Billboard #1 Hits: #18:”The Three Bells”- The Browns.- August 24, 1959- 4 weeks. Released on RCA Victor. Written by Jean Villard Gilles and Bert Reisfeld : Genre: Countrypolitan. Time: 2:47. B-side:”Heaven Fell Last Night” Grade: A-

“The Three Bells” was the first and biggest hit from The Browns-featuring Jim Ed Brown and his sisters Maxine and Bonnie from Sparkman, Arkansas. From 1959-61 they would have 7 Hot 100 pop hits the first three making the Top 40.  They would chart 21 country hits from 1954-67. “The Three Bells” was a French tune written in 1945 called “Les Trois Cloches.” Edith Piaf was the first to record the song. The Browns version which spent 4 weeks in the top spot in the US- peaked at #6 in the UK New Musical Express chart.