The Three Bells

About The Three Bells

"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 Billboard's Hot C&W Sides chart and the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The version by the Browns also hit number ten on Billboard's Hot R&B Sides chart. It was based on French-language song "Les trois cloches" written and composed by Swiss artist Jean 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 English lyrics 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. more »