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.
Gee Baby Ain't I Good to You
Ruth Brown Lyrics
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Gee, Baby ain't I good to you
There's nothing in the world
Too good for a girl that's good and true
Gee, Baby ain't I good to you
Bought you a fur coat for Christmas
A diamond ring
A big Cadillac car
It's love that makes me treat you the way I do
Gee, Baby ain't I good to you
What makes me treat you the way I do
Gee, Baby ain't I good to you
There's nothing in the world
Too good for a guy that's good and true
Gee, Baby ain't I good to you
Fur coat for Christmas
A diamond ring
A big Cadillac car
And everything
There's nothing in the world that I wouldn't do
Gee, Baby ain't I good to you
What makes me treat you the way I do
Gee, Baby ain't I good to you
There's nothing in the world
Too good for a girl that's good and true
Gee, Baby ain't I good to you
Fur coat for Christmas
A diamond ring
Big Cadillac car
and everything
It's love that makes me treat you the way that I do
Gee, Baby ain't I good to you
Gee, Baby ain't I good to you
The lyrics to Ruth Brown’s song “Gee Baby Ain't I Good to You” express love and admiration for a significant other, highlighting the lengths the singer has gone to make their partner feel special. The opening lines pose a rhetorical question, asking what makes the singer treat their partner so well. The chorus repeats the titular phrase, emphasizing that the singer believes they are treating their partner exceptionally, providing nothing but the best.
The song’s descriptive verses detail the ways in which the singer has pampered their partner, including buying them a fur coat for Christmas, a diamond ring, and a big Cadillac car. These gestures speak to the grand, romantic style of expressing affection popular in the 1950s, the decade the song was first recorded. The lyrics suggest that the singer’s actions are motivated by love, and they regard their partner with admiration and awe, deeming them "good and true."
Overall, these lyrics capture the sentiment of an era where grand gestures of love were seen as necessary and desirable. The singer seeks to prove their love and affection to their partner by showering them with lavish gifts and declaring their admiration through the chorus. The song’s upbeat melody and playful rhythm contribute to the cheerful tone of the lyrics, creating a charming and romantic vibe.
Line by Line Meaning
What makes me treat you the way I do
I am wondering what motivates my actions towards you
Gee, Baby ain't I good to you
I believe I am treating you exceptionally well
There's nothing in the world
No material object or experience
Too good for a girl that's good and true
Is too extravagant for a woman of your integrity
Gee, Baby ain't I good to you
I believe I am treating you exceptionally well
Bought you a fur coat for Christmas
I purchased a luxurious gift for you on Christmas
A diamond ring
I also bought you a diamond ring as a token of my love
A big Cadillac car
I got you a large and expensive car for your comfort and convenience
And everything
I showered you with lavish gifts and attention
It's love that makes me treat you the way I do
I treat you the way I do because of my deep love for you
Gee, Baby ain't I good to you
I believe I am treating you exceptionally well
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Andy Razaf, Don Redman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind