"The Three Bells", also known as "The Jimmy Brown Song", "Little Jimmy Brown", or simply "Jimmy Brown", is a song made popular by the Browns in 1959. The single reached number one in the U.S. on Billboards Hot C&W Sideschart and the BillboardHot 100 chart. The version by the Browns also hit number ten on Billboards Hot R&B Sides chart. It was based on French-language song "Les trois cloches" written and composed by Swiss artistJean Villard Gilles in 1939, who offered it to Édith Piaf in 1945. Piaf did the first recording of this song, with arrangements by Marc Herrand. This version, interpreted by Édith Piaf together with Les Compagnons de la chanson, was a major hit in 1946. The Englishlyrics were written by Bert Reisfeld and first recorded by the Melody Maids in 1948. The song documents three stages of the life of "Jimmy Brown"—his birth, his marriage, and his death. The Browns' male vocalist, Jim Ed Brown, coincidentally had the same name as the song's character.
Recorded versions
Among the many musicians who covered the song are Tina Arena, Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, Ken Parker, Ray Charles, Nana Mouskouri, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash & the Carter Family, The Tokens, Floyd Cramer, Daniel O'Donnell, Chet Atkins, Elaine Paige, Sha Na Na, Andy Williams, and Alison Krauss & Union Station. It was also recorded in Dutch as "De drie klokken" and "Bim bam", in Italian as "Le Tre Campane" by :it:Schola Cantorum |Schola Cantorum, in Spanish, retaining the title "Jimmy Brown", by the vocal group Mocedades, and in Corsican by I Campagnoli. "The Three Bells", also known as "The Jimmy Brown Song", was also recorded for Decca Records in 1951 by the Andrews Sisters, the World War II boogie-woogie group of sisters: Patty, Maxene & LaVerne. While it did not prove to be the big hit that Billboard predicted it would be for the Andrews Sisters, it was nonetheless a very moving, harmonious rendition, in which the trio was accompanied by Gordon Jenkins' orchestra & chorus. The German title was "Wenn die Glocken hell erklingen". Gene Summers and the Four Stars were performing "The Three Bells" as early as 1954 at all their concerts. Summers released a "live" version of the song on his 2013 CD "Taboo!". The lead singer of The Browns, coincidentally named Jim Ed Brown, re-recorded the song in 1969; this version reached the top 30 on the country charts. In 1974, :cz:Naďa Urbánková|Naďa Urbánková recorded a Czech version, with her own lyrics, as "Zvony nelžou", translated, "The bells never lie". The song was parodied by the Barron Knights as "The Chapel Lead Is Missing" on their 1978 LP Night Gallery. With lyrics in Swedish by Britt Lindeborg, Kikki Danielsson covered the song in 1979 on her debut album, Rock'n Yodel, as "Och vi hörde klockor ringa", translated "And we heard bells ringing".
