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| Helen Cornelius (1941-2025) |
Helen Cornelius, a country music singer-songwriter known for her hit duets with Jim Ed Brown and her solo career, passed away on July 18, 2025, at the age of 83. Her death was confirmed by her daughter Christy through a post on Cornelius’s official Facebook fan page, managed by someone named Susan, though no cause of death was disclosed.
Born Helen Lorene Johnson on December 6, 1941, in Monroe City, Missouri, Cornelius grew up on a farm and began her musical journey at age five, performing in a trio with her sisters Judy and Sharon. She later toured with her backup band, The Crossroads, and after a brief period as a secretary post-high school, she resumed her music career in the late 1960s.
Her songwriting talent gained recognition in Nashville, with artists like Reba McEntire, The Oak Ridge Boys, and Connie Smith recording her songs. In 1975, she signed with RCA Records, launching her rise to fame.
Cornelius is best remembered for her duets with Jim Ed Brown, starting with their 1976 chart-topping hit “I Don’t Want to Have to Marry You,” which earned them the CMA Award for Vocal Duo of the Year in 1977. Other hits included “Saying Hello, Saying I Love You, Saying Goodbye” (#2), “If the World Ran Out of Love Tonight” (Grammy-nominated), and “Lying in Love with You.”
The duo’s success extended to appearances on Nashville on the Road and Brown’s radio show. After parting ways with Brown in 1981, Cornelius pursued a solo career, scoring a Top 30 hit with “Whatcha Doin’ After Midnight, Baby” and touring with acts like The Statler Brothers and Conway Twitty. She also starred in a road show of Annie Get Your Gun in 1984.In the 1990s, Cornelius opened the Nashville South dinner theater in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, performing nightly until 1996, and later performed regularly at the Jim Stafford Theater in Branson, Missouri, until 2003.
She was a frequent guest on RFD-TV’s Country’s Family Reunion and remained a Grand Ole Opry performer. Cornelius and Brown reunited for tours in 1988 and the late 1990s, and she was inducted into the Missouri Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005.