In 1945, aged 17, Brown ran away from her home in Portsmouth along with the trumpeter Jimmy Brown, whom she soon married, to sing in bars and clubs. She then spent a month with Lucky Millinder's orchestra.[5]
Early career
Ruth Brown performs at the Mambo Club in Wichita, Kansas, 1957
In 1948, Ertegun and Abramson drove from New York City to Washington, D.C., to hear Brown sing. Her repertoire was mostly popular ballads, but Ertegun convinced her to switch to rhythm and blues.[19]
In her first audition, in 1949, she sang "So Long," which became 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's R&B number one for 11 weeks. The hit earned her the nickname "Miss Rhythm", and within a few months, she became the acknowledged queen of R&B.[20]
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),[19] "Mambo Baby" (1954), and "Don't Deceive Me" (1960), some of which were credited to Ruth Brown and the Rhythm Makers. Between 1949 and 1955, her records stayed on the R&B chart for a total of 149 weeks; she would go on to score 21 Top 10 hits all together, including five that landed at number one. Brown ranked No. 1 on The Billboard 1954 Disk Jockey Poll for Favorite R&B Artists.[21]
Brown played many racially segregated dances in the southern states, where she toured extensively and was immensely popular. She claimed that a writer had once summed up her popularity by saying, "In the South, Ruth Brown is better known than Coca-Cola."[22]
She had further hits with "I Don't Know" in 1959 and "Don't Deceive Me" in 1960, which were more successful on the R&B chart than on the pop chart. In 1965 she appeared as a guest on TV Gospel Time. During the 1960s, Brown faded from public view and lived as a housewife and mother.
Later career
Brown in 1996
She returned to music in 1975 at the urging of the comedian Redd Foxx, followed by a series of comedic acting jobs. This launched her career in TV, film, and stage. She had a recurring role during the second season of the sitcom Hello, Larry as the neighbor, Leona Wilson. She starred as Motormouth Maybelle Stubbs, a friendly and strong-willed record promoter and mother of Seaweed and L'il Inez, in the John Waters cult classic film Hairspray. On Broadway, she starred in productions of Amen Corner and Black and Blue. The latter earned her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1989.[26]The New York Times theater critic Frank Rich wrote, "Ruth Brown, the rhythm-and-blues chanteuse, applies sarcastic varnish and two-a-day burlesque timing to the ribald Andy Razaf lyrics of 'If I Can't Sell It, I'll Keep Sittin' on It.'"[27]
Brown recorded and sang with the rhythm-and-blues singer Charles Brown. She also toured with Bonnie Raitt in the late 1990s. Her 1995 autobiography, Miss Rhythm,[32] won the Gleason Award for music journalism.[28] She also appeared on Bonnie Raitt's 1995 live DVD Road Tested, singing "Never Make Your Move Too Soon".[33] She was nominated for another Grammy in the Traditional Blues category for her 1997 album, R + B = Ruth Brown. In the 2000 television miniseries Little Richard, she was portrayed by singer Tressa Thomas.
She hosted the radio program Blues Stage, carried by more than 200 NPR affiliates, for six years, starting in 1989.[34]
Brown was still touring at the age of 78.[18] She had completed preproduction work on the John Sayles film, Honeydripper, which she did not live to finish. Still, her recording of "Things About Comin' My Way" was released posthumously on the soundtrack CD. Her last interview was in August 2006.[35]
Death
Brown died in a Las Vegas–area hospital on November 17, 2006, from complications following a heart attack and stroke she suffered after surgery in the previous month. She was 78 years old.[36] A memorial concert for her was held on January 22, 2007, at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York.[37]
^Richardson, Perry, ed. (2001). "What'd I say?" : the Atlantic story : 50 years of music. New York: Welcome Rain Publishers. p. 59. ISBN1-56649-048-0. OCLC47234086.
^"Tenth Annual Cavalcade Offering Finest Variety At Wrigley Field June 20" Article The California Eagle June 2, 1954.
^Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 54.
^Rockin' with Ruth by Ruth Brown. Popular Music, Vol. 5, Continuity and Change (1985), pp. 225–234.
