Ruth Brown facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ruth Brown
Brown in 1955
Background information
Birth name	Ruth Alston Weston
Born	(1928-01-12)January 12, 1928 Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
Died	November 17, 2006(2006-11-17) (aged 78) Henderson, Nevada, U.S.
Genres	R&B soul jazz blues doo-wop gospel funk
Occupation(s)	Actress singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals piano keyboards
Years active	1949–2006
Labels	Atlantic Philips Fantasy

Ruth Alston Brown (born Weston; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. People sometimes called her the "Queen of R&B" because of her huge impact on R&B music.

She brought a pop music style to R&B with many hit songs for Atlantic Records in the 1950s. Some of her famous songs include "So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes", and "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean". Because of her success, Atlantic Records became known as "the house that Ruth built." This phrase meant she was a key reason for the record company's success. Ruth Brown was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Later in her career, Ruth Brown used her fame to help other musicians. She fought for their rights to get fair payments (called royalties) and better contracts. Her efforts led to the creation of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. She also starred in the Broadway musical Black and Blue, which won her a Tony Award. The music from that show also won a Grammy Award. In 2016, Ruth Brown received a special Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for her lifelong contributions to music. She was also inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2017.

Early Life and Music Dreams

Ruth Brown was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, and was the oldest of seven children. Her father worked at the docks and also led the church choir. But young Ruth was more interested in singing at USO shows and nightclubs. She loved the music of singers like Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Dinah Washington.

When she was 17, in 1945, Ruth left home with a trumpet player named Jimmy Brown, whom she soon married. They sang in bars and clubs. She also spent a month performing with Lucky Millinder's orchestra.

Starting Her Career in Music

Ruth Brown performing at the Mambo Club in Wichita, Kansas, in 1957.

Blanche Calloway, who was Cab Calloway's sister and also a bandleader, helped Ruth get a singing job at the Crystal Caverns nightclub in Washington, D.C. Blanche soon became Ruth's manager. A famous radio DJ, Willis Conover, saw Ruth perform and told the bosses of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson, about her.

Ruth was supposed to audition for Atlantic Records, but she got into a car crash and had to stay in the hospital for nine months. She actually signed her contract with Atlantic Records while she was still in her hospital bed!

In 1948, Ertegun and Abramson traveled from New York City to Washington, D.C., just to hear Ruth sing. At first, she mostly sang slow, popular songs. But Ertegun convinced her to try singing rhythm and blues instead.

Her first audition song in 1949 was "So Long," which quickly became a hit. Then came "Teardrops from My Eyes" in 1950. This song was a big, upbeat hit for Ruth and stayed at number one on the Billboard R&B chart for 11 weeks. This success earned her the nickname "Miss Rhythm," and she soon became known as the queen of R&B music.

She had many more hits, including "I'll Wait for You" (1951), "5-10-15 Hours" (1953), and "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" (1953). Between 1949 and 1955, her songs spent a total of 149 weeks on the R&B charts. She had 21 songs in the Top 10, with five of them reaching number one. In 1954, Billboard magazine named her the Favorite R&B Artist in their Disk Jockey Poll.

Ruth Brown often performed at segregated dances in the southern states, where she was incredibly popular. She once said that a writer joked, "In the South, Ruth Brown is better known than Coca-Cola."

Her first pop music hit was "Lucky Lips" in 1957. It reached number 6 on the R&B chart and number 25 on the U.S. pop chart. Another hit, "This Little Girl's Gone Rockin'", followed in 1958. During the 1960s, Ruth Brown stepped away from the music scene to focus on being a housewife and mother.

Later Career and Helping Musicians

Ruth Brown in 1996.

Ruth Brown returned to music in 1975, encouraged by comedian Redd Foxx. This led to her acting in TV shows, movies, and plays. She was in the sitcom Hello, Larry and the famous John Waters film Hairspray, where she played Motormouth Maybelle Stubbs. On Broadway, she starred in Amen Corner and Black and Blue. For Black and Blue, she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1989.

Ruth Brown became a strong voice for musicians' rights. Her efforts in 1987 to get fair royalties and contracts for artists led to the creation of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1988. She was one of the first people to receive their Pioneer Award in 1989.

In 1989, she released an album called "Blues and Broadway," which won a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. She was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Ruth Brown continued to record and perform with other artists, like Charles Brown and Bonnie Raitt. Her autobiography, Miss Rhythm, won an award for music writing in 1995. She also hosted a radio show called Blues Stage for six years, starting in 1989.

She was still touring and performing at 78 years old. She even worked on a film called Honeydripper, and her song "Things About Comin' My Way" was released on its soundtrack after her passing.

Death

Ruth Brown passed away in a hospital near Las Vegas on November 17, 2006. She was 78 years old. She had suffered from a heart attack and stroke after surgery. A memorial concert was held for her in New York City in January 2007.

She is buried at Roosevelt Memorial Park in Chesapeake City, Virginia.

Awards and Honors

Ruth Brown received many awards and honors throughout her career:

Other special honors she received include:

• 1989: Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Award
• 1992: Inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame
• 1993: Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
• 1996: Ralph Gleason Award for Music Journalism
• 2013: Inducted into the Virginia Musical Museum's Virginia Music Hall of Fame
• 2016: Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2017: Inducted into National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame

Music Albums

Here are some of the albums Ruth Brown released:

Studio Albums

• Rock & Roll (Atlantic, 1957)
• Miss Rhythm (Atlantic, 1959)
• Late Date with Ruth Brown (Atlantic, 1959)
• Along Comes Ruth (Philips, 1962)
• Gospel Time (Philips, 1962)
• Ruth Brown '65 (Mainstream, 1965)
• Black Is Brown and Brown Is Beautiful (Skye, 1969)
• The Real Ruth Brown (Cobblestone/Buddah, 1972)
• Sugar Babe (President, 1976), re-issued in 1985 as Brown Sugar
• You Don't Know Me (Dobre, 1978)
• Blues on Broadway (Fantasy, 1989)
• Help a Good Girl Go Bad (MMS Classix, 1989)
• Brown, Black & Beautiful (SDEG/Ichiban, 1990)
• Fine and Mellow (Fantasy, 1991)
• The Songs of My Life (Fantasy, 1993)
• R + B = Ruth Brown (Bullseye Blues, 1997)
• A Good Day for the Blues (Bullseye Blues, 1999)

Live Albums

• The Soul Survives (Flair, 1982)
• Takin' Care of Business (Stockholm, 1983)
• Have a Good Time (Fantasy, 1988)
• Live in London (Jazz House, 1995)

Images for kids

• 

  Brown in 1955

See also

In Spanish: Ruth Brown para niños