Country singer-songwriter Helen Cornelius, best known as Jim Ed Brown's duet partner, died in Nashville a year ago today (18 July 2025) at the age of 83. Though most closely associated with her chart-topping partnership with Brown, she was also a dancer, actor and multi-instrumentalist, and later appeared in the 2014 family Christmas film "A Belle for Christmas".

Born Helen Lorene Johnson in 1941 in Hannibal, Missouri, she began performing as a child before pursuing songwriting, landing a deal with ScreenGems in 1970 and writing for acts including The Oak Ridge Boys and Reba McEntire. Her partnership with Jim Ed Brown began in 1976 with the number one hit "I Don't Want to Have to Marry You", leading to 11 Top 20 and seven Top 10 singles, a CMA Vocal Duo of the Year award in 1977 and a Grammy nomination, before the pair split in 1981. She continued as a solo artist and stage performer, running a Gatlinburg dinner theatre and later performing regularly in Branson, Missouri.