Jim Ed Brown, one member of the famous trio, The Browns, succumbed to lung cancer in Nashville on Thursday, June 11th. Only recently he had claimed that he was in remission, but then his cancer suddenly returned.
The Nashville Tennessean newspaper ran a story (which I have linked to below) which OF COURSE does not mention Jim Reeves, or the influence Reeves had on Jim Ed's style of singing. The Browns accompanied Jim on the String Music tours of Fabor Robison for Abbott records, and Mr. Reeves was certain that if something were to happen to him, RCA would try to groom Jim Ed as his replacement.
Subsequent to Reeves' death Jim Ed even called up JR's secretary and said he hoped he didn't sound too much like Gentleman Jim. She replied, "don't worry, you don't."
As I have reported on the Fan Forum over the years, Jim Ed Brown was a business partner of Ed Gregory, the convicted bank fraud felon who ripped off five Alabama banks but somehow managed to stay out of prison. He operated a carnival business and ripped off Mary Reeves when she became ill and the Jim Reeves estate was sold to United Shows of America, Ed's company.
Jim Ed Brown was part of that whole deal, and my husband Larry Jordan has written about Jim Ed's role in the destruction of the Reeves estate in his 672-page book, "Jim Reeves: His Untold Story."
So while the tributes are paid, and rightly so, to the contributions Jim Ed made to the music industry, it must also be remembered that he had a hand in the destruction of Jim Reeves' legacy too. He knew full well Mary had worked for years to preserve all the artifacts of her late singer husband, and that Reeves himself had been a packrat and saved everything for an eventual museum. The notion that Mary would willingly turn all of this over to a carney, to dispose of as he did -- auctioning it off to the highest bidder, and then screwing her out of millions of dollars as she lay ill in a nursing home (then filing bankruptcy with over $30 million in creditors) -- is frankly implausible.
Read the Tennessean story on Jim Ed Brown's passing by clicking the link below. -- JULIE
Visitors to this website know that we pull no punches here and we are not going to sugar coat the truth.
The web is rife tonight with tributes to Jim Ed Brown from people calling him a "great man." It's nice to remember people fondly when they leave this earthly scene, but we all leave a legacy, for good or bad. There is no point in rewriting history IF you are interested in the TRUTH.
A lot of people aren't. They cling to myths because there is safety there. That is not a mature approach to living.
Court testimony established the fact that Jim Ed was on Mr. Gregory's payroll, close associates of mine have told me of witnessing conversations between the two men, Wilma Burgess was furious that when she went to retrieve her personal and career possessions from Mary's warehouse (after Mary became ill), they had been quickly removed -- after she called Jim Ed to make arrangements to have a truck pick them up.
Jim Ed ended up with Jim Reeves' guns because Gregory, as a convicted felon, couldn't own firearms.
There is much to the Jim Ed saga that people in Nashville KNOW, and they are "putting on airs" when they pretend otherwise.
Ask members of the Reeves family if they think Jim Ed helped or hurt Jim Reeves' legacy. But if you can't stand the truth, maybe you'd better refrain from asking.
BTW, when I was a young man visiting my friend Mary Reeves in Nashville many years ago, I had a chance to meet a lot of the biggest stars. Jim Ed was the only one who was ever downright RUDE to me and I have never forgotten how he treated a teenaged boy from Iowa. And that, friends, is a FACT.
Some may find my remarks inappropriate when someone dies, but reading all this b.s. about how honorable this guy was is enough to make one choke.
When a famous person passes away, generally the news media do a profile of their life that encompasses their personal and career activities.
If Bill Clinton were to die, do you not think stories would note that he was the first President to be impeached (but not convicted)? Of course they would.
So why is it that when SOME celebs pass away, all that the media or fans comment on is a small portion of that person's life? Is it not relevant that besides being a member of the Grand Ole Opry, Jim Ed Brown was associated for years in his business dealings with a highly controversial figure named Ed Gregory who was an ex-con and faced further accusations of criminality at the time of his own death? Why is that not relevant to the Brown story?
There are all sorts of aspects to this beyond the Jim Reeves estate, including a dinner theater in the Smoky Mountains. Also scenes that played out in Mr. Gregory's office (as related to me by someone who was associated with Ed for awhile), that portray a very different man than the entertainer people are now eulogizing.
There is a report in the newspaper of a recent hospital scene in which a Grand Ole Opry member visited Mr. Brown in his final days. It was sad and poignant to be sure. But what would fans think if they knew that the VISITOR to Jim Ed's room is a guy who beat up his girlfriend years ago?
