Ruth Brown
They called Atlantic Records "the house that Ruth built" during the 1950s, and they weren't referring to the Sultan of Swat. Ruth Brown's regal hitmaking reign from 1949 to the close of the '50s helped tremendously to establish the New York label's predominance in the R&B field. Later, the business all but forgot her -- she was forced to toil as domestic help for a time -- but she returned to the top, her status as a postwar R&B pioneer (and tireless advocate for the rights and royalties of her peers) recognized worldwide.
Young Ruth Weston was inspired initially by jazz chanteuses Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Dinah Washington. She ran away from her Portsmouth home in 1945 to hit the road with trumpeter Jimmy Brown, whom she soon married. A month with bandleader Lucky Millinder's orchestra in 1947 ended abruptly in Washington, D.C., when she was canned for delivering a round of drinks to members of the band. Cab Calloway's sister Blanche gave Ruth a gig at her Crystal Caverns nightclub and assumed a managerial role in the young singer's life. DJ Willis Conover dug Brown's act and recommended her to Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson, bosses of a fledgling imprint named Atlantic. Unfortunately, Brown's debut session for the firm was delayed by a nine-month hospital stay caused by a serious auto accident en route to New York that badly injured her leg. When she finally made it to her first date in May 1949, she made up for lost time by waxing the torch ballad "So Long" (backed by guitarist Eddie Condon's band), which proved to be her first hit.
Brown's seductive vocal delivery shone incandescently on her Atlantic smashes "Teardrops in My Eyes" (an R&B chart-topper for 11 weeks in 1950), "I'll Wait for You" and "I Know" in 1951, 1952's "5-10-15 Hours" (another number one rocker), the seminal "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" in 1953, and a tender Chuck Willis-penned "Oh What a Dream," and the timely "Mambo Baby" the next year. Along the way, Frankie Laine tagged her "Miss Rhythm" during an engagement in Philly. Brown belted a series of her hits on the groundbreaking TV program Showtime at the Apollo in 1955, exhibiting delicious comic timing while trading sly one-liners with MC Willie Bryant (ironically, ex-husband Jimmy Brown was a member of the show's house band).
After an even two-dozen R&B chart appearances for Atlantic that ended in 1960 with "Don't Deceive Me" (many of them featuring hell-raising tenor sax solos by Willis "Gator" Jackson, who many mistakenly believed to be Brown's husband), Brown faded from view. After raising her two sons and working a nine-to-five job, Brown began to rebuild her musical career in the mid-'70s. Her comedic sense served her well during a TV sitcom stint co-starring with MacLean Stevenson in Hello, Larry, in a meaty role in director John Waters' 1985 sock-hop satire film Hairspray, and her 1989 Broadway starring turn in Black and Blue (which won her a Tony Award).
There were more records for Fantasy in the '80s and '90s (notably 1991's jumping Fine and Mellow), and a lengthy tenure as host of National Public Radio's Harlem Hit Parade and BluesStage. Brown's nine-year ordeal to recoup her share of royalties from all those Atlantic platters led to the formation of the nonprofit Rhythm & Blues Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping others in the same frustrating situation. In 1993 Brown was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and 1995 saw the release of her autobiography, Miss Rhythm. Brown suffered a heart attack and stroke following surgery in October 2006 and never fully recovered, passing on November 17, 2006.
© Bill Dahl /TiVo
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Miss Rhythm: Greatest Hits And More
Rock - Lançado por Rhino Atlantic em 1 de jan. de 1990
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Ruth Brown
Pop - Lançado por Rhino Atlantic em 16 de out. de 2007
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Black Is Brown and Brown Is Beautiful / The Real Ruth Brown
Jazz - Lançado por Fresh Sound Records em 1 de jan. de 2013
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R+B=Ruth Brown
R&B - Lançado por Bullseye Blues em 1 de jan. de 1997
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The Essentials: Ruth Brown
Rock - Lançado por Rhino em 25 de fev. de 2003
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Rockin' In Rhythm - The Best Of Ruth Brown
Rock - Lançado por Rhino Atlantic em 18 de jun. de 1996
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Black is Brown and Brown is Beautiful
Soul - Lançado por Skye Records em 26 de out. de 1969
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Blues On Broadway
Blues - Lançado por Fantasy Records em 1 de jan. de 1989
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Ms. B's Blues: Essential Recordings
Blues - Lançado por Rounder Records em 1 de jan. de 2009
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The Best Of Ruth Brown
Pop - Lançado por Rhino Atlantic em 16 de ago. de 2005
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Late Date With Ruth Brown
Rock - Lançado por Rhino Atlantic em 1 de jan. de 2000
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Miss Rhythm
Rock - Lançado por Rhino Atlantic em 4 de fev. de 2020
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Mojo Priest
Blues - Lançado por Mojo Priest em 1 de mai. de 2006
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Sweet Baby Of Mine
Blues - Lançado por Roots em 1 de jan. de 2000
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Rock & Roll + Miss Rhythm (Bonus Track Version)
Soul - Lançado por Yeah Mama Records em 24 de jul. de 2016
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I'll Wait for You
R&B - Lançado por Play Music em 2 de nov. de 2019
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The Best of the Jazz Singers From the Groove Merchant Vaults 4
Sarah Vaughan, Dankota Staton, Ruth Brown
Vocal Jazz - Lançado por LRC Ltd. - Groove Merchant Records em 2 de jul. de 2012
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1954-1956
Blues - Lançado por Classics Blues & Rhythm Series em 4 de ago. de 2008
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Deep River
Jazz - Lançado por Black & Partner Licenses LLC em 28 de mar. de 2019
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Old Man River
R&B - Lançado por Real Rhythm And Blues Records em 17 de mar. de 2016
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Vintage Vocal Jazz / Swing No. 133 - EP: Bewitched
Soul - Lançado por Vintage Music em 5 de nov. de 2010
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