RUTH BROWN: 1928-2006: 'MISS RHYTHM' WAS PIONEER R&B STAR

[NVMojo]

November 18, 2006

Singer Ruth Brown, known as "Miss Rhythm" during her 1950s heyday as a pioneer rhythm and blues star, died Friday at a Henderson hospital. She was 78.

Brown, who lived in Henderson, had been in intensive care for more than a week.

She died of complications from a stroke and heart attack, said Lindajo Loftus, a publicist for the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, which Brown helped found.

Brown's soulful voice produced dozens of hits for Atlantic Records, which became known as "The House That Ruth Built" for such successes as "Teardrops in My Eyes,'' "5-10-15 Hours'' and "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean.''

But Brown "was not just a blues shouter, she could be very tender," said Las Vegas-based singer Marlena Shaw, a longtime friend. "She was just so special. That woman had so many different talents."

A Tony winner for the Broadway musical "Black and Blue" and a Grammy winner for the album "Blues on Broadway," Brown also created the character of Motormouth Maybelle in the 1988 movie "Hairspray," which inspired the Tony-winning Broadway musical, and appeared in the television sitcoms "Hello, Larry" and "Checking In."

more...

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Nov-18-Sat-2006/news/10919714.html

[Coventina]

1. RIP Miss Brown, you will be missed!!

:cry:

Sad loss to us left here behind.....

Condolences to her family & friends.

[NVMojo]

5. another page in great R&B history turns ...it is a great loss ...

[OneBlueSky]

2. a true pioneer who will be greatly missed . . . RIP, Ruth Brown . . . n/t

.

[mac56]

3. My favorite by Ruth Brown

IF I CAN'T SELL IT, I'LL SIT ON IT

(I own a secondhand furniture store and I think my prices are fair. 'Course this real cheap guy I know came in one day. Saw this chair he wanted to buy, but he wouldn't, claimed the price was too high. So I looked him straight in the eye, and this was my reply...)

If I can't sell it
I'm gonna sit down on it
I ain't gonna give it away

Now darling if you want it
You're gonna have to buy it
And I mean just what I say

Now how would you like to find this
Waitin' at home for you every night
Only been used once or twice
But it's still nice and tight

So if I can't sell it
I'm gonna keep sittin on it
I ain't gonna give it away

Now you can't find a better pair of legs in town
And a back like this, not for miles around
And that is why

If I can't sell it
I'm going to recline upon it
Why should I give it away?

Because it's made for comfort
Built for wear and tear
Where else could you find
Such an easy chair?

If I can't sell it, darling
I'm gonna sit down on it
I don't see the need to give it away

Because it's lush, plush, slick, and sleek
Darling, a high class piece like this at any price is cheap

So if I can't sell it
I'm gonna sit back down on it
Why should I give it away?

Now look at this nice bottom
Ain't it easy on the eye?
Guaranteed to support any weight or size

If I can't sell it
I'm just gonna keep sittin' on it
Don't ask me to give it away

(Now, I have really had my fill of folks always comin' around with their hands stuck out, wantin' something, don't want to give up nothing. Now if you want this, put your hand in your stash and give me some cash. Now if you want something for free, go to the Salvation Army, don't come runnin' to me. Now this is not Saint Paul's place, this is Ruth's place. Read my lips. NO FREE TRIPS! And you can look at me and see I have not been starvin' darling. Now I have a few diamonds that I haven't even taken off to dust lately. Now you are not getting anything around here for free. Show me the color of your money. GOODBYE!)

[psychopomp]

4. Ha ha,that was great, thanks

Goodbye to a strong woman gifted with talent and blessed with a passion for life that others could enjoy.

[Johnny Noshoes]

6. Wow

listening to it right now on WBGO. I love this song. She was great.

[bigluckyfeet]

9. I saw her

Not long ago in Hairspray,I have one of her Cd's.

[Onlooker]

7. She was great

She had great style. I love her version of Sentimental Journey, and also her song, Lucky Lips.

[NVMojo]

8. me, too ...

[kysrsoze]

10. Never heard of her. How did she compare to Billie Holiday or Nina Simone?

I really have no idea. She might be great. I just don't know.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

11. WP: R& B's Tireless Voice

Made Hits And Made Sure Artists Got The Money They Deserved

By Richard Harrington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 18, 2006; Page C01

She'll always be Miss Rhythm, the powerhouse belter of those 1950s blues hits that made Atlantic Records.

Ruth Brown could swagger on "Teardrops From My Eyes" and turn imperious on "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean," its very first word rising like a squealed exclamation point. There was a world of hurt in those songs and an insistence on some justice, a boldness of voice that Miss Rhythm reached for as Miss Righteous, the crusader who forced the record industry to pay her fellow artists the royalties they had never received.


Brown, who died yesterday at 78 after having been in a coma in a Las Vegas hospital for almost three weeks, was a pioneer of rhythm and blues. Even her initials bore testimony to that. Blessed with jubilance, sass and high spirits, and wonderfully expressive features that simply broadened over time, she influenced such greats as Etta James, Stevie Wonder, Bette Midler, Aretha Franklin and Bonnie Raitt. (contd)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/17/AR2006111702078.ht