Ruth Brown (1928–2006) was a U.S. rhythm and blues singer and actress, note… Read Full Bio ↴Ruth Brown (1928–2006) was a U.S. rhythm and blues singer and actress, noted for bringing a popular music style to rhythm and blues in a series of hit songs for fledgling Atlantic Records in the 1950s, such as "So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes", and "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean".

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.

Don't Deceive Me
Ruth Brown Lyrics

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People are talking all over town
They say you're tired of me
Going to put me down

Please don't leave me
Don't deceive me
Please don't go

You know I love you
You know it's true
That's why you treat me
The way you do

You said you loved me
You said you loved me
Please don't go

When I first met you
No, I didn't love you
I just tried to treat you nice

Since I've been with you
Yes, I've learned to love you
And I want you all the
Rest of my life

I used to call you my lover boy
You were always my pride and joy

Please don't leave me

You know you'll grieve me
Please don't go

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Ruth Brown's song "They Say" is essentially a plea for love and loyalty. The song opens with "People are talking all over town, they say you're tired of me, going to put me down", suggesting that the singer is being warned by friends and acquaintances that her lover is getting bored with her and may end the relationship soon. However, the singer begs her lover not to leave, to stay with her and not to deceive her. She assures him, "You know I love you, you know it's true, that's why you treat me the way you do". It is as if the singer suspects that her lover is trying to push her away, maybe because he fears that he is not good enough for her, or because he is not ready to commit.

Throughout the song, the singer's plea becomes more urgent and emotional. She repeats, "Please don't go" several times, as if trying to convince herself that her lover will stay. She admits that when she first met him, she did not love him, but now she has learned to love him, and wants to be with him for the rest of her life. She recalls how she used to call him her "lover boy", and how he was always her "pride and joy", conveying a sense of fondness and adoration towards him. The song ends with the singer's heartfelt plea, "Please don't leave me, you know you'll grieve me, please don't go".

Overall, "They Say" is a classic example of a love song that expresses vulnerability, desperation, and a sincere desire to hold on to love. The repetition of the phrase "Please don't go" underscores the singer's fear of losing her lover and the depth of her emotions. The song deals with common themes of love and heartbreak, which makes it relatable to many listeners.

Don't Deceive MeRuth Brown Lyrics

Don't Deceive Me
Ruth Brown Lyrics