Ruth Brown

For other people named Ruth Brown, see Ruth Brown (disambiguation).

Ruth Brown
Brown in 1955
Brown in 1955
Background information
Birth nameRuth Alston Weston
Born(1928-01-12)January 12, 1928[1]
Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
DiedNovember 17, 2006(2006-11-17) (aged 78)
Henderson, Nevada, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer-songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • keyboards
Years active1949–2006
Labels

Ruth Alston Brown (née Weston; January 12, 1928[2][3][4] – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the "Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atlantic Records in the 1950s, such as "So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes" and "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean".[5] For these contributions, Atlantic became known as "the house that Ruth built"[6][7] (alluding to the popular nickname for the old Yankee Stadium).[8] Brown was a 1993 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Following a resurgence that began in the mid-1970s and peaked in the 1980s, Brown used her influence to press for musicians' rights regarding royalties and contracts; these efforts led to the founding of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.[9] Her performances in the Broadway musical Black and Blue earned Brown a Tony Award, and the original cast recording won a Grammy Award.[10][11] Brown was a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.[12] In 2017, Brown was inducted into National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.[13] In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Brown at number 146 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.[14]

Brown is the aunt of rapper Rakim.

  1. ^ Obituary. The New York Times, November 18, 2006. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  2. ^ Dates of birth and death. Death-records.mooseroots.com. Accessed January 29, 2016.
  3. ^ Profile with dates of birth and death Archived August 22, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Biography.com. Accessed January 29, 2016.
  4. ^ Obituary. Washingtonpost.com. Accessed January 29, 2016.
  5. ^ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 96. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
  6. ^ Dahl, Bill. "Ruth Brown: Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  7. ^ Gulla, Bob (2008). Icons of R&B and Soul. ABC-CLIO. p. 76. ISBN 9780313340451. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  8. ^ Miller, Michael (July 1, 2008). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music History: From Pre-Historic Africa to Classical Europe to American Popular Music. Penguin. ISBN 9781440636370. Retrieved July 22, 2021 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Heatley, Michael (2007). The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock. London: Star Fire. ISBN 978-1-84451-996-5.
  10. ^ "Tony Winner and R&B; Pioneer Ruth Brown Dies at Age 78". Broadway.com. November 20, 2006.
  11. ^ "Ruth Brown". Recording Academy Grammy Awards.
  12. ^ Mcphate, Tim (May 15, 2017). "Special Merit Awards to honor 2016 class". Recording Academy Grammy Awards.
  13. ^ "Inductees". National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  14. ^ "The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time". Rolling Stone. January 1, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.