Born Ruth Alston Weston on 30th January 1928 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.
Blanche Calloway, Cab Calloway's sister, also a bandleader, arranged a gig for Brown at a Washington nightclub called Crystal Caverns and soon became her manager. Willis Conover, a Voice of America disc jockey, caught her act and recommended her to Atlantic Records bosses, Ahmet Ertegün and Herb Abramson. Brown was unable to audition as planned though, because of a serious car accident that resulted in a nine-month hospital stay. In 1948, however, Ertegün and Abramson drove to Washington from New York City to hear her sing in the club. Although her repertoire was mostly popular ballads, Ertegün convinced her to switch to rhythm and blues. His productions for her, however, retained her pop style, with clean, fresh arrangements and the singing spot on the beat with little of the usual blues singer's embroidery.
In her first audition, in 1949, she sang "So Long", which became a hit. This was followed by "Teardrops from My Eyes" in 1950; written by Rudy Toombs, it was the first upbeat major hit for Ruth Brown, establishing her as an important figure in R&B. Recorded for Atlantic Records in New York City in September 1950, and released in October, it was on Billboard's List of number-one R&B hits (United States) for eleven weeks. The huge hit earned her the nickname "Miss Rhythm", and within a few months Ruth Brown became the acknowledged queen of R&B.
She followed up this hit with "I'll Wait for You" (1951), "I Know" (1951), "5-10-15 Hours" (1953), "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" (1953), "Oh What a Dream" (1954), "Mambo Baby" (1954), and "Don't Deceive Me" (1960). She also became known as "Little Miss Rhythm" and "the girl with the teardrop in her voice". In all, she was on the R&B charts for 149 weeks from 1949 to 1955, with sixteen top-ten blues records including five number ones, and became Atlantic's most popular artist, earning Atlantic records the proper name of "The House that Ruth Built".
During the 1960s, Brown faded from public view to become a housewife and mother, and only returned to music in 1975 at the urging of Redd Foxx, followed by a series of comic acting gigs, including roles in the sitcom Hello, Larry and the John Waters film Hairspray as local DJ Motormouth Maybelle, as well as Broadway appearances in Amen Corner and Black and Blue, which earned her a Tony Award for her performance and a Grammy award for her album Blues on Broadway, featuring hits from the show.
Brown's fight for musicians' rights and royalties in 1987 led to the founding of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. She was inducted as a Pioneer Award recipient in its first year, 1989. In 1993, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as "The Queen Mother of the Blues".
She has become an iconic symbol to many black women for later generations, where she is also a favourite artist and inspiration for later blues artists such as Bonnie Raitt. Brown recorded and sang along with fellow rhythm and blues performer Charles Brown, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and toured with Raitt on Raitt's tour in the late 1990s, "Road Tested". Her 1995 autobiography, Miss Rhythm, won the Gleason Award for music journalism.
Brown died in a Las Vegas-area hospital on 17th November 2006, from complications following a heart attack and stroke she suffered after surgery in October 2006. A memorial concert for her was held on 22nd January 2007 at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York.
After The Lovin'
Ruth Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
After the lovin'
With a song I just wrote yesterday
And I hope you can hear
What the words and the music have to say.
It's so hard to explain
Everything that I'm feelin'
But I love you so much
That the sound of your voice can get me high.
Thanks for takin' me
On a one way trip to the sun.
And thanks for turnin' me
Into someone.
So I sing you to sleep
After the lovin'
I brush back the hair from your eyes.
And the love on your face
Is so real that it makes me want to cry.
And I know that my song
Isn't sayin' anything new.
Oh, but after the lovin'
I'm still in love with you.
So I sing you to sleep
After the lovin'
I brush back the hair from your eyes.
And the love on your face
Is so real that it makes me want to cry.
And I know that my song
Isn't sayin' anything new.
Oh, but after the lovin'
I'm still in love with you.
Yes, after the lovin'
I'm still in love with you.
Hmmm, after the lovin'
I'm still in love with you.
The song "After The Lovin'" by Ruth Brown is about the aftermath of lovemaking, where the singer is softly singing a lullaby to their lover as they fall asleep. The song talks about how hard it is to express love verbally, but the music and their lover's voice has a way of making them feel loved. The song is an expression of how love is still present, despite the physical act of lovemaking being over. The words of the song are simple, but the emotion and sentiment behind the song make it a touching and powerful ballad.
The lyrics of the song are conversational in nature, as the singer talks directly to their lover, thanking them for "taking me on a one way trip to the sun" and "turning me into someone." The lyrics express gratitude towards the lover, who has transformed the singer's life in some way. The lullaby-like tone and the sweetness of the lyrics show that the song is not just about physical pleasure, but also about emotional and spiritual connection.
One interesting fact about the song is that it was written by the legendary songwriter Alan Bernstein, who is also known for composing the hit songs "Volare" and "Sherry." Another interesting fact is that the song has been covered by many artists, including Engelbert Humperdinck, Elvis Presley, and Gladys Knight. The song was also used in the 2003 film "Calendar Girls" and in a 2004 episode of the TV series "The Sopranos." The chords for the song are as follows:
Verse: A, Bm, D, E
Chorus: A, Bm, D, E
Line by Line Meaning
So I sing you to sleep
I comfort you and lull you to sleep with the power of music.
After the lovin'
Following the passionate act of making love, I remain captivated by you.
With a song I just wrote yesterday
I express my feelings and love for you freshly through the new composition.
And I hope you can hear
My desire is for you to understand and feel the emotion and message conveyed in the lyrics and melody.
What the words and the music have to say.
I try to communicate my affection, emotions and thoughts through the lyrics and melody.
Thanks for takin' me
I express my gratitude and appreciation for taking me on a journey of love and affection.
On a one way trip to the sun.
It was a journey of intense emotion and passion - one that exceeded our wildest dreams.
And thanks for turnin' me
I am grateful for the transformative effect that this relationship has had on me.
Into someone.
It has had a profound impact on me that has changed me for the better.
I brush back the hair from your eyes.
I tenderly show you affection and appreciate you in ways small and large.
And the love on your face
The way you look at me shows how much you love me too - this means the world to me.
Is so real that it makes me want to cry.
Your love is so tangible and profound, that it moves me to tears - happy tears.
And I know that my song
I am aware that my song doesn't offer any new information that you do not already know.
Isn't sayin' anything new.
But I don't need to - the fact I am singing to you means everything.
Oh, but after the lovin'
Despite completing the intimate act of making love, I am committed to staying in love with you.
I'm still in love with you.
My devotion to you is unwavering and my heart belongs to you.
Lyrics © THE BICYCLE MUSIC COMPANY,
Written by: ALAN BERNSTEIN, RICHARD ZIEGLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind