Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry member Maxine Brown Russell passed away Monday (January 21) in Little Rock, Arkansas, from complications of heart and kidney disease. Russell was 87 years old and was in hospice care surrounded by family at the time of her death.
Maxine was the last surviving member of the legendary sibling trio The Browns. Maxine, along with her brother, Jim Ed, and sister, Bonnie, rose to fame in the 1950’s with a series of hit songs, including their chart-topping single “The Three Bells.”
The Browns joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1963. Two years later, Jim Ed began recording as a solo artist for RCA Victor. His solo success eventually overshadowed that of the trio and the group disbanded in 1968. Maxine sang lead vocal on the group’s final singles released in 1968, “Big Daddy” and “I Will Bring You Water.” After the group’s split, Maxine signed with Chart Records in 1969, resulting in a small hit with “Sugar Cane County”.
In October 2015, Maxine, Bonnie and Jim Ed were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, just a few months after Jim Ed passed away from lung cancer at the age of 81. Bonnie died the following year at the age of 77.
The heartbreaking news of Maxine’s death was announced on social media Monday (January 21).
https://www.facebook.com/jim.quinton2/posts/10156703196375661
https://www.facebook.com/jimedbrown/posts/10156391389937496
https://www.facebook.com/cma/posts/10156781204761271
Russell was preceded in death 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 and two great-grandchildren.
Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.