Ruth Brown Michael, Katelyn, Kellie, Grace & Kyle Group 1
Early life Born Ruth Weston in Portsmouth, Virginia on January 12, 1928. She was the daughter of a church choir director, however she preferred pop music and rebelled from tradihon. In this rebellious spirit, Ruth ran away from home at the age of 17 with Jimmy Brown to Detroit, Michigan.
Early Life continued This fling, which later resulted in marriage, didn't last long, as Ruth later found out that Jimmy was already married. Therefore, her own marriage to him was legally void. Ruth had already established some popularity in Detroit as Ruth Brown, so she kept her false husband's name.
Ruth's first gig was at the Frolic bar. There she was discovered by Lucky Millinder who recruited her as a backup singer for his orchestra. She was later fired for bringing sodas to the rest of the band, which Lucky considered degrading. He stranded Brown in D.C..
A Rising Star It was in D.C. where Brown met Blanche Calloway, who owned Crystal Caverns nightclub. She performed there unhl DJ Willis Conover discovered her in 1948. DJ Willis recommended Brown to AtlanHc Records.
Signing Contract Ruth signed with AtlanHc Records while in the hospital She was in the hospital with two broken legs awer a car accident
Early Songs AWer a full recovery, Brown came back with a bang and recorded the song "So Long" which made the top 10 for R&B in 1949. Her next recording, "Teardrops from my Eyes" was her first No. 1 hit, and gave her the nickname The Girl With a Tear in Her Voice.
Success Ruth had a number of hit songs, most notably "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" and "5-10- 15 Hours". AtlanHc Records became known as The House that Ruth Built. Some people joked that R&B actually stood for Ruth and Brown.
More Misfortune When the 1960's rolled around, AtlanHc dumped Brown nearly penniless as her profits were used to pay for recording Hme and tour fees. Broke, Brown moved to Long Island where she worked various part Hme jobs. She remarried twice, both ending in divorce
Acting career In 1975 Brown made the move to L.A. to star in the musical Selma. From 1979-80, she starred on the sitcom Hello, Larry. She performed in many Broadway musicals. In 1989, Brown won a Tony Award for her performance in Black and Blue and a Grammy for the album Blues on Broadway.
Later Life To prevent anymore mistreatment by the music industry, Ruth worked Hrelessly to make sure arhsts were not exploited by their labels. - co founded the Rhythm and Blues FoundaHon to try to get royalhes back to deserving arhsts Ruth died on November 17, 2006 due to heart complicahons.
Musical Style Ruth Brown was one of the first female R&B singers. Every black woman before her was either a jazz, blues, or gospel vocalist. She was all of those with the added element of rhythm. For this Brown got the nickname Miss Rhythm She is noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music.
Her early repertoire was mostly popular ballads but AtlanHc Records convinced her to switch to R&B. However, Brown retained her "pop" style. She was a combinahon of sass and innocence, and was extremely funky. The tone of her voice was mighty and feisty. She could sound as if she were hurhng, joyfully lusty, or both at once.
During the sessions for Teardrops From My Eyes, her voice cracked upward into a squeal. AtlanHc Records liked it and called it a tear and this sound became her trademark for a string of hits. She achieved enormous popularity with black and white audiences alike.
Legacy Ruth Brown's greatest hits provided a template for much of the rock and roll music that followed in their wake. In addihon to her musical legacy, she also lew future arhsts a more arhst- friendly environment, thanks to her Rhythm and Blues FoundaHon In 1993, Ruth Brown was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Music That Influenced Ruth Brown Ruth Brown s main influences included Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Dinah Washington. Other influences include Ella Fitzgerald, and Fats Domino. Brown first started singing in a gospel choir at her church, but these three jazz arhsts inspired her at an adolescent age to run away from home to pursue her music career and love life. But it was Brown s rich shouhng voice that lead her to become the Queen of R&B.
Sarah Vaughan was a very influenhal jazz singer. Her vibrato was superb, along with the range her voice reached. She was able to influence many other arhsts, including Ruth Brown, and start a type of revoluhon in which female singers became more and more popular. Dinah Washington was known as the Queen of Jukebox. She had the most dishnct enunciahon of words of all the singers of that Hme, which made it easier for the crowd to recognize and repeat the lyrics to her songs.
