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 Love My Man
Ruth Brown Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Lord, I love my man, tell the world I do
I love my man, tell the world I do
But when he mistreats me
Makes me feel so blue

My man wouldn't give me no breakfast
Wouldn't give me no dinner
Fought about my supper and put me outdoors

Had the dark clay make spots on my clothes
I didn't have so many
But I had a long, long way to go

Some men like me talkin' happy
Some calls it snappy, some call me honey
Others think I've got money
Some tell me baby you're built for speed

Now if you put that all together
Makes me everything a good man needs

Overall Meaning

In Ruth Brown's song "I Love My Man," the lyrics seem the express a complex dynamic between the singer and the man she loves. She proclaims her love for him, but immediately follows it up with discussing moments when he mistreats her and makes her feel "so blue." From this description, it appears that their relationship is not perfect, but rather complicated, perhaps even tumultuous. Despite this, the singer still deeply loves her man and wants the world to know it.

The second verse seems to showcase some of the reasons why the singer loves her man, despite his faults. She describes the way some men respond positively to her "talkin' happy," calling her "honey" and commenting on her figure. She believes these traits are what make her "everything a good man needs." It seems that despite any negative aspects of the relationship, the singer deeply cherishes her man and believes that they are meant to be together.

Overall, the song seems to be a powerful statement about the complexity of love and relationships. Despite struggles or conflicts, the singer's love for her man remains steadfast, and she is willing to endure trials and hardships to be with him.

Line by Line Meaning

Lord, I love my man, tell the world I do
I am deeply in love with my man and I don't hesitate to let the whole world know it.

I love my man, tell the world I do
I am completely devoted to my man and I want everyone to acknowledge and respect my love for him.

But when he mistreats me Makes me feel so blue
However, when my man treats me badly, it makes me feel miserable and unhappy.

My man wouldn't give me no breakfast Wouldn't give me no dinner Fought about my supper and put me outdoors Had the dark clay make spots on my clothes I didn't have so many But I had a long, long way to go
My man has been neglecting me lately, refusing to feed me and leaving me stranded outside. His actions have left me destitute and alone with a long, difficult path ahead of me.

Some men like me talkin' happy Some calls it snappy, some call me honey Others think I've got money Some tell me baby you're built for speed Now if you put that all together Makes me everything a good man needs
Some men appreciate my upbeat and positive personality, and others are attracted to my beauty or the idea that I have money. Some are enamored with my quick wit or my energetic spirit. But when you add all of these qualities together, I become the perfect partner for any good man.

Contributed by Anna V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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