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.
Knock Me a Kiss
Ruth Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But baby if you insist
I'll cut out cake just for your sake
Baby, c'mon, knock me a kiss
I like pie, hope to die, but get a load of this
When you get high, doggone the pie
C'mon baby, knock me a kiss
When you press your sweet lips to mine, then it's understood, oh baby
Tastes like candy, brandy and wine, peaches, bananas, and everything good
I like jam, ain't no flim flam, scratch that off of my list
This ain't no jam, the jam can scram
C'mon, baby, knock me a kiss
When you press your sweet lips to mine, then it's understood, oh baby
Tastes like candy, brandy and wine, peaches, bananas, and everything good
I like jam, ain't no flim flam, scratch that off of my list
This ain't no jam, the jam can scram
C'mon, baby, knock me a kiss
"Know Me A Kiss" by Ruth Brown is a song that showcases her love for food and how her partner's kiss tastes just as sweet. The lyrics depict the conflict between her love for food in contrast to her love for her partner. She sings that she likes cake, jam and pies, but she is willing to give them up for her partner's love. She is willing to sacrifice her love for food to emphasis her love for her partner. The lyrics, “I'll cut out cake just for your sake" and "This ain't no jam, the jam can scram" illustrate this point.
However, the passion for food does not go unnoticed. The individual in the song is a food lover and associates every taste to something sweet that they have eaten before. They associate tastes like peaches and bananas with the sweetness of a kiss from their beloved, saying that the kiss tastes like "candy, brandy, and wine, peaches, bananas, and everything good." The individual wants to taste and experience the sweetness of their partner's kiss as well as that of the many types of food they enjoy eating.
Ultimately, "Know Me A Kiss" is a song about the strong connection between food and love, and the willingness to make sacrifices for the ones we love.
Line by Line Meaning
I like cake, and no mistake
I enjoy eating cake without a doubt
But baby if you insist
But if you ask me to stop eating cake, I will do it for you
I'll cut out cake just for your sake
I am willing to stop eating cake for you
Baby, c'mon, knock me a kiss
Let's kiss and show our affection
I like pie, hope to die, but get a load of this
I love eating pie for sure, but listen to this
When you get high, doggone the pie
But when you kiss me, I forget about pie completely
C'mon baby, knock me a kiss
Let's kiss and show our love
When you press your sweet lips to mine, then it's understood, oh baby
When we kiss, we know how much we love each other
Tastes like candy, brandy and wine, peaches, bananas, and everything good
Our kisses taste sweet and delightful like candy, alcohol, fruit, and everything good
I like jam, ain't no flim flam, scratch that off of my list
I used to love jam, but not anymore
This ain't no jam, the jam can scram
I don't want any jam, get rid of it
C'mon, baby, knock me a kiss
Let's kiss and express our love and affection
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MIKE JACKSON, ANDY RAZAF
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@kd3226
When I was just a little girl with long silky curls
Mama told me, "Honey, you've got more that other girls.
Now, you may not be good looking but you'll soon wear diamond clips
And you'll never have to worry 'cause you've got lucky lips."
Lucky lips are always kissing,
Lucky lips are never blue.
Lucky lips will always find
A pair of lips that will be true.
I don't need a four-leaf clover,
Rabbit's foot or good luck charm.
With lucky lips I'll always have
A fellow in my arms.
I never get heartbroken, no, I'll never get the blues
And if I play that game of love I know I just can't lose.
When they spin that wheel of fortune all I do is kiss my chips
And I know I picked a winner 'cause I've got lucky lips.
Lucky lips are always kissing,
Lucky lips are never blue.
Lucky lips will always find
A pair of lips that will be true.
I don't need a four-leaf clover,
Rabbit's foot or good luck charm.
With lucky lips I'll always have
A fellow in my arms.
@Pickinbuddy
What a GREAT record this was--the arrangements were fantastic...great vocal performance!
@larrycarr4562
Ruth rocks! 🎶lucky lips are never blue! 🎶
@thomaslombardo3401
One of my all-time favorite songs by Miss Rhythm.
@TheBaylor22
Fabulous! One of the original pioneers of Rock and Roll. She and Lavern Baker were mentors to Jackie Wilson, Clyde McPhatter, and Little Willie John, among others.
@Sugarbehr1967
Excellent..she was truly the Queen along side of Dinah, Sarah and Billie..thanks for posting!
@ben33603
Ruth one of the best in the 50s. I love this song for at least 40 years
@giannib01
Timeless CLASSIC . . . still absolutely MOVES. If this don't make you MOVE . . . sumpum wrong witchoo !
@chrisdarling5004
What a fantastic pedigree no wonder she sounds brilliant.
@vilmad007
What a sweet voice
@antonioservian3454
Es la reina del rock and roll genial sublime love yes