Billie Holiday was a very influenhal singer in the way that she did not grow up in a perfect family. Abandoned by her father at a young age and shortly thereawer lew by her mother, Billie Holiday grew up with her other relahves who mistreated her. She grew up in a poor environment with very lille educahon, but was shll able to make it big- Hme in the jazz singing industry. A PBS arhcle states Holiday is owen considered the foremost female singer in jazz history, a view substanhated by her influence on later singers.
Other Popular Music Other popular arhsts of the Hme included Ray Charles, Lille Richard, and Fats Domino. These three singers were all influenced and influencing the crossover from R&B to Rock and Roll through their songs. Ray Charles was a Father of soul and in the 1950 s combined jazz and gospel music to create legendary songs. Although not in the same technical genre, Ruth Brown and Ray Charles mostly appealed to the same crowds, and their soul/r&b backgrounds are very similar.
Fats Domino was one of the six main pivotal figures of rock and roll. His songs crossed over from R&B to rock and roll, and one of his key unique features was that he sang many songs that contained falselo. Rather than short phrases, he was able to sing up to 16 bars in falselo at a Hme. Li;le Richard was also one of the six main pivotal figures in rock and roll. His style is one that led to most mainstream rock. He grew up in a religious family, singing for the church and soon turned to R&B for his creahve work. He had a great shouhng voice, similar to Ruth Brown.
Artists Influenced by Ruth Brown Ruth Brown influenced many future arhsts, including Aretha franklin, Janis Joplin, and Tina turner. Brown also used her power for good in that she promoted rights for all musicians' with regard to contracts, royalhes, and produchon companies in the Rhythm and Blues FoundaHon. Aretha Franklin was a child prodigy in her BapHst Church gospel choir. She grew up with a lot of talent, but in her young adult years switched over to singing soul music, a close sister to R&B.
Janis Joplin had blues inspired vocals and, like Ruth brown, sang in a church choir as a child. She strived to get out of her small hometown to a larger community of musicians. Tina Turner, unlike most soul singers, did not grow up singing in a church gospel choir. Rather, she started singing formally when she was older. She turned to R&B music in her Hmes of trial as a young adult, and later became famous and even crossed over to the pop charts in her hits.
Civil Issues of 1950s Separate but Equal - As a result of this being shll present, Brown spent much of her Hme touring in the South Rosa Parks - example of how black women were shll not accepted as equal at this Hme - Brown had to traverse these issues in order to be successful
References Aretha Franklin Biography. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved June 24, 2013, from hlp://www.biography.com/people/aretha- franklin- 9301157 Billie Holiday. (2013). PBS. Retrieved June 24, 2013, from hlp://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/ arhst_id_holiday_billie.htm Dinah Washington: A Queen in Turmoil. (2004). NPR Music website. Retrieved June 23, 2013, from hlp:// www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyid=3872390 Fats Domino Biography. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved June 24, 2013, from hlp:// www.biography.com/people/fats- domino- 9276748 Fontenot, R. (2013) "Ruth Brown." Oldies Music. Retrieved June 25, 2013, from hlp://oldies.about.com/od/ oldieshistory/a/womenshistory.htm Janis Joplin Biography. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved June 24, 2013, from hlp:// www.biography.com/people/janis- joplin- 9357941 Lille Richard Biography. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved June 23, 2013, from hlp:// www.biography.com/people/lille- richard- 9383571 Pareles, J. (2006, November 17). Ruth Brown, R&B Singer and Actress, Dies at 78 - New York Times. The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & MulEmedia. Retrieved June 25, 2013, from hlp:// www.nyhmes.com/2006/11/17/arts/music/17cnd- brown.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Ray Charles Biography. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved June 24, 2013, from hlp:// www.biography.com/people/ray- charles- 9245001 Sarah Vaughan. (2013). All Music website. Retrieved June 23, 2013, from hlp://www.allmusic.com/arhst/ sarah- vaughan- mn0000204901 Tina Turner Biography. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved June 24, 2013, from hlp:// www.biography.com/people/hna- turner- 9512276