Editing Junior Brown

{{Short description|American country guitarist and singer|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{For|the English soccer player|Junior Brown (footballer)}}
{{BLP sources|date=July 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name                = Junior Brown
| image               = Junior Brown Photo Ron Baker.jpg
| caption             = Brown with his guit-steel at<br>Antone's in [[Austin, Texas]], 2006
| image_size          =
| landscape           = Yes
| background          = solo_singer
| birth_name          = Jamieson Brown
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1952|6|12}}
| birth_place =[[Cottonwood, Arizona]], US<ref name="juniorbrown1">{{cite web|url=http://www.juniorbrown.com/junior-browns-bio/biography-of-junior-brown |title=JR Brown (GuitSteel & Vocals) |publisher=Juniorbrown.com |access-date=4 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130924012801/http://juniorbrown.com/junior-browns-bio/biography-of-junior-brown |archive-date=September 24, 2013 }}</ref>
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| instrument          = {{hlist|"Guit-steel"|vocals}}
| genre               = [[Texas country music|Texas country]], [[neotraditional country]], [[outlaw country]], [[country rock]], [[Americana (music)|americana]], ameripolitan, [[western swing]], [[honky-tonk]], [[rockabilly]], [[rock and roll]], [[Surf music|surf rock]], [[boogie-woogie]]
| occupation          = Musician, singer-songwriter, actor
| years_active        = 1960s–present
| label               = [[Curb Records|Curb]], [[Telarc]]
| associated_acts     = [[Hank Thompson (musician)|Hank Thompson]]
| website             = {{URL|juniorbrown.com}}
}}

'''Jamieson "Junior" Brown''' (born June 12, 1952)<ref>{{cite news |title= Today in history |publisher= [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date= June 12, 2014 |url= https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/today-history-24100059?singlePage=true |agency= [[Associated Press]]}}</ref> is an American [[country music|country]] guitarist and singer. He has released twelve studio albums in his career, and has charted twice on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Hot Country Songs|country singles charts]]. Brown's signature instrument is the "guit-steel" [[double neck guitar]], a hybrid of electric guitar and [[lap steel guitar]].

==Life and career==
Brown was born in [[Cottonwood, Arizona]]; at an early age his family moved to [[Kirksville, Indiana]].<ref name="juniorbrown1"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cmt.com/artists/az/brown_junior/bio.jhtml|title=CMT.com : Junior Brown : Biography|date=February 27, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227034135/https://www.cmt.com/artists/az/brown_junior/bio.jhtml |accessdate=May 29, 2023|archive-date=February 27, 2009 }}</ref> He first learned to play piano from his father (Samuel Emmons Brown Jr.) "before I could talk". His music career began in the 1960s, and he worked through that decade and the next singing and playing pedal steel and guitar for groups such as The Last Mile Ramblers, Dusty Drapes and the Dusters, Billy Spears and [[Asleep at the Wheel]] while developing his guitar skills.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} In the early 1980s, he appeared on stage with [[Rank and File (band)|Rank and File]] as the replacement for [[Alejandro Escovedo]]. However, he did not feature on any recordings by that band.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

By the mid-1980s, Brown was teaching guitar at the [[Hank Thompson (music)|Hank Thompson]] School of Country Music at [[Rogers State University]], in [[Claremore, Oklahoma]].

In 1985, Brown created a new type of [[double-neck guitar]], with some assistance from Michael Stevens.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stevensguitars.com/models/guit-steel/|title=Guit-Steel|website=Stevensguitars.com|date=April 3, 2009|access-date=March 7, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.premierguitar.com/gear/reviews/those-daring-young-men-and-their-doubleneck-guitars-a-brief-history-of-multi-neck-players|title=Those Daring Young Men and Their Doubleneck Guitars: A Brief History of Multi-Neck Players - Premier Guitar|website=Premierguitar.com|access-date=March 7, 2023}}</ref> Brown called the instrument his "guit-steel". When performing, Brown plays the guitar by standing behind it, while it rests on a small [[music stand]]. The top neck on the guit-steel is a traditional six-string guitar, while the lower neck is a full-size [[lap steel|lap steel guitar]] for slide playing. Brown has two guit-steels for recording and live work. The original instrument, dubbed "Old Yeller", has as its standard six-string guitar portion the neck and pickups from Brown's previous stage guitar, a [[Fender Bullet]]. The second guit-steel, named "Big Red", has a neck laser-copied from the Bullet neck; but in addition to electric guitar pickups, both the standard and lap-steel necks use identical [[Sho-Bud]] lap-steel pickups. There is a pocket in the upper bout of the guitar to hold the slide bar when it is not in use. Brown also commissioned a "pedal guit-steel" which adds pedals to the instrument for more musical control.<ref name="americanamusicshow.com">{{Cite web|url=https://americanamusicshow.com/junior-brown/|title=Junior Brown - Interview and Music|first=Calvin|last=Powers|website=Americanmusicshow.com|date=November 26, 2012|access-date=March 7, 2023}}</ref> Brown has stated that the invention of the guit-steel was always a matter of convenience so that he could play both lap steel and lead guitar during live performances and not directly motivated by a desire to be a "one man band".<ref name="americanamusicshow.com"/>

