Helen Cornelius

Helen Cornelius
Cornelius in 2012
Background information
Birth name	Helen Lorene Johnson
Born	December 6, 1941
Origin	Monroe City, Missouri
Genres	Country
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1975–present
Labels	Dot RCA Victor MCA
Associated acts	Jim Ed Brown

Helen Cornelius (b. Helen Lorene Johnson, Dec. 6, 1941, Monroe City, Missouri) is an American country singer-songwriter and actress, best remembered for a series of hit duets with Jim Ed Brown, many of which reached the U.S. country singles top ten during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Biography

Cornelius grew up on a farm in Missouri; her older brothers played in country bands, and she formed a singing trio with sisters Judy and Sharon, who toured locally with the blessing of their father. Subsequently, Helen began touring on her own with a backup band called The Crossroads.

After completing high school, Cornelius wed and became employed as a secretary. She began touring again at the end of the 1960s and signed with Screen Gems Music as a songwriter in 1970. When the company went under, she sent a demo tape to Jerry Crutchfield, who offered her a contract with MCA Records; eventually she signed with Columbia Records, with whom she released two singles. In 1975, she signed with RCA Nashville; two further singles followed with little recognition.

In 1976, she recorded a duet, "I Don't Want to Have to Marry You" with Jim Ed Brown; it was a major success in America. Further solo singles failed to take off, but her next duet with Brown, "Saying Hello, Saying I Love You, Saying Goodbye", was another smash, and the pair began playing on the TV show Nashville on the Road. She continued to record with Brown, releasing the hits "I'll Never Be Free", "If the World Ran Out of Love Tonight", "Don't Bother to Knock", "Lying in Love with You", and finally notching a solo hit with "Whatcha Doin' After Midnight Baby". In 1981, after topping the U.S. country charts one last time with Brown with "Morning Comes too Early", Cornelius separated with Brown, and enjoyed moderate success as a solo artist, touring with The Statler Brothers and performing in an Annie Get Your Gun road show. In 1988, she and Brown reunited for a nationwide tour.

Cornelius opened Nashville South in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the 1990s, where she performed with a house band nightly. Early in the 2000s, she took a regular gig at the Jim Stafford Theater in Branson, Missouri. Most recently, Cornelius has been an active participant in the Country's Family Reunion series, which airs on RFD-TV.

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Label
1975	Helen Cornelius	Dot
1985	Helen Cornelius	MCA

Albums with Jim Ed Brown

Year	Album	Chart Positions		Label
		US Country	CAN Country
1976	I Don't Want to Have to Marry You	7	—	RCA Victor
1977	Born Believer	17	—
1978	I'll Never Be Free	29	—
1979	You Don't Bring Me Flowers	20	2
1980	One Man, One Woman	35	—
1981	Greatest Hits	47	—

Singles

Year	Single	Chart Positions		Album
		US Country	CAN Country
1976	"There's Always a Goodbye"	91	—	I Don't Want to Have to Marry You
1978	"Whatcha Doin' After Midnight, Baby"	30	68	Singles only
1979	"It Started with a Smile"	68	—
1981	"Love Never Comes Easy"	42	40
1983	"If Your Heart's a Rollin' Stone"	70	—

Singles with Jim Ed Brown

Year	Single	Chart Positions		Album
		US Country	CAN Country
1976	"I Don't Want to Have to Marry You"	1	7	I Don't Want to Have to Marry You
	"Saying Hello, Saying I Love You, Saying Goodbye"	2	1
1977	"Born Believer"	12	8	Born Believer
	"If It Ain't Love by Now"	12	18
	"Fall Softly Snow"	91	—	Single only
1978	"I'll Never Be Free"	11	27	I'll Never Be Free
	"If the World Ran Out of Love Tonight"	6	7	You Don't Bring Me Flowers
	"You Don't Bring Me Flowers"	10	8
1979	"Lying in Love with You"	2	3
	"Fools"	3	14	One Man, One Woman
1980	"Morning Comes Too Early"	5	46
	"The Bedroom"	24	26	Greatest Hits
1981	"Don't Bother to Knock"	13	48

References

• Helen Cornelius at Allmusic