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.
Ever Since My Baby's Been Gone
Ruth Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Woke up this morning, my baby was gone
I've been so bad, I'm all alone
I ain't got nobody stayin' home with me
I ain't got nobody stayin' home with me
My baby she's gone, I'm in misery
Yes baby, I'm all alone
I ain't had no lovin'
Since my baby's been gone
All right... (guitar solo)
Oh baby, I'm all alone
Oh baby, I'm all alone
My baby she's gone, I'm in misery
Oh baby, come on stay with me
Yes baby, come on stay with me
My baby she's gone, I'm in misery
Oh baby I'm all alone
Oh baby I'm all alone
I ain't had no lovin' since my baby been gone
The lyrics of Ruth Brown's song "Ever Since My Baby's Been Gone" depict the feeling of loneliness and sorrow of the singer after her lover leaves her. The opening line, "I woke up this morning, my baby was gone", creates a sense of confusion and abandonment in the listener. The repetition of this line in the chorus highlights the impact of the lover's absence on the singer's life. The singer blames herself for the separation, saying "I've been so bad, I'm all alone". This suggests that the cause of the separation may have been the singer's own actions or behavior, adding a sense of guilt and regret to the lyrics.
The verses and chorus emphasize the singer's feelings of isolation and loss. The line "I ain't got nobody stayin' home with me" reinforces the idea that the singer is alone and without support. The guitar solo that follows adds a sense of melancholy and sadness to the song. The lyrics “I ain't had no lovin'/Since my baby's been gone" resonates the emptiness the singer feels since her lover left her, again accentuating the sorrowful mood of the song.
Overall, Ruth Brown's "Ever Since My Baby's Been Gone" is a touching and emotional portrayal of heartbreak and loss. The lyrics express the feelings of loneliness and grief that can come from the sudden departure of a loved one, as well as the self-doubt and blame that often accompanies such a loss.
Line by Line Meaning
I woke up this morning, my baby was gone
When I woke up today, I realized that my beloved partner has left me alone.
I ain't got nobody stayin' home with me
I don't have anyone to keep me company, as my partner has left me.
My baby she's gone, I'm in misery
My sweetheart has left me, and I'm now in a state of distress and extreme sadness.
I ain't had no lovin' since my baby's been gone
Ever since my lover departed from my life, I've had no physical or emotional intimate connection with anyone. I feel deprived of love.
Writer(s): Charlie Singleton, Rose Marie Mccoy
Contributed by Nathan J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.