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Nashville Chrome

3.05 of 5 stars 3.05 · rating details · 147 ratings · 52 reviews

Late in 1959, the Brown siblings—Maxine, Bonnie, and Jim Ed—were enjoying unprecedented international success, rivaled only by their longtime friend Elvis Presley. They had a bona fide megahit on their hands, which topped both the country and pop charts and gave rise to the polished sound of the multibillion dollar country music industry we know today. Mesmerized by the Br...more

Hardcover, 272 pages

Published September 14th 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (first published 2010)

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Feb 07, 2013 Vicky rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I came across this book through the podcast of The Write Question http://www.mtpr.net/program_info/2011... a weekly literary program from Montana Public Radio that features writers from the western United States and on which Rick Bass talked about the genesis of this novel and working with the Browns. ( I definitely recommend listening to the interview for a lot of insights). He readily admits he had some trouble with this book, since the siblings are all still alive. I am a big fan of Bass, esp...more

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Sep 05, 2011 G.K. Wuori rated it 3 of 5 stars

Nashville Chrome, Rick Bass
I remember from somewhere back in the sixties a song called, “Little Jimmy Brown,” kind of a sappy thing that did become something of a hit. It was sung by a group called The Browns: Maxine, Bonnie, and Jim Ed. What I didn’t realize until I was well into this book was that it was a novel about the real Browns. They came from hardscrabble roots with daddy Floyd a logger and momma Birdie rather nondescript. But they had talent and began to make it big. Unfortunately the...more Nashville Chrome, Rick Bass
I remember from somewhere back in the sixties a song called, “Little Jimmy Brown,” kind of a sappy thing that did become something of a hit. It was sung by a group called The Browns: Maxine, Bonnie, and Jim Ed. What I didn’t realize until I was well into this book was that it was a novel about the real Browns. They came from hardscrabble roots with daddy Floyd a logger and momma Birdie rather nondescript. But they had talent and began to make it big. Unfortunately they were in the hands of a talent agent who ripped them off royally for a good many years. But they loved the singing, loved the touring, made many friends amongst the “names” of country music – Elvis Presley, being one, with whom Bonnie had an affair; Chet Atkins, Jim Reeves. The novel, though, is mostly about Maxine and her reminiscing, in her older years, about all they had done. Maxine, though she is getting old and has battled cancer and other ailments, wanted those years never to end, but Jim Ed got himself a girl who could sing and they became a duo on the circuit, while Bonnie found herself a doctor and found as well great contentment managing their country house and gardens. At one point, Maxine posts a notice on a supermarket bulletin board saying that a famous singer is looking for a film producer to do a film of her life. What she gets is a kid who is passionately involved in learning the film trade. It may seem a come down, but in the end he manages to construct a beautiful bit of a film as a school project. Maxine, encouraged, tries one more time to get Jim Ed and Bonnie out on the road but they will not do it. Really, it was a good story but I was still left scratching my head as to why Bass thought the Browns were worthy of a book. Yes, they influenced a lot of musicians in their time, but the same is probably true of anyone who makes it big in just about any field – you don’t make it big unless you have something unique, and if you have something unique there will be followers and imitators. About the only complaint I have about the book is that it is grossly overwritten. Bass thanks a good many editors at the end for their help, but I don’t think he had quite the right one.
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Nov 28, 2010 Lynne Perednia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Rick Bass has written glorious, thick, rich and deep stories and nonfiction about the West, as well as The Diezmo, a slim novel about a band of would-be militia conquerors of Mexico sent by Sam Houston on a mission that goes horribly wrong. So it was a surprise that he went to the deep South and to music for his latest novel, Nashville Chrome (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010). It's a fictionalized account of the Browns, a sibling trio who created remarkable harmonies that pioneered American musi...more Rick Bass has written glorious, thick, rich and deep stories and nonfiction about the West, as well as The Diezmo, a slim novel about a band of would-be militia conquerors of Mexico sent by Sam Houston on a mission that goes horribly wrong. So it was a surprise that he went to the deep South and to music for his latest novel, Nashville Chrome (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010). It's a fictionalized account of the Browns, a sibling trio who created remarkable harmonies that pioneered American music, and their relationships with everyone from Elvis and, in passing, Johnny Cash, to Chet Atkins and Jim Reeves.

