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Biography
for|the civil rights activist|Ruth Brown (librarian)Infobox musical artist| name = Ruth Brown| image = Ruth Brown cropped.jpg| caption = Ruth Brown performing in 2005| background = solo_singer| birth_date = birth date|1928|1|12|mf=y| birth_place = Portsmouth, Virginia , United States | death_date = death date and age|2006|11|17|1928|1|30|mf=y| death_place = Henderson, Nevada , United States|occupation = Singer-songwriter , actor|actress , record producer | instrument = Human voice|Vocals , piano , Keyboard instrument|keyboards | genre = Popular music|Pop , Rhythm and blues|R& B , jazz , Soul music|soul , Gospel music|gospel , funk | years_active = 1949–2006| label = Atlantic Records|Atlantic , Philips Records|Philips , Fantasy Records|Fantasy Ruth Brown (January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American popular music|pop and R& B singer-songwriter, record producer, composer and actress also known as " Honorific nicknames in popular music|Queen of R& B " noted for bringing a popular music|pop music style to rhythm and blues|R& B music in a series of hit songs for Atlantic Records in the 1950s, such as "So Long", " Teardrops from My Eyes " and " (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean ".cite book | first= Tony | last= Russell | year= 1997 | title= The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray | edition= | publisher= Carlton Books Limited | location= Dubai | page= 96 | isbn= 1-85868-255-X For these contributions, Atlantic became known as "The house that Ruth built" (alluding to the popular nickname for Old Yankee Stadium ). http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ruth-brown-p6193/biography Biography by Bill Dahl at Allmusic.com http://books.google.co.uk/books? id=R-DpxKQ67IkC& pg=PA76& dq=%22The+house+that+Ruth+built%22+atlantic& hl=en& ei=eaLPTpeFE4Ps8QOX983wCQ& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=2& ved=0CEQQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage& q=%22The%20house%20that%20Ruth%20built%22%20atlantic& f=false Bob Gulla, Icons of R& B and Soul , ABC-CLIO, 2008, p.76
Following a resurgence that began in the mid-1970s and peaked in the 1980s, Brown used her influence to press for musicians' rights regarding royalties and contracts, which led to the founding of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation .cite book |title=The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock |last=Heatley |first=Michael |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2007 |publisher=Star Fire |location=London, United Kingdom |isbn=978-1-84451-996-5 Her performances in the Broadway musical , Black and Blue (musical)|Black and Blue , earned Brown a Tony Award , and the original cast recording won a Grammy Award .
Early life
Born Ruth Alston Weston in Portsmouth, Virginia , United States , she attended I. C. Norcom High School , a historically black high school. Brown's father was a stevedore|dockhand who directed the local church choir , but the young Ruth showed more of an interest in singing at United Service Organizations|USO shows and nightclub s. She was inspired by Sarah Vaughan , BillieHoliday and Dinah Washington .Bogdanov, et al. All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues p. 79. Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-87930-736-6 In 1945, Brown ran away from her home in Portsmouth along with trumpet er, Jimmy Brown (musician)|Jimmy Brown , whom she soon married, to sing in bars and clubs. She then spent a month with Lucky Millinder 's orchestra.
Career
BlancheCalloway , Cab Calloway 's sister, also a bandleader, arranged a gig for Brown at a Washington, D.C. nightclub called Crystal Caverns and soon became her manager. Willis Conover , a Voice of America disc jockey , caught her act with Duke Ellington and recommended her to Atlantic Records bosses, Ahmet Ertegün and Herb Abramson . Brown was unable to audition as planned because of a serious car accident that resulted in a nine-month hospital stay. She signed with Atlantic Records on her hospital bed. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01b4jhw "Suzi Quatro's Pioneers of Rock: Ruth Brown" at bbc.co.uk, broadcast by BBC Radio 2 , 9 February 2012. In 1948, Ertegün and Abramson drove to Washington, D.C., from New York City to hear her sing in the club. Although her repertoire was mostly popular ballads, Ertegün convinced her to switch to rhythm and blues.
In her first audition, in 1949, she sang "So Long," which ended up becoming a hit. This was followed by " Teardrops from My Eyes " in 1950. Written by Rudy Toombs , it was the first upbeat major hit for Brown. Recorded for Atlantic Records in New York City in September 1950, and released in October, it was Billboard (magazine)|Billboard s List of number-one R& B hits (United States)|R& B number one for 11 weeks. The hit earned her the nickname "Miss Rhythm" and within a few months Brown became the acknowledged queen of R& B.cite book | first= | last= | authorlink= | coauthors= Jim Dawson & Steve Propes | year= 1992 | title= What Was the First Rock'n'Roll Record | edition= | publisher= Faber & Faber | location= Boston & London | isbn=0-571-12939-0
She followed up this hit with "I'll Wait for You" (1951), "I Know" (1951), " 5-10-15 Hours " (1953), " (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean " (1953), " Oh What a Dream " (1954), " Mambo Baby " (1954), and "Don't Deceive Me" (1960), some of which were credited to Ruth Brown and the Rhythm Makers. In all, between 1949 and 1955, she stayed on the R& B chart for a total 149 weeks, with sixteen Top 10 records including five number ones.
Brown played many dances that were deeply Racial segregation in the United States|segregated in the Southern United States|Southern States , where she toured extensively and was extremely popular. Brown herself claimed that a writer had once summed up her popularity by saying: "In the South Ruth Brown is better known than Coca Cola ."
