Brown, Ruth (1928–)
Brown, Ruth (1928–)
African-American jazz and rhythm-and-blues singer. Born Ruth Weston, Jan 20, 1928, in Portsmouth, Virginia; grew up in North Carolina; married 3 times.
Hired to sing at Blanche Calloway's club; debuted on Atlantic Records with "So Long," which reached #6 on R&B charts (1949) and led to such a string of hits that Atlantic became known as "The House that Ruth Built": "Teardrops From My Eyes" (1950), "5-10-15 Hours," "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean," "Mend Your Ways," "Miss Rhythm," "Oh What a Dream" and "Mambo Baby"; crossed over to the pop charts with "Lucky Lips," which reached #25 (1957); shut out of pop charts when her songs were covered by white artists; left Atlantic Records (1960); worked as a domestic and busdriver for many years; started up the Rhythm & Blues Foundation (1976), which established an R&B archive based in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History; became host of national radio program Harlem Hit Parade (later known as BluesStage); appeared as Motormouth Mabel in John Waters' film Hairspray (1988). Won Tony Award for performance in Black and Blue (1989) and Grammy for album Blues on Broadway; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1993).
See also autobiography (with Andrew Yule), Miss Rhythm: The Autobiography of Ruth Brown (Fine, 1996); and Women in World History.