The writing about music and harsh survival is beautiful. So are his depictions of family relationships, as complicated as any layered harmonies created by the siblings in their music. But, as with all fiction based on real people, there are times it's highly uncomfortable to read and wondering what's real and what was manufactured to make a point with the storyline takes over being led by the narrative itself. Bass thanks Maxine, Jim Ed and Bonnie, the three Brown siblings, still alive, in his acknowledgements, adding to the uncomfortable factor. Oldest sibling Maxine, the magical one who is left all alone, makes for a sad central figure but doesn't have center stage often. Many of the big events in their lives happen offstage or in such oblique terms after tons of foreshadowing that those who read propelled by plot alone will be disappointed.

Bass uses the story of the Browns to write about how people connect, either in harmony or not. He writes about people who take, such as Elvis and a very young filmmaker at the end of the novel, and even Maxine, and those who give, such as the Browns' mother Birdie and always-happy sister Bonnie, and even Maxine. There is meditating on greatness and the hunger for it, and "the heartlessness of ambition" as Maxine realizes when old even while still craving recognition.

Life is a search for harmony and most of life is a metaphor in the novel. A lot of passages are ending up in my chapbook.

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Sep 30, 2010 Jill rated it 5 of 5 stars

Years before Elvis Presley burst onto the scene, there were the Browns – Maxine, Jim Ed and Bonnie – who rolled out number one hits, topping the charts time and again.

People came – Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, and the King himself – just to hear them. “They came, they brushed up against the Browns, and then they went on their way – magic-brushed, and forged from a fire they sometimes didn’t even realize they’d touch, though others of them understood right from the very...more Years before Elvis Presley burst onto the scene, there were the Browns – Maxine, Jim Ed and Bonnie – who rolled out number one hits, topping the charts time and again.

People came – Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, and the King himself – just to hear them. “They came, they brushed up against the Browns, and then they went on their way – magic-brushed, and forged from a fire they sometimes didn’t even realize they’d touch, though others of them understood right from the very beginning the nature of the raw talent they were witnessing.”

In Nashville Chrome, the legacy of the Browns is explored – their longing for fame, the aftereffects of achieving fame, the recalibration of “home” with its myriad of meanings. The book is devoted to “truthiness”; Rick Bass quotes Ron Carlson in saying, “I try not to confuse the facts with the truth.”

What he sets out to do is to unearth his truth and he does it with lyrical and often elegiac sensitivity. The Browns lived in simpler times… of small town growing-up, longings for love, dressing up for boys, cruel betrayals. Together as children, they sung three-part harmonies that were so smooth that they were dubbed “Nashville chrome.” During an early performance, they naively sign with an exploitive, morally challenged manager who, in effect, “owns” them from that point on, paying them next-to-nothing and working them hard.

Rick Bass writes, “None of the Browns had a clue. They were like racehorses with blinders, thundering down the dirt track. There was a jockey lashing them, and the horses were dimly aware that there were people in the stands, but they knew nothing of where the track was going – whether it was straightening or circling in a loop – or of the consequences of their efforts and accomplishments.”

The family eventually makes the acquaintance of a young and unknown Elvis; Elvis is drawn to the younger sister Bonnie and they enter into a sweet first love. Rather than lionize Elvis, this book humanizes him and chronicles the real-life friendship with unusual authenticity.

This is an exquisitely written book – a novel that jumps from the heyday of the Browns to the present, where Maxine – now aging, ailing, and yearning for her glory days – has never been able to obtain the serenity of her younger siblings. It’s a psychologically-complex portrayal of a family “united in the desire to spill out onto the world and to change it before realizing that they each finally had to pull away.” Kudos to Rick Bass for this incredible rendering.

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Jan 11, 2012 Annette rated it 2 of 5 stars

Based loosely on the lives of the Brown family country singers - it's a very depressing look at the lives of this family as they grow up with a very special gift under very tough family circumstances. Three siblings that could sing in perfect harmony, who were well known in the country music area, but never quite made it to the "big time" - always just a step behind those who have become country legends.

