Ruth Brown

Ruth Brown, "Miss Rhythm", the rhythm-and-blues queen of the 1950s, died Friday from heart attack/stroke complications at the age of 78.

Ruth Brown had a huge impact on the early rock and roll recording industry, at Atlantic records, which at that time was a new label. She had a string of hits beginning in 1949 on Atlantic beginning with "So Long" and "Teardrops From My Eyes" through the early 50s with tunes like "5-10-15 Hours", "Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean", and helped to propel the label to success. She remained on the R&B charts for 149 weeks from 1949-1955, with 16 top ten records, 5 of them hit number one. She was Atlantic's biggest success. So much so that they call Atlantic Records ... "The House That Ruth Built".

In the 60s, Ruth retired, raised a family, and worked a day job as a domestic worker. Unbelieveable. Eventually in the mid to late 70s she jumped back into the music business in TV sitcom roles, as DJ Motormouth Mabel in John Waters' 1985 film Hairspray, and then in 1989 she starred in a Broadway show, Black and Blue, from which she won a Tony Award! For years to come Ruth fought a legal battle to recoup royalties from Atlantic for those early hits and this battle led to the formation of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization that aids others in similar circumstances. Ruth also won a Grammy and is considered the queen of R&B, having set the standard for future R&B artists.

Check out one of my favorite Ruth Brown songs, This Little Girl's Gone Rockin' (mp3).

On YouTube:

Ruth Brown - Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean

Ruth Brown as the record shop owner/DJ in Hairspray

Buy Ruth Brown albums/book:

If you dig Ruth Brown you should also check out Wynona Carr, and LaVern Baker - two more ladies of early R&B.

(***the purpose of mp3 samples on this blog is to give you an idea of what an artist sounds like so you purchase more music by this artist. mp3s should be deleted from your computer after you listen to them. please contact me if you would like an mp3 removed***)

Comments

[JORDAN]

Looks like a nice site..aint been here for long but I like it already. Really good site, and a pleasant surprise.

[stuart tarr]

thanks for your tribute, and especially the youtube videos. What a presence and talent.