[[File:Junior Brown 2014.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Junior Brown performing at the 2014 [[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]] Blues Festival]]
Brown quickly became a local success in [[Austin, Texas]], as the house band at the Continental Club. His debut album was ''12 Shades of Brown'' (1990), released by the British [[Demon Records]]; it was re-released in 1993 on [[Curb Records]] in the United States, followed by ''Guit with It''. In 1996, Brown released ''[[Semi Crazy]]'', and followed it with ''[[Long Walk Back]]'' (1998).

In 1996, Brown was featured on the [[Beach Boys]]' now out-of-print album ''[[Stars and Stripes Vol. 1]]'' performing a cover of their 1962 hit "409". The song features Brown playing guitar and singing lead with the Beach Boys singing harmonies and backing vocals.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Brown appeared in the music video for "Honky Tonk Song" by [[George Jones]] in 1996 and also won the CMA Country Music Video of the Year award that year for his video, "My Wife Thinks You're Dead", which featured 6-foot-7-inch Gwendolyn Gillingham.<ref>{{cite news |title= The Return of Junior Brown |publisher= Country Music Television News |date= October 1, 2004 |url= http://www.cmt.com/news/1491681/the-return-of-junior-brown/|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181129225216/http://www.cmt.com/news/1491681/the-return-of-junior-brown/|url-status= dead|archive-date= November 29, 2018}}</ref> Brown played a cameo part in "[[Drive (The X-Files)|Drive]]", the second episode of season six of ''[[The X-Files]]''. Brown's music has been showcased on various television series and movie soundtracks, including ''[[Me, Myself & Irene]]'', ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' and the 2005 ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard (film)|Dukes of Hazzard]]'' remake, in which he also played the narrator.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Although Brown plays such [[neotraditional country]] styles as [[honky-tonk]], [[Western swing]], etc., some of his performances will finish with some [[blues]] and [[Tejano music|Tex-Mex]] tunes playing as well as [[Surf music|surf rock]] instrumentals.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Beginning in August 2006, Brown joined [[Webb Wilder]]'s tour of American minor league baseball stadiums. He reprised his role in an episode ("World of Hurt, BC") of [[Adult Swim]]'s ''[[Xavier: Renegade Angel]]'' created by rock band [[PFFR]]. In April 2008, Brown shot three pilot episodes of a country music program modeled after programs from the early 1960s, in which Brown will play with a [[house band]] as well as guests as host of the show.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/issue/column?oid=oid%3A608447 |title=Off the Record – Music |publisher=The Austin Chronicle |access-date=12 June 2011}}</ref> On October 12, 2012, Brown released the EP ''Volume 10'', containing six new songs.

AMC previewed the video of his new song "[[Better Call Saul]]", on October 5, 2014.<ref name= "saulmusic">{{cite news |last=Shetty |first=Sharan |url= http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/10/05/better_call_saul_music_video_watch_junior_brown_perform_the_breaking_bad.html |title=The Better Call Saul Music Video Is a Great Advertisement, but a Better Song |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |date=2014-10-05 |access-date=2016-08-14}}</ref> On May 24, 2018, Brown released his 11th album, ''Deep in the Heart Of Me''.

On October 6, 2019, Junior Brown's "guit-steel" guitar, along with his wife's Shenandoah acoustic guitar, was reported as stolen from a vehicle parked at a hotel in [[North Attleboro]], Massachusetts near [[Providence, Rhode Island]]. Brown and his wife had been in the area visiting relatives.<ref> {{cite web |url= https://savingcountrymusic.com/junior-browns-iconic-guit-steel-guitar-has-been-stolen/ |title=Junior Brown’s Iconic “Guit-Steel” Guitar Has Been Stolen |date=2019-10-07 |access-date=2024-09-09 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008042555/https://savingcountrymusic.com/junior-browns-iconic-guit-steel-guitar-has-been-stolen/ |archive-date=2019-10-08}}</ref>

On May 27, 2020, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's listing of 50 Country Albums Every Rock Fan Should Own, honored Brown’s US released album, ''12 Shades of Brown'' (Curb Records, 1993).{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

