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.
I'll Be Satisfied
Ruth Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just a smile
Hold my hand baby
Once in a while
That's all I need
That's all I need
And I'll be satisfied
When you're away
Call me darling
Just once a day
That's all I need
That's all I need
And I'll be satisfied
Oh, true love came to me
When I met you
True love makes me know
I won't forget you
When you're around me
It makes me feel that
Life is worth livin' baby
Love is so forgiving
Just a kiss
Just a smile
Hold my hand, baby
Just once in a while
That's all I need
That's all I need
And I'll be, no no no no no
That's all I need
That's all I need
And I'll be
Yeah yeah yeah
That's all I need
That's all I need
And I'll be so satisfied
The lyrics of Ruth Brown's song "I'll Be Satisfied" express a deep sense of contentment and fulfillment in the simplest things that make life worth living. The opening stanza speaks of how a simple kiss or a smile from a loved one can make all the difference in the world. The singer is expressing the idea that the most valuable things in life cannot be bought with money or material possessions. Rather, it is the simple acts of affection that can make life complete.
The second stanza speaks of how the singer's thoughts are consumed by their loved one, and that a phone call or contact once a day is all it takes to keep them going. There is a sense of longing and needing the presence of the other person in the song. The third stanza speaks of how true love came to the singer when they met the person they are singing to. It is clear that this love is true and pure, which gives the singer confidence they will not forget their loved one.
The final stanza echoes the sentiment of the first. The singer is content with just a kiss and smile or holding hands with their loved one. The repetition of the phrase, "That's all I need, and I'll be satisfied," emphasizes the message that the most important things in life are the simplest things. Overall, the lyrics of "I'll be Satisfied" speak to the human need for love and the ways in which we find happiness and fulfillment in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Just a kiss
The simple act of a kiss from you is all I need to feel content.
Just a smile
Seeing you smile at me is enough to make me happy.
Hold my hand baby
The feeling of your hand in mine is comforting and reassuring.
Once in a while
I understand we can't always be together, but every now and then, I need your touch.
That's all I need
I don't require grand gestures, just small expressions of affection.
And I'll be satisfied
These gestures will bring me contentment and fulfillment.
Think of me
When you're apart from me, please keep me in your thoughts.
When you're away
Distance can't diminish our love for each other.
Call me darling
Hearing you say my name with affection makes me feel special.
Just once a day
I don't need constant attention, just a small reminder that you care.
Oh, true love came to me
You are my true love, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have found you.
When I met you
My life changed significantly for the better when I met you.
True love makes me know
Our love is real and genuine, and I have no doubt in my mind about it.
I won't forget you
You are indelibly etched into my heart and soul, and I will always cherish you.
When you're around me
Being in your presence fills me with joy and happiness.
It makes me feel that
Your love and companionship are what make life worth living.
Life is worth livin' baby
I am incredibly grateful for the gift of you in my life.
Love is so forgiving
Even when we stumble, our love has the power to overcome and heal.
And I'll be, no no no no no
I won't be asking for anything else; these small gestures are enough.
Yeah yeah yeah
My heart is full of joy and love when I'm with you.
And I'll be so satisfied
These simple acts of affection will help me feel fulfilled and content.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BERRY GORDY JR, BERRY JR GORDY, GWENDOLYN FUQUA, GWENDOLYN GORDY FUQUA, TYRAN CARLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind