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.
Brown sugar
Ruth Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sold in a market down in New Orleans
Scarred old slaver knows he's doing alright
Hear him whip the women just around midnight
Brown sugar how come you taste so good?
Brown sugar just like a young girl should
Lady of the house wonderin' where it's gonna stop
House boy knows that he's doing alright
You shoulda heard him just around midnight
Brown sugar how come you taste so good, now?
Brown sugar just like a young girl should, now
Ah, get along, brown sugar how come you taste so good, baby?
Ah, got me feelin' now, brown sugar just like a black girl should
I bet your mama was a tent show queen
And all her boyfriends were sweet sixteen
I'm no schoolboy but I know what I like
You shoulda heard me just around midnight
Brown sugar how come you taste so good, baby?
Ah, brown sugar just like a young girl should, yeah
I said yeah, yeah, yeah, woo
How come you... how come you taste so good?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, woo
Just like a... just like a black girl should
Yeah, yeah, yeah, woo
The song Brown Sugar by Ruth Brown was written by Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in 1971. In this song, Brown Sugar refers to both the black woman as well as the raw form of sugar that was produced by slaves in the Caribbean. The lyrics start with the reference to the cruel history of slavery where slaves were taken from the Gold Coast of Africa and sold in markets in New Orleans. The scarred old slaver knows he is doing alright because he knows how to whip the women just around midnight. This is a reference to the cruel punishment that slaves had to endure.
The chorus of Brown Sugar brings attention to the sexualization of black women by white men. The lyrics raise questions about why brown sugar tastes so good, and why it is like a young girl should. The sexual references are presented in a way to encourage the taboo nature of interracial relationships which were prevalent in America during the 1970s. The line “just like a black girl should” is not only a racially charged statement, but it highlights the fetishization of black women's bodies.
The song also references interracial relationships on a personal level. Jagger and Richards wrote about a white man who knows what he likes, picks up black women, and has sex with them around midnight. This is a direct reference to the sexualization of black women and their bodies by white men. The lyrics suggest that the black women the white men pick up are the daughters of “tent show queens” and that their boyfriends are just sixteen. The tent show queen reference is a nod to traveling acts that included black dancers and singers, which often featured erotic performances.
Line by Line Meaning
Gold coast slave ship bound for cotton fields
A slave ship from the Gold Coast headed towards cotton fields.
Sold in a market down in New Orleans
The slaves were sold in a market in New Orleans.
Scarred old slaver knows he's doing alright
The captain of the slave ship takes pride in trafficking human beings.
Hear him whip the women just around midnight
The captain is abusive and cruel towards the female slaves.
Brown sugar how come you taste so good?
The singer is addressing the 'brown sugar' (slaves) and questioning why they taste so good.
Brown sugar just like a young girl should
The singer is referring to the desirability of young female slaves.
Drums beating, cold English blood runs hot
English people who are involved in the slave trade are excited by the beating drums in Africa.
Lady of the house wonderin' where it's gonna stop
The white lady in the plantation home is uncertain and uneasy about the proceedings.
House boy knows that he's doing alright
The younger slave who works in the house acknowledges that he is privileged, being in a position where he doesn't have to work in the fields.
Brown sugar how come you taste so good, now?
The singer repeats the question, highlighting the pleasure derived from the taste of young slaves.
Brown sugar just like a young girl should, now
He reiterates the idea of desirable young female slaves.
Ah, get along, brown sugar how come you taste so good, baby?
The singer continues to revel in the taste of the slaves.
Ah, got me feelin' now, brown sugar just like a black girl should
He is suggesting that black girls have a distinctive flavor that he enjoys, implying a desire for sexual pleasure.
I bet your mama was a tent show queen
He makes an assumption that the slaves' mothers were prostitutes.
And all her boyfriends were sweet sixteen
He continues with the assumption of sexual promiscuity within the family.
I'm no schoolboy but I know what I like
He is admitting to having particular sexual preferences.
You shoulda heard me just around midnight
He refers to his own sexual activity in relation to slave women.
I said yeah, yeah, yeah, woo
A repetition of sounds conveying a sense of excitement.
How come you... how come you taste so good?
He continues his questioning of the slaves' taste, implying a basic sense of pleasure.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, woo
Excitement and exclamation of pleasure.
Just like a... just like a black girl should
He suggests that slaves of African descent have a particular flavor that he enjoys.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, woo
Another instance of excitement and pleasure.
Contributed by Aubrey E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.