Jim Ed Brown Remembered For His Christian Faith And Smooth Singing

Mourners gathered Monday morning at Ryman Auditorium to remember Grand Ole Opry member Jim Ed Brown, who died late last week at age 81. He was known for his smooth singing style and performing with his two sisters. “Three Bells” and “Pop-A-Top” were two of his biggest hits.

Ralph Hatcher is a retired Nashville bus driver who used to give riding tours to see the homes of country music stars. When they would pass Brown’s house in Brentwood, Hatcher says Brown always stopped what he was doing.

“He was out cutting grass, working in the yard. The bus would come by, he’d come out and say hi. Most of your stars did that—Roy Acuff, even Johnny Cash, when he was at home,” Hatcher says, noting that today’s stars don’t have the same attitude. “The best is leaving us fast.”

In April, Brown performed for the last time on the Opry. He was first inducted as a member in 1963. The Arkansas-native was only nominated for the Country Music Hall of Fame this year. He died before his formal induction ceremony but was given his medallion while on his deathbed.

To mourners like Sue Wood of Russellville, Ky., her respect for Brown is less about a particular song and more his bygone style.

“The voice was just so soft and gentle. We could understand all their words,” she says. “It’s not the blaring electric guitars.”

Wood was the first person in line to attend Brown’s funeral, setting up camping chairs outside the Ryman several hours before the doors opened. She says attending funerals of the country music greats is “like a step back in time.”