
which is considered the beer drinker's [C] anthem.
During [G] the decades [F] after, the Browns made an number of reunion appearances on the opera
and in the 80s several TV appearances [C] on the national network.
Thinking [G] their fans had forgotten them and their work as part of [C] the Browns,
Maxine and Bonnie [D] were delighted to hear [G] from fans who say they had never stopped loving [C] their fabulous and classic [D] recordings.
Many of these people [C] began demanding reissues from RCA [G] and in 1993,
Bear Family Records [D] unveiled a beautiful treasury, [G] a box set containing [C] eight CDs
including their complete Faber and RCA [Gb] Victor recorded catalog.
[B] This box set is still selling well [Db] around the world
and new fans are discovering the pristine works of [B] perfection that is [Gb] the body of work [G] of the Browns.
In 2005, [C]
Maxine released her [G] autobiography and story of the Browns titled
[A] Looking Back to [D] See, a [G] Country Music Memoir
and it has been [C] very successful right up to this day.
[G] It is a terrific read and a fascinating honest look at the state of the music business in the 1950s and [N] 60s.
_ [G] _
_ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
[Gb] In very recent years, the Browns are realizing a [G] growing army of fans and supporters,
many of them born after their retirement and who found [D] and fell in love with their great music.
_ _ _ [E] _
_ [A] _ [Gm] The act of [C] Jim Ad, Maxine and Bonnie, [F] the [Ab] Browns have been under consideration for some years
[C] by the Hall of Fame Election Board and they were among the five [F] nominees for the past two years.
Now, [G] these fans are united in a push to get the Browns finally into their rightful and deserved [C] place
in the Hall of Fame's Hallowood Rotunda.
[Bb] _ _ [F] _ _ The greatness of their recorded body of work [C] and their accomplishments
of unprecedented success in the recording industry
and their having taken to parts of the world that have never heard it before
are just a few of the [Db] many reasons why the Country Music Hall of [Ab] Fame beckons the Browns.
[Eb] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Ab] _ _ _ _ _
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