Her first pop hit came with Lucky Lips , a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and recorded in 1957. The single reached number 6 on the R& B chart, and number 25 on the United States|US Hot 100|pop chart .cite book |title= Top R& B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |authorlink=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=54 The 1958 follow up was '' This Little Girl's Gone Rockin' '', written by Bobby Darin and Mann Curtis . It reached number 7 on the R& B chart and number 24 on the pop chart.Rockin' with Ruth by Ruth Brown. Popular Music , Vol. 5, Continuity and Change (1985), pp. 225-234
She was to have further hits with ''I Don't Know in 1959 and Don't Deceive Me in 1960, although these were more successful on the R& B chart than on the pop chart.
Later life
During the 1960s, Brown faded from public view to become a housewife and mother. She returned to music in 1975 at the urging of Redd Foxx , followed by a series of comedic acting gigs. These included a role in the sitcom Hello, Larry , and the John Waters (filmmaker)|John Waters film, Hairspray (1988 film)|Hairspray , as well as Broadway theatre|Broadway appearances in Amen Corner (musical)|Amen Corner and Black and Blue (musical)|Black and Blue . The latter earned her a Tony Award as "Best Female Star of a Musical", and a Grammy Award as Best Female Jazz Artist for her album, Blues on Broadway , featuring hits from the show.
Brown's fight for musicians' rights and royalties in 1987 led to the founding of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation . She was inducted as a Pioneer Award recipient in its first year, 1989, and inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1993, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame .
Brown recorded and sang along with fellow rhythm and blues performer Charles Brown (musician)|Charles Brown , and toured with Bonnie Raitt in the late 1990s. Her 1995 autobiography , Miss Rhythm ,"Miss Rhythm" by Ruth Brown and Andrew Yule, 1996 won the Gleason Award for music journalism. She was nominated for another Grammy in the Traditional Blues category for her 1997 album, R+B=Ruth Brown. Brown was still touring at the age of 77.
Brown had completed pre-production work on the Danny Glover film, Honeydripper , which she did not live to finish, but her recording of "Things About Comin' My Way" was released posthumously on the soundtrack CD.
Personal life
Oldest of seven children.Bernstein, Adam. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/17/AR2006111701411.html ''Ruth Brown, 78; R& B Singer Championed Musicians' Rights . Washington Post . November 18, 2006. Page B05. URL retrieved on January 9, 2007 .
First husband Jimmy Brown (trumpeter) was found to be already married.
Married Earl Swanson (saxophonist) in 1955, the father of her son Earl Swanson Jr.
Married to Bill Blunt (police officer) for three years.
Was mother of Ronald David Jackson ("Ronnie") with Clyde McPhatter of The Drifters , although Ronnie grew up believing that his father was Brown's former companion and accompanist Willis Jackson (saxophonist)|Willis "Gator" Jackson .
Her nephew Rakim is considered one of the most influential rappers in the history of the hip hop music|hip hop genre. http://www.rhapsody.com/raphiphop/eastcoastraphiphop/eastcoaststreetpoets/more.html East Coast Street Poets review. Rhapsody Online. URL retrieved on January 9, 2007 .
Brown died in a Las Vegas-area hospital on November 17, 2006, from complications following a myocardial infarction|heart attack and stroke she suffered after surgery in October 2006.Clarke, Norm (November 10, 2006). http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Nov-10-Fri-2006/news/10747697.html Ruth Brown fights for life at Hospital. Las Vegas Review-Journal A memorial concert for her was held on January 22, 2007 at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem , New York." http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1? release_id=204896 Memorial Evening to Honor the Legendary Ruth Brown". Rhythm and Blues Foundation press release. Market Wire . January 18, 2007. URL retrieved on February 18, 2007 .
Brown is buried at the Roosevelt Memorial Park, Chesapeake, Virginia|Chesapeake City in Virginia . http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi? page=gr& GRid=16687832 "Ruth Brown" at findagrave.com
http://www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp? id=72 Ruth Brown at the Rock and Roll Hall of FameLink compromised 2011-Apr-04.
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/brown_ruth/bio.jhtml Ruth Brown biography at VH1
http://www.jazzdisco.org/atlantic/ Atlantic Records discography
http://streams.wgbh.org/online/play.php? xml=specials/jazz_conversations/jazz_2005_07_14_brown_ruth.xml& template=wgbh_audio Jazz Conversations with Eric Jackson: Ruth Brown from http://www.wgbh.org/jazz WGBH Radio Boston
TonyAward MusicalLeadActress 1976-2000 Persondata | NAME = Brown, Ruth | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Weston, Ruth Alston (birth name) | SHORT DESCRIPTION = American R& B and pop singer | DATE OF BIRTH = January 30, 1928 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Portsmouth, Virginia , United States | DATE OF DEATH = November 17, 2006 | PLACE OF DEATH = Henderson, Nevada , United States DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Ruth Category:African American female singers Category:American blues singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:Blues Hall of Fame inductees Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees? Category:Tony Award winners Category:Musicians from Virginia Category:People from Portsmouth, Virginia Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Deaths from stroke Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in Nevada Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Cobblestone Records artists Category:Skye Records artists Category:Jump blues musicians Category:1928 births Category:2006 deaths