You'll recognize a number of famous country musicians - how they came in and out of the famil...more

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Jul 21, 2012 TC rated it 2 of 5 stars

"Show me don't tell me" seems like a rule the author has set out to deliberately ignore and flaunt, as the entire "novel" is more like a huge creative writing exercise in how to string together endless paragraphs of similes and reflections. No one really does or says anything; instead, the author spends pages describing the incident, the character, the moment, the sunrise, and everything else in terms that appear to put it all within its proper context of the entire universe and all of human his...more "Show me don't tell me" seems like a rule the author has set out to deliberately ignore and flaunt, as the entire "novel" is more like a huge creative writing exercise in how to string together endless paragraphs of similes and reflections. No one really does or says anything; instead, the author spends pages describing the incident, the character, the moment, the sunrise, and everything else in terms that appear to put it all within its proper context of the entire universe and all of human history.

The "story" that all thing hangs on--really, the author could glom this onto any human activity, or maybe even the activity of a cow or a parked car--is about the Brown family, a close harmony group who were popular in the 1950s and 1960s who lived a kind of Zelig-like existence, with nearly every name imaginable from that era spending a weekend hunting and fishing with them or stopping by for a bite of pie at their folks' restaurant in Poplar Creek, Arkansas. Elvis, Chet Atkins, Jim Reeves, even the Beatles are all on a first-name basis with the Browns. It was so ridiculous that I almost gave up half-way through, turning to the back to see how long I had, where I found myself at the Acknowledgments page.

And there I read that the subject of the story was, in fact, real: the Browns were a real group with real hits and a real influence on pop music, and really did know all those big names, even the Beatles. Only after I went to the website of Maxine, the oldest sister, did I realize that I too knew the Brown family, from their huge hit The Three Bells, about a man who lives his entire existence in a bucolic valley marking his life events with the ringing of the church's bell.

So some of this is true. Maybe even most of it. Knowing that rekindled my interest in finishing the book and changed my perspective from chortling at the ridiculousness of having the Beatles fly to Arkansas to learn harmony from The Browns to wondering just where the line is between truth and story here. In essence, this is a work of historical fiction.

But the wall of descriptive prose that passes for storytelling is still ponderous. The only redeeming quality is in the midst of all this bloviation, the author occasionally strings together a phrase or two that is memorable and quite beautiful. Near the end of the book, for example, he mentions Maxine fueling herself for an argument over her drinking by, well, drinking, and describes it as "fire in her veins, fire in her brain." So the author can turn an amazing phrase on occasion. It's almost worth wading through the gorp to read them.

It might be worth reading too, if you're already an aficionado of the mid-twentieth-century Nashville scene, and can find that line between fact and fiction easier than someone like me who is not. But on the whole I think this is just a wordy exercise.

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Oct 11, 2010 Bookmarks Magazine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nov-dec-2010

Critics disagreed somewhat over the success of Nashville Chrome, a fictionalized account of the Browns' life story and the burden of fame. All acknowledged that Bass is a master of his craft--from his storytelling abilities to his beautiful, lyrical prose. Here, his descriptions of the Arkansas swamps and the natural world shine. Yet reviewers diverged on a number of issues. A few thought that the best parts of the novel chronicle Maxine's present-day life--and her transition from an ambitious y...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Garlan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads, what-i-call-literature

I'm a huge fan of Rick Bass' short fiction. His stories are almost all southern gothic with a touch of the fantastic about them. That doesn't always translate well into longer fiction, but Bass nailed it in this one. A few of the chapters read as if they were short stories (and probably were), but the author managed to pull them all together into a very good, cohesive story.

This story is about the country musical group of the late 50's - early 60's, The Browns. I'm not a country music fan, never...more

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May 31, 2011 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars

I very much enjoyed reading this novel about the singing group of the 1950's, early 60's, the Browns. It brought back memories of the music that was popular when I was growing up as well as defining the roots of music today. Although it is fiction, it is historical in nature.

