#77
Helen Cornelius
The grand tradition of the male-female duet is a long and storied one in country music history. Porter & Dolly. Johnny & June. Loretta & Conway. If you look at the list of award-winning duos during the seventies, you’ll see plenty of familiar faces. But one duo – Jim Ed Brown & Helen Cornelius – has been largely forgotten, which is a shame, since their backstory is almost as interesting as their music.
Helen Cornelius was a songwriter first. Her husband encouraged her in the craft, pushing her to keep writing and eventually moving with her and their three kids to Music City. Her talent was soon discovered, and she became a staff writer for Screen Gems in 1970. That same year, she was a winner on The Ted Mack Amateur Hour. By the time her publishing company folded, production legend Jerry Crutchfield had heard her demo tape and offered to sign her to MCA Records.
She opted for Columbia instead, but her singles failed to chart. In 1975, she signed with RCA Records, and again, her singles went nowhere. However, Cornelius wasn’t the only struggling artist on the RCA Roster. Jim Ed Brown, an Opry member since 1963 and a country star for nearly two decades, had been on the label since the fifties. As a member of family act The Browns, he’d spent ten weeks at #1 with “The Three Bells” in 1959. As a solo artist, he’d had his biggest hit in 1967 with “Pop a Top.” By 1976, he was struggling to have a hit at all.
RCA decided to team up Brown with Cornelius. They released their first duet, “I Don’t Want to Have to Marry You”, and it soared to the top of the charts. Cornelius and Brown each continued to release solo singles over the next four years, but radio only played their duets, of which they had quite a few. They even co-hosted the nationally syndicated television show Nashville on the Road for more than four years.
Unfortunately, their success on stage and on record led to tension at home. Brown’s wife filed for divorce in 1979, alluding to Brown’s relationship with Cornelius. In 1980, Cornelius also divorced her first husband. When Brown attempted to become romantic with Cornelius, she refused, and as legend has it, he threw her off the tour bus and refused to perform with her again. From the Opry stage, he begged his wife to come back to him.
By the time the dust had settled, both Brown and Cornelius were dropped by RCA. Brown returned to the Opry, while Cornelius attempted to establish a solo career. Radio might not have been interested, but she had built up a good name as a performer by the early eighties, and she was able to sustain a solid touring career. She even headlined a touring production of Annie Get Your Gun.
She has reunited from time to time with Brown, but also established her own successful ventures over the years, including a dinner theater in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the nineties. Earlier this decade, she co-starred in the Grand Ladies of Music Show in Branson with such peers as Margo Smith, Jean Shepard and Jan Howard. Currently, she is touring the country, doing some dates with Brown and some on her own.
Helen Cornelius
Essential Singles (Jim Ed Brown & Helen Cornelius)
- “I Don’t Want to Have to Marry You”, 1976
- “Saying Hello, Saying I Love You, Saying Goodbye”, 1976
- “Lying in Love With You”, 1979
- “Fools”, 1979
- “Morning Comes Too Early”, 1980
Essential Albums
- I Don’t Want to Have to Marry You (1976)
Industry Awards
- CMA Vocal Duo – Jim Ed Brown & Helen Cornelius, 1977
I’ve seen Helen Cornelius on three occasions, one with Jim Ed Brown and twice as a solo act, most recently in 2003. She is an energetic performer who still (as of 2003) puts on a good show but really isn’t a top-flight vocalist. Her recordings with JEB are far superior to anything she did as a solo act. The JEB-HC pair was not a pairing of equals, it was of a slightly faded star with a virtual unknown, a pairing that breathed some life into both careers for a brief period of time. Of the woman you have listed in your top 100, Ms Cornelius would be somewhere around #99 in my estimation
I can remember listening to Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius during my weekly trips to my grandmother’s house. Their voices meshed well together…a great duo! On another note, I really am enjoying this series of articles on the greatest women of Country. As a man, I know that I’m in the minority when I say that I LOVE to listen to the women of country more so than the men. As a genre, country music is blessed with some of the most talented ladies whose voices bring comfort, soul, harmony and beauty to our lives. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
I totally disagree with the last comment. Helen Cornelius has always been able to sing on her own without support. She is what is referred to in the business as a singers’ singer!
I enjoy jim ed brown but he’s always had to have support to be noticed (with the exception of pop-a-top which of course was unknown outside of the US), and that was either with Helen or with his sisters, who are far superior singers than he!
Sorry that was meant to read that I disagree with the first comment by Paul W!
ola, kiss…bie
I saw Helen and Jim Ed at the Opry they where awesome
Actually, Jim Ed didn’t throw her off of the bus.. He threw some of her clothes off of the bus. Other things happened as well.. He didn’t take her rejection well..
After the Nashville On The Road contract was up at the end of 1980, I was her drummer for about a year.. I heard all of the little tales about that deal.
She had one helluva voice, but hard to sing harmony with.. She had perfect pitch so while we thought we were sounding great, she’d say something wasn’t right.. We had no idea who was out.. But other than that, she was great to work for… unless her hubby Jerry started his nonsense and get her upset.. But that was then and this is now.. Was a fun ride.
Nice and very interseting post you’ve got here
You’re right, Wayne. He didn’t throw her off the bus. He did throw her stage clothes off the bus after he’d destroyed most of them. I could go on and on about this, but won’t. I actually thought they were very good singing together. But other than that, they weren’t very good together.