Maxine Brown Russell of country trio The Browns dead at 87

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Maxine Brown Russell, who together with her brother Jim Ed Brown and sister Bonnie Brown formed the country trio The Browns, has died. She was 87.

Martha Moore, a publicist working with the family, said Russell died surrounded by her family on Monday in hospice care in Little Rock, Arkansas.

A songwriter and singer, Russell and her siblings launched their careers on the “Louisiana Hayride” in the 1950s and had a several chart-topping songs in the ’50s and ’60s, including “The Three Bells,” ”The Old Lamplighter,” ”Scarlet Ribbons,” and “Send Me the Pillow You Dream On.”

They appeared on TV on shows like “The Ed Sullivan Show,” ”American Bandstand” and “The Jerry Lewis Show.”

The Browns were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015.