I did go on Maxine Brown's website to learn more and listen to some of the music on youtube. That was fun and interesting. I wrote Maxine a note on her Facebook page and she responded! That is always exciting for me that so...more

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Nov 21, 2010 Paddy rated it 1 of 5 stars

Why a novel? The Browns deserved better. The reader can't tell fiction from fact, it's more a faux ethnography than a novel. Although I'm a Cormac McCarthy fan (especially of Suttree), his opening quote that Bass employs is the best thing about this book. Bass uses a McCarthy-inspired style for the opening chapters that does not measure up by any means. Case in point: describing Arkansas woodsmen, Bass writes, "Many of them had become lithified to the world, with only the perspiration that spran...more

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Mar 14, 2011 Don rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

This is a very fine novel, or novelization of real events. Unfortunately, the potentially appreciative audience is pretty small. I know most of the words to Pop-a-Top and all the words to the Dollar General Store jingle, but that kind of information rarely comes in handy while reading an attempt at serious literature.

This is a retelling of the (not-well-known) story of the Browns. It's about Jim Ed, Bonnie (one of Elvis' girlfriends) and particularly Maxine who, in her autumn years, has never fi...more

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Nov 09, 2011 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, 2010

I am not able to give an adequate review of how close to fact the book is, but story of the trio and their journey through country music was fascinating.[return][return]If you haven't read Rick Bass before, you will find it a real joy. He isn't big on dialogue in this book and there isn't any real plot, but the characters and language are captivating. I found myself reading sections over and over to let the words roll in my mind with the images they created. The depth of character in his study w...more

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Jun 15, 2011 Tammie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: didn-t-finish

This book was very confusing. I thought it was about a fictional music group from the 50's. After reading the reviews, apparently this was a real group. I wish that I had known that from the start. I felt like the author took liberties with the details about Elvis and other stars. I also found it boring that the story just didn't seem to go anywhere. My parents were from the south, so I could appreciate his descriptions of the mountains, streams, etc. and the food that Birdie cooks. I just could...more

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Nov 24, 2012 Andy Miller rated it 3 of 5 stars

Nashville Chrome is a novel about the Brown family, a country music family trio from Arkansas. that were popular in the 50s. The background of the novel about growing up in rural Arkansas was just great, weaving together a geographic, natural and social background is what Rick Bass does best.

It was a bit jarring to read the development of their singing success with real life characters such as Elvis Presley featured prominently. I was turned off when in the novel the younger sister dated Elvis a...more

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Sep 27, 2010 Keith Eldridge rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nashville Chrome, Rick Bass, 2010. This is a novel about the real life Country and pop stars the Browns. The Browns consisted of siblings Maxine, Bonnie, and Jim Ed. One of their many top ten songs was Three Bells. This book explores their beginnings and early years and then follows them later in life. The Browns toured closely with Jim Reeves and Chet Atkins. They also were very close to Elvis Presley. All of these stars appear in the fictional rendition. Rick Bass's prose is very subtle and be...more

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Nov 20, 2011 Jill rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rick Bass is to the novel what the indie label is to music. He isn't looking to movie mountains or make some grand profit, but instead to be as artful and true to story as he can.

Reviews of this book that miss the point that fiction can spring from a true story must miss a great deal in reading, as every story has it's fictions.

The writing is gorgeous. The opening scenes where the set up of family bonds are illustrated really worked for me. In particular, the ways the siblings can hear the har...more

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May 10, 2013 Pamela rated it 3 of 5 stars

I didn't give this book a four because it is at times flowery and divergent, but the language is beautiful. How much is fiction and how much is truth is a mystery, though, without author notes and explanations. Basically, the book fictionalizes Bonnie, Maxine, and Jim Ed Brown's rise to fame and the toll that it took on Maxine. It includes Bonnie's romance with Elvis and details the exploitation of the Browns by their manager.

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Jan 29, 2011 Robyn rated it 2 of 5 stars

For the first part of this book, I didn't think the Brown family was real, and I thought, what's the point? Why didn't he just write about the Carter family and call them the Carter family? I still can't quite believe that the Brown's are real. Then I'm not sure why he didn't write this as nonfiction, though I guess the answer is because he wouldn't have been able to do a lot of the things he did in his novel.

