Ruth Brown
269,968 plays (62,459 listeners)
Following a resurgence that began in the mid-1970s and peaked in the eighties, Brown used her influence to press for musicians’ rights regarding royalties and contracts, which led to the founding of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Her performances in the Broadway musical Black and Blue earned Brown a Tony Award, and the original soundtrack won a Grammy Award.
Born Ruth Alston Weston in Portsmouth, Virginia, she attended I. C. Norcom High School, a historically black high school. Brown’s father was a dockhand who directed the local church choir, but the young Ruth showed more of an interest in singing at USO shows and nightclubs. She was inspired by Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington. In 1945, Brown ran away from her home in Portsmouth along with a trumpeter, Jimmy Brown, whom she soon married, to sing in bars and clubs. She then spent a month with Lucky Millinder’s orchestra, but was fired after she brought drinks to the band for free, and was left stranded in Washington, D.C.
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Black Is Brown and Brown Is Beautiful
Ruth Brown
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Rockin' in Rhythm - The Best of Ruth Brown
Ruth Brown
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A Good Day for the Blues
Ruth Brown
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Blues On Broadway
Ruth Brown
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I'll Wait For You
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Lucky Lips
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Cabbage Head
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Recent Activity
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marcucha, alanlaunder, yiouliak and 6 other people added Ruth Brown to their libraries. Monday evening
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icarusholmes tagged Ruth Brown with ‘diva’. Friday evening
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icarusholmes and seal1970 added Ruth Brown to their libraries. Friday evening
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SlipItOut tagged Ruth Brown with ‘rhythm and blues’. last week
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glennb56 tagged Ruth Brown with ‘female jazz vocals’. last month
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MashS tagged Ruth Brown with female vocalists, rhythm and blues, soul and one other tag. last month
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MashS, mariatlastfm, chemicalgirl_ and 5 other people added Ruth Brown to their libraries. last month
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yookyook added Ruth Brown to the lineup of Bumbershoot at Seattle Center. last month
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