Ruth BrownAmerican singer
Date of Birth: 30.01.1928
Country: USA |
Content:
- Biography of Ruth Brown
- Rise to Fame
- Success at Atlantic Records
- Career Revival and Achievements
- Activism and Legacy
Biography of Ruth Brown
Early LifeRuth Elston Weston was born on January 30, 1928, in Portsmouth, Virginia. She was the eldest of seven children in a working-class family. Her father worked as a dockworker and sang in a church choir. Despite her father's influence, Ruth did not follow the traditional path of performing in church and instead became interested in singing in nightclubs and concerts for servicemen. Her musical inspirations at the time were Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday. In 1945, Ruth ran away from home with her boyfriend, trumpeter Jimmy Brown, whom she soon married. They formed a duo and performed in bars and clubs. She briefly collaborated with Lucky Millinder's orchestra for a month but was fired after providing free drinks to the musicians. Ruth Brown stayed in Washington, where their last joint performance took place.
Rise to Fame
There, Brown met Blanche Calloway, the sister of the renowned Cab Calloway, who organized a concert for her at a nightclub in the capital and later became her manager. Willis Conover, a radio host from "Voice of America," noticed the emerging singer and recommended her to the directors of the newly established record company, Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Although Ruth missed her first audition due to a serious car accident that resulted in a nine-month hospital stay, Ertegun and Abramson traveled from New York to Washington in 1948 to finally hear Ruth Brown's singing. They were delighted by her musical talent but convinced her to shift from performing popular ballads to R&B.
Success at Atlantic Records
During her first audition at Atlantic Records, Ruth Brown performed the song "So Long," which became an instant hit. Her next significant success came with the 1950 hit "Teardrops from My Eyes," which topped the R&B charts for 11 weeks. This song, written by Rudy Toombs, became a cornerstone of Ruth Brown's career, establishing her as one of the leading R&B performers. Throughout the next decade, many of Brown's songs became hits, including "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). From 1949 to 1955, Ruth Brown topped the R&B charts for a record-breaking 149 weeks, making her the most popular artist at Atlantic Records, earning the studio the nickname "The House That Ruth Built."
Career Revival and Achievements
In 1960, Ruth Brown disappeared from the public eye to focus on her family and raising her only son. It was only after 15 years that American comedian Redd Foxx convinced her to resume her music career, and four years later, she starred in the sitcom "Hello, Larry." In 1983, Brown made her Broadway debut in the musical "The Amen Corner," based on the play by James Baldwin. In 1988, director John Waters invited Ruth Brown to appear in his cult film "Hairspray," in which she brilliantly portrayed Motor-mouth Maybelle, the owner of a music store fighting for the rights of African Americans. The following year, Brown returned to Broadway in the musical "Black and Blue," which earned her a Tony Award and a Grammy Award for the soundtrack album "Blues on Broadway."
Activism and Legacy
Ruth Brown was an active supporter of the rights of R&B musicians, which led to the creation of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, an independent organization dedicated to preserving the historical and cultural significance of R&B. The foundation provided financial assistance and fought for royalty payments for musicians. In 1989, the foundation awarded Brown a special prize in its first year. In 1993, Ruth Brown was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the title "Queen Mother of the Blues." In the 1990s, she frequently performed with other blues artists, including Charles Brown, and in the late 1990s, she toured with Bonnie Raitt, another American blues singer. Her autobiography, "Miss Rhythm," published in 1995, received a special award for music journalism. Ruth Brown passed away on November 17, 2006, at the Central Hospital in Las Vegas, due to complications from a heart attack and stroke she had suffered in October of that year. On January 22, 2007, a memorial concert was held in one of the Baptist churches in Harlem to honor Ruth Brown, one of the most illustrious R&B performers.