Singer Ruth Brown, known as the Queen of R&B for bringing a pop music style to R&B music, was born on this date in 1928. Born Ruth Alston Weston in Portsmouth, Virginia, she sang in the church choir and then joined Lucky Millinders big band after winning a talent contest at Harlems Apollo Theater. Blanche Calloway, Cab Calloways 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. 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 Billboards 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. She followed up this hit with Ill Wait for You (1951), I Know (1951), 5-10-15 Hours (1953), (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean (1953), Oh What a Dream (1954),[8] Mambo Baby (1954), and Dont 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 segregated in the Southern States, where she toured extensively and was immensely 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 US pop chart. The 1958 follow up was This Little Girls 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. Browns 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 toured into her 70s before dying on November 17, 2006, at the age of 78.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 17:33:12 +0000