Country Music Hall Of Famer Maxine Brown Russell passes at 87

Country Music Hall of Fame Member Maxine Brown Russell Passes

In Little Rock With Family By Her Side

Maxine Brown Russell - Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Nashville, TN (January 21, 2019) - Maxine Brown Russell, the vivacious entertainer, mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, and friend passed at Bowman Hospice in Little Rock, Arkansas on Monday January 21, 2019 from complications of heart and kidney disease at the age of 87. Her family was by her side.

Born April 27, 1931 in Campti, Louisiana, Russell was predeceased by her parents, Floyd and Birdie Brown, sisters Bonnie Ring and Norma Sullivan, brothers Jim Ed Brown and Raymond Brown, and her son, Tommy H. Russell, Jr.  She is survived by two children, Jimmy Russell (Mary) and Alicia Short (Curtis), six grandchildren (Caitlin, Daniel, Meredith, Eva, Patrick, and Katherine), and two great-grandchildren (Atlas and Aina).

As one-third of the popular Country trio The Browns, Maxine enjoyed a lengthy career that spanned the 1950s and '60s. The group released multiple "million-sellers," including "The Three Bells" (>> YouTube), "The Old Lamplighter," "Scarlet Ribbons," and "Send Me The Pillow You Dream On."

As a songwriter, her first taste of success came with The Browns' release of "Looking Back To See."

Maxine was the "cut up" of the globally-renowned trio, and always the life of the party during the group's tours, including jaunts in the U.K and Japan. The Browns joined The Grand Ole Opry in 1963 and appeared on hit television shows of the day, including: The Ed Sullivan Show, The Arthur Murray Show, The Perry Como Show, American Bandstand with Dick Clark, and The Jerry Lewis Show.

In 2012, Russell was awarded the Ella Dicky Literary Award for her 2005 autobiography, Looking Back To See. 
The Browns were proud members of The Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame, The Arkansas Walkway of Stars, The Missouri Walkway of Stars, and recipient of aLifetime Achievement Award from The Arkansas Country Music Hall of Fame. 

In 2015, The Browns were inducted into the prestigious Country Music Hall of Fame.

Funeral services are being planned and will be announced soon.

The Browns: The Three Bells (8-CD) Bear Family Records

8-CD boxed set (LP-size) with 40-page book, 258 tracks. Playing time approx. 616 mins.

The Browns, Jim Ed and sisters Maxine and Bonnie, rose to the top of the country and pop charts in 1959 with their recording of 'The Three Bells'. One of the finest harmony groups in country music, the Browns were part of the transition from hillbilly music to the Nashville sound, with a little rock 'n' roll on the side. This retrospective covers the Browns from their earliest recordings for Fabor in 1954, including the hit Looking Back To See, and follows their RCA career through such giant hits as I Heard The Bluebirds Sing, I Take The Chance, The Old Lamplighter, Scarlet Ribbonsand of course The Three Bells under producer-guitarist Chet Atkins's guiding hand. This is essential listening for those who love close family harmony singing.