In May 2020, Brown and his wife began hosting a series of live Facebook concerts under the name, "The Junior & Tanya Rae Brown Show".{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

==Discography==
===Albums===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Album
! colspan="2"| Chart Positions
|-
! style="width:50px;"| <small>[[Top Country Albums|US Country]]</small>
! style="width:50px;"| <small>[[Top Heatseekers|US Heat]]</small>
|-
| 1974
| ''The Last Mile Ramblers – While They Last!''
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|-
| 1990
| ''12 Shades of Brown'' {{small|(original Demon Records release)}}
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|-
| 1993
| ''12 Shades of Brown'' {{small|(Curb Records reissue)}}
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|-
| 1993
| ''Guit with It''
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|-
| 1995
| ''Junior High'' (EP)
| style="text-align:center;"| 48
| style="text-align:center;"| 26
|-
| 1996
| ''[[Semi Crazy]]''
| style="text-align:center;"| 32
| style="text-align:center;"| 19
|-
| 1998
| ''[[Long Walk Back]]''
| style="text-align:center;"| 34
| style="text-align:center;"| 19
|-
| 2001
| ''Mixed Bag''
| style="text-align:center;"| 52
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|-
| 2004
| ''Down Home Chrome''
| style="text-align:center;"| 73
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|-
| 2005
| ''Greatest Hits''
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|-
| 2005
| ''Live at the Continental Club: The Austin Experience''
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|-
| 2012
| ''Volume Ten''
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|-
| 2018
| ''Deep In The Heart Of Me''
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|-
|2021
|''His & Hers''
|
|
|-
|2024
|''The American Original''
|
|
|}

===Singles===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! <small>[[Hot Country Songs|US Country]]</small><ref name="whitburn">{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc|year=2008|page=65|isbn=978-0-89820-177-2}}</ref>
! Album
|-
| 1993
| "Highway Patrol"
| style="text-align:center;"| 73
| ''Guit with It''
|-
| 1995
| "My Wife Thinks You're Dead"
| style="text-align:center;"| 68
| ''Junior High''
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1996
| "Venom Wearin' Denim"
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| rowspan="2"| ''Semi Crazy''
|-
| "I Hung It Up"
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|-
| 1997
| "Gotta Sell Them Chickens" <small>(w/ [[Hank Thompson (musician)|Hank Thompson]])</small>
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| ''Real Thing'' <small>(Hank Thompson album)</small>
|}

===Music videos===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Video
! Director
|-
| 1993
| "Highway Patrol"
| Roger Pistole
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1995
| "My Wife Thinks You're Dead"
| Michael McNamara
|-
| "Sugarfoot Rag"
| Roger Pistole
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1996
| "Venom Wearin' Denim"
| rowspan="2"| Michael McNamara
|-
| "I Hung It Up"
|-
| "409"
|
|-
| 1997
| "Gotta Sell Them Chickens" <small>(w/ [[Hank Thompson (musician)|Hank Thompson]])</small>
| Jim Gerik
|}

==Awards and nominations==
=== Grammy Awards ===

{{awards table}}
|-
|[[38th Grammy Awards|1996]]
|''Junior High''
|[[Grammy Award for Best Country Album|Best Country Album]]
|rowspan=3 {{nom}}
|-
|rowspan=2| [[39th Grammy Awards|1997]]
|rowspan=2| "My Wife Thinks You're Dead"
|[[Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance|Best Male Country Vocal Performance]]
|-
|[[Grammy Award for Best Country Song|Best Country Song]]
|}

=== Academy of Country Music Awards ===

{{awards table}}
|-
|[[31st Academy of Country Music Awards|1996]]
|"My Wife Thinks You're Dead"
|Video of the Year
|{{nom}}
|}

=== Country Music Association Awards ===

{{awards table}}
|-
|[[1996 Country Music Association Awards|1996]]
|"My Wife Thinks You're Dead"
|[[Country Music Association Award for Video of the Year|Video of the Year]]
|{{won}}
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}<!--added above External links/Sources by script-assisted edit-->

==External links==
* [http://www.juniorbrown.com/ Official Junior Brown web site]
* [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p59837/biography|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic]
* [https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/junior-brown Junior Brown Interview] at [[NAMM Oral History Program|NAMM Oral History Collection]] (2002)

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Junior}}
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:American country guitarists]]
[[Category:American country singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:American male guitarists]]
[[Category:American male singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Country musicians from Indiana]]
[[Category:Country musicians from Arizona]]
[[Category:Curb Records artists]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Arizona]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Indiana]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Yavapai County, Arizona]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from Arizona]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from Indiana]]
[[Category:Steel guitarists]]