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.

I Know
Ruth Brown Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Should I let myself go
In his direction
Is his love strong enough
For my heart's protection

I don't know
(I don't know, I don't know)
I don't know

(I don't know, I don't know)

But he loves me so good
Til I think I should, oh, oh

If I gave him my heart
Would he refuse it
Would he tear it apart
Or tenderly use it

I don't know
(I don't know, I don't know)
I don't know
(I don't know, I don't know)

But he hugs me so tight
Til I think I might, oh, oh

When he crushes my eager lips
My heart starts doing flips
Whenever I feel his touch
I get a thrill that's much too much
Too much, too much, too much

Could a heart so right
Be led so wrong
If his long is weak
Would it last this long

I don't know
(I don't know, I don't know)
I don't know
(I don't know, I don't know)

But I hope and pray
That he comes my way, oh, oh
But I hope and pray
That he comes my way, oh, oh

But I hope and pray
That he comes my way, oh, oh

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Ruth Brown's song "I Know" describe a conflicted relationship where the singer is unsure whether to give into her feelings for the man in question. She questions whether his love is strong enough to protect her heart, and whether he would tenderly use it or tear it apart. Despite her uncertainty, she is drawn to him and acknowledges that he loves her so good that it makes her want to give in to him.

The singer describes how his touch gives her a thrill that is much too much to handle, causing her heart to start doing flips whenever he crushes her eager lips. She questions whether a heart that feels so right could be led so wrong, and whether his love could last if his longing for her was weak. Despite her doubts, the singer hopes and prays that he will come her way, indicating that her feelings for him are strong and that she ultimately wants to give in to her desires.

Line by Line Meaning

Should I let myself go
Questioning whether to surrender to his love or not

In his direction
Towards his affection

Is his love strong enough
Wondering if his love is reliable

For my heart's protection
To safeguard her heart from any potential harm

I don't know
Uncertainty about the future with him

(I don't know, I don't know)
Emphasizing the doubt and hesitation

But he loves me so good
Acknowledging the intensity of his affections

Til I think I should, oh, oh
Making her consider whether to give in to him

If I gave him my heart
Contemplating giving him her heart

Would he refuse it
Questioning if he'll reject her love

Would he tear it apart
Worried he might break her heart