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Nov 21, 2010 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars

An eye-opening book regarding the Browns and that entire era of country music. Since it was written as fiction, I wasn't sure about the stories, but further reading - interviews with the siblings - seems to verify the author's account. I felt a sadness for Maxine Brown trying to push on when their time seemed obviously over, and that seemed to be the author's focus.

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Feb 12, 2013 Deon Stonehouse rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-set-in-south-usa, historic-fiction

Nashville Chrome by Rick Bass takes us on a wild ride to a time before rapper MC Hammer told us “You Got The Power”. A time when a young truck driver shocked a nation by showing that raw power with his swiveling hips and curled lip, Presley would be called King. The face of music was about to change. Jerry Lee was pounding the ivories and howling to the moon, and the Brown family rose to stardom with a sound so pure, so full of life and yearning, that it reached right down in the soul. Roots in...more

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May 12, 2013 Becky Morgan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Nashville Chrome by Rick Bass is the story of the sibling singing sensation The Browns, popular during the late fifties and early sixties. With a primary focus on the eldest of the three, Maxine, the story details their childhood, rise to fame, and their slide down the music charts which led to the ending of their recording together. Read more at http://thekeytothegate.blogspot.com/2...

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Dec 30, 2010 Maggie Meredith rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was my first Rick Bass book. His writing is a little different, but once you get going, it's very readable. This book started painfully slow, but picked up. Tells the life story of Maxine Brown, from a family band of the 60s who hung out with Elvis, Chet Atkins and the Louvins. Interestingly told story.

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Sep 09, 2011 Lee rated it 4 of 5 stars

An amazing book about the beginning of rock and roll music, logging (as in forests), Elvis, and the Browns... a singing group made up of 2 sisters and a brother...who helped bring a new musical era to our society. Rick Bass is a wonder with words!! Thanks to my son for his recommendation!

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Jul 06, 2011 Louise Gobron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Liked it. Rick Bass's beautiful descriptions of the natural world cleverly created a rich backdrop for the story of this family trio that rose to c/w and pop music fame alongside Elvis and then faded into obscurity.

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Feb 02, 2011 Josh Batchelder rated it 4 of 5 stars

I think the character of Jefferson Eads might've been my favorite. He's a 12 year old boy making a movie of Maxine Brown's life - and he might've stolen the show by the end of the novel. Glad I read this.

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May 04, 2012 Nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It was interesting to read about Elvis and many other classic country bands. It was hard to distinguish what was his fictional portrayl of the Browns' and what was factual.

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Apr 28, 2011 Momruns5 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Glad I researched before I finished this book and learned that it is a real story. Listened to some of their songs on Utube. Had never heard of the Browns. What a sad story.

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Feb 18, 2011 RUSA CODES rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: notable-books-2011

This was one of the 2011 RUSA Notable Books winners.
For the complete list, go to http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rus...

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Jun 28, 2011 Trey Piepmeier rated it 3 of 5 stars

There are parts in this book where Bass goes into his very immersive descriptions of natural phenomenon that I loved in Where The Sea Used To Be. It was a little weirder in the context of a country music trio, but I think it worked. I really love his writing style.

It took me a very long time to read this. I bought it when I first got my Kindle, and I don't know how long that's been now... many moons, for sure. The nice thing about this book, and I'm sure the reason I actually finished it after a...more

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Oct 30, 2010 Teddy rated it 3 of 5 stars

After Rick Bass spoke with Maxine Brown of the chart topping Browns of the 50's and early 60's, he decided to write a novel about the Browns.

The novel centers on Maxine, the oldest sister of the Browns but also includes her sister Bonnie and Brother, Jim Ed. The Browns grew up in the swamps of Arkansas during the Great Depression. Their father had a saw mill that they helped with when there was enough money to keep it going and when their father was sober enough.

The secret to his.. Read the rest...more

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About Rick Bass

Rick Bass was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in Houston, the son of a geologist. He studied petroleum geology at Utah State University and while working as a petroleum geologist in Jackson, Mississippi, began writing short stories on his lunch breaks. In 1987, he moved with his wife, the artist Elizabeth Hughes Bass, to Montana’s remote Yaak Valley and became an active environmentalist, wo...more

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