The Queen of Rhythm & Blues |
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RUTH BROWN
"THE BOOK OF RUTH"
Her introduction to music was when she was installed in the junior choir
of the Emmanuel AME Church where she received vocal coaching from her
father, the choir director. In the Weston household, the only music
allowed was religious. Still, Ruth developed an interest in popular music
when she started to work behind the soda fountain at the local USO club
after school and convinced the director to let her sing in the shows. Her second single, "Teardrops From My Eyes," brought out her more swaggering, aggressive side, and she was awarded with her first number one R&B hit. For the duration of the 1950's, she dominated the R&B charts with such red-hot singles as "5-10-15 Hours" and "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean." Brown's two dozen hit records helped Atlantic secure its footing in the record industry, a track record for which the young label was referred to as "The House That Ruth Built." The relationship would last until 1961, at which point she jumped to another label with middling success.
With the onset of the turbulent 60's, musical styles made a
transition. Ruth was thrust into the role of single mother, raising two
boys alone, forcing her to take jobs as a maid, school bus driver and head
start teacher, limiting her singing to weekends only for awhile. She hosted the Harlem Hit Parade series on National Public Radio and won the 1989 "Best Actress in a Musical" Tony® Award for her role in the Broadway musical Black and Blue, after appearing in the original Paris production. Also, in 1989 she received her first Grammy® Award for the album Blues On Broadway.
Other accolades include a 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award from
The Blues Foundation, The Ralph Gleason Award for Music Journalism (for
her 1996 autobiography "Miss Rhythm: The Autobiography of Ruth Brown"),
two W.C. Handy Awards and a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues
Foundation, which was founded as a direct result of efforts by and on
behalf of Ruth to foster wider recognition and provide financial
assistance to rhythm and blues musicians of any stature. Ruth was inducted
into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 along with Etta James and Sly
& The Family Stone. |
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