Post by timmy84 on Nov 17, 2006 22:15:45 GMT -5
Ruth Brown, the singer who brought a popular music style to rhythm and blues in a series of hit songs for Atlantic Records in the 1950s, died today at the age of 78 of complications from a heart attack and a stroke she suffered after a surgery in October of this year.
Born Ruth Weston in Portsmouth, Virginia on January 12, 1928, Ruth Brown's father was a dockhand who directed the local church choir, but the young Ruth showed more of an interest in singing USO shows and nightclubs. In 1945, she ran away from home along with a trumpeter Jimmy Brown, whom she married and later kept her name after the two divorced. Brown sung in bars and clubs and eventually spent a month in Lucky Millinder's orchestra but was fired after she brought drinks to the band for free and was left stranded in Washington, D.C.
Afterwards, she got a gig at a Washington nightclub called Crystal Caverns thanks to Cab Calloway's sister Blanche, who became her manager. Willis Conover, a local D.C. deejay caught her act and recommended her to Atlantic Records bosses Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Surviving a car accident, she signed to the label after the two CEOs caught the singer performing in a Washington club. It was Ertegun and Abramson who convinced Brown, a lover of ballads, to switch to rhythm and blues. Her style of R&B, however, retained her "pop" style with clean, fresh arrangements and the singing spot on the beat with a little of the usual blues singer's embroidery.
Her first hit, in 1949, was the single, "So Long", quickly followed by her standout 1950 single, "Teardrops from My Eyes", which was her first uptempo single to become a hit. The song stayed at #1 on Billboard's R&B singles chart for eleven weeks establishing Brown as an important figure in R&B. It also earned Brown the nickname "Miss Rhythm" and within a few months Brown became the acknowledged queen of R&B.
Other hit singles included "I'll Wait for You" (1951), "I Know" (1951), "5-10-15 Hours", "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" (1953), "Oh What a Dream" (1954), "Mambo Baby" (1954) and "Don't Deceive Me" (1960). Other nicknames included "Little Miss Rhythm" and "The Girl With the Teardrop in Her Voice". In all she was on the R&B charts for 149 weeks from 1949 to 1955 with 16 top 10 blues records including 5 #1's, becoming Atlantic's most popular artist, earning Atlantic Records the proper name of "The House That Ruth Built".
After retiring in the 1960s to become a housewife and mother, she returned to music in 1975 at the urging of comedy legend Redd Foxx, followed by a series of comedic acting gigs including a role in the sitcom, "Hello, Lary" and the John Waters film, "Hairspray", eventually earning a Tony award for her Broadway performance of "Black & Blue" and a Grammy award for her album "Blues on Broadway".
Brown was also noted for fighting for musicians' rights and royalties which eventually paved the way for the founding of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation in 1987. She was the one of the first recipients of the Foundation's Pioneer Award in 1989. Four years later, Brown became the fourth woman (third performer) to be inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in 1993.
Brown had been living in Las Vegas at the time of her death.
Born Ruth Weston in Portsmouth, Virginia on January 12, 1928, Ruth Brown's father was a dockhand who directed the local church choir, but the young Ruth showed more of an interest in singing USO shows and nightclubs. In 1945, she ran away from home along with a trumpeter Jimmy Brown, whom she married and later kept her name after the two divorced. Brown sung in bars and clubs and eventually spent a month in Lucky Millinder's orchestra but was fired after she brought drinks to the band for free and was left stranded in Washington, D.C.
Afterwards, she got a gig at a Washington nightclub called Crystal Caverns thanks to Cab Calloway's sister Blanche, who became her manager. Willis Conover, a local D.C. deejay caught her act and recommended her to Atlantic Records bosses Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Surviving a car accident, she signed to the label after the two CEOs caught the singer performing in a Washington club. It was Ertegun and Abramson who convinced Brown, a lover of ballads, to switch to rhythm and blues. Her style of R&B, however, retained her "pop" style with clean, fresh arrangements and the singing spot on the beat with a little of the usual blues singer's embroidery.
Her first hit, in 1949, was the single, "So Long", quickly followed by her standout 1950 single, "Teardrops from My Eyes", which was her first uptempo single to become a hit. The song stayed at #1 on Billboard's R&B singles chart for eleven weeks establishing Brown as an important figure in R&B. It also earned Brown the nickname "Miss Rhythm" and within a few months Brown became the acknowledged queen of R&B.
Other hit singles included "I'll Wait for You" (1951), "I Know" (1951), "5-10-15 Hours", "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" (1953), "Oh What a Dream" (1954), "Mambo Baby" (1954) and "Don't Deceive Me" (1960). Other nicknames included "Little Miss Rhythm" and "The Girl With the Teardrop in Her Voice". In all she was on the R&B charts for 149 weeks from 1949 to 1955 with 16 top 10 blues records including 5 #1's, becoming Atlantic's most popular artist, earning Atlantic Records the proper name of "The House That Ruth Built".
After retiring in the 1960s to become a housewife and mother, she returned to music in 1975 at the urging of comedy legend Redd Foxx, followed by a series of comedic acting gigs including a role in the sitcom, "Hello, Lary" and the John Waters film, "Hairspray", eventually earning a Tony award for her Broadway performance of "Black & Blue" and a Grammy award for her album "Blues on Broadway".
Brown was also noted for fighting for musicians' rights and royalties which eventually paved the way for the founding of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation in 1987. She was the one of the first recipients of the Foundation's Pioneer Award in 1989. Four years later, Brown became the fourth woman (third performer) to be inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in 1993.
Brown had been living in Las Vegas at the time of her death.
Sister Brown
I've always hailed her as the Queen of R&B ...another Soul Legend who I won't forget easily anytime soon...Condolences to her family and friends...R.I.P Miss Ruth Brown and thank you for everything 