As for Jim Ed's sister's book, it is an Alice In Wonderland tome in which she and her brother are always portrayed as the victims and she tells tall tales that are the opposite of what really happened. I can say that with confidence because I interviewed other people who were there when the incidents occurred -- including Mary Reeves, Leo Jackson and other credible people.
Even Jim Ed commented to a visitor to his home in recent years that his sister's book was largely fiction and he vowed to write his own account to set the record straight.
She wrote scathing things about Fabor Robison and accused him of framing her brother, Jim Ed, in a paternity case, in which Brown was arrested during their Abbott days. But I interviewed a well respected record industry man who BROUGHT UP the fact that he and his wife took the young woman in and let her live them them during her pregnancy. He said it was obvious Jim Ed was guilty as sin.
But Jim Ed's sis has won acclaim for her fictionalized book (presented as nonfiction), and that's how history gets distorted. Fabor was no saint, but neither was he the demon that so many people have portrayed him as in print. Myths take on a life of their own and get perpetuated by sloppy writers who accept things at face value and never probe beneath the surface to get at the facts.
In my book, "Jim Reeves: His Untold Story," I tell you the unvarnished truth about a lot of people and events. I just wish Facebook sites and the Nashville media did similarly.
Again, my condolences to Jim Ed's family. I am sure he had many good and even endearing qualities. But he also had a hand in the destruction of Jim Reeves' estate and that is not something for which he should ever be given a free pass, because it was a disgrace.
To read the TRUTH, check out my book by clicking the link below.
I liked the Browns (trio). I never much cared for Jim Ed as a soloist. Never bought any of his records. I do hold it against him for the role he played in damaging Jim Reeves' legacy. And one of the problems with that is that once the damage is done, it cannot be undone. So for me, the legacy of Jim Ed Brown will include his singing with his sisters, and his role in hurting Jim Reeves, Mary, and Jim Reeves' fans.
I've taken a bit of flak from people who thought my remarks inappropriate upon the passing of Jim Ed Brown. I stand by them. We all have to leave this earthly scene sometime, and when we do our lives will be assessed. I wasn't invited to deliver his eulogy; had I been, I would have conformed to the social norms and spoken of him in kindly terms.
But this Fan Forum is a place where we have always delivered the truth to Jim Reeves fans and let the chips fall where they may. I am NOT going to overlook Jim Ed's hands-on, continuing role in the destruction of the Reeves estate with the convicted bank fraud felon who acquired it under questionable circumstances. Mary, meanwhile, was laying in a nursing home with bed sores, her right hand turned back on her wrist, her teeth rotting in her mouth, and nothing in her room to remind her of Jim. Those too were facts we reported in this Fan Forum -- and to ED GREGORY'S credit, he took action in response to our report and helped ease Mary's suffering. Her idiot nephew, who was her court-appointed overseer should have done it, but he was too busy signing all of Mary's assets over to Mr. Gregory before Ed even paid for them (a serious breach of fiduciary responsibility).
So those who want to be empathetic about Jim Ed's last days may want to visualize Mary's suffering and what happened to her at the hands of some con men when she was the most vulnerable. God's mills grind slowly but exceedingly fine...
How do you know he was a man of faith? His actions in helping Gregory victimize Mary Reeves do not connote any sort of Christian virtues that I know of.
Yes, we have all seen the YouTube video of a gracious Jim Ed hosting Mary Reeves along with Leo Jackson, and reminiscing about Gentleman Jim. It's hard for some to believe this is the same man who, years later, participated in the ripoff of the Reeves estate by virtue of his ongoing association with a convicted criminal.
It is astonishing at the whitewash that occurs in Nashville when it comes to certain salient facts about people and events. It is absolutely noteworthy from the sake of historical accuracy and news relevancy that aside from his musical accomplishments, Jim Ed was a long-term associate of a convicted bank fraud felon who, at the time of his own death, was embroiled in numerous controversies alleging ongoing illegal activity.
One is known by the company he keeps.
What I have related here are FACTS, and they should never be forgotten just for the sake of a fairy tale view of someone who unfortunately met his Maker. Death does not cleanse one's misdeeds during their lifetime, though of course I am sure that Jim Ed had many good qualities that endeared him to his family and friends.
I wouldn't be too sure of that. And if it happens, Jim Reeves will probably strike a not-so-angelic repost against Jim Ed for what Jim Ed helped do to Mary.
Perhaps your next poem could be a reflection on how some elderly people are victimized when they are the most vulnerable by some duplicitous individuals for the sake of greed.
on June 11, 2015, 10:11 pm, in reply to "