Ruth Brown
b. 30 January 1928, Portsmouth, Virginia, USA. Ruth Brown started her musical career singing gospel at an early age in the church choir led by her father. In 1948 she was singing with a band led by her husband Jimmy in Washington, DC, when Willis Conover (from the radio show Voice Of America) recommended her to Ahmet Ertegun of the newly-formed Atlantic Records. Ertegun signed her, despite competition from Capitol, but on the way up to New York for an appearance at the Apollo Theatre, she was involved in a car crash. Hospitalized for nine months, her medical bills were paid by Atlantic and she rewarded them handsomely with her first big hit, Teardrops From My Eyes, in 1950. More hits followed with 5-10-15 Hours (1952) and Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean (1953). Atlantic's first real star, Brown became a major figure in '50s R&B, forming a strong link between that music and early rock ‘n’ roll. Her records were characterized by her rich and expressive singing voice (not unlike that of Dinah Washington) and accompaniment by breathy saxophone solos (initially by Budd Johnson, later by Willie Jackson). Between 1949 and 1955 her songs were on the charts 129 weeks, including five number 1s. Brown's concentration upon R&B has not kept her from associations with the jazz world; very early in her career she sang briefly with the Lucky Millinder band, and has recorded with Jerome Richardson and the Thad Jones- Mel Lewis big band. She also brought a distinctively soulful treatment to varied material such as Yes, Sir, That's My Baby, Sonny Boy, Black Coffee and I Can Dream, Can't I?. In 1989 she won a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway show, Black And Blue, and was receiving enthusiastic reviews for her nightclub act in New York, at Michael's Pub and the Blue Note, into the '90s. In 1993 Brown was to be heard broadcasting on a New York radio station.