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.
Mama Treats Your Daughter Mean
Ruth Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mama he treats your daughter mean
Mama he treats your daughter mean
He's the meanest man I've ever seen
Mama he treats me badly
Makes me love him madly
Mama he takes my money
Mama he can't be trusted
He makes me so disgusted
All of my friends they don't understand
What's the matter with this man
I tell you mama he treats your daughter mean
Mama he treats your daughter mean
Mama he treats your daughter mean
He's the meanest man I've ever seen
Mama this man is lazy
Almost drives me crazy
Mama he makes me squeeze him
Still my squeezes don't please him
Mama my heart is aching
I believe it's breaking
I've stood all that I can stand
What's the matter with this man?
I tell you Mama he treats your daughter mean
Mama he treats your daughter mean
Mama he treats your daughter mean
He's the meanest man I've ever seen
The song Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean by Ruth Brown discusses the abusive treatment that the singer receives from her romantic partner. The singer addresses her mother and tells her how poorly she is being treated by her romantic partner. Despite being mistreated, the singer loves her partner deeply and is unable to break away from the relationship. The chorus "Mama he treats your daughter mean, he's the meanest man I've ever seen" emphasizes the abusive nature of the partner and highlights the lack of support from the mother.
Furthermore, in the verse "Mama he takes my money, Makes me call him honey," the singer admits to being financially exploited and manipulated by the partner. In the verse "Mama this man is lazy, Almost drives me crazy" the singer explains how her partner is letting her down by not putting any effort into their relationship. The singer is frustrated and feels helpless as she is unable to comprehend the negative behavior of her partner.
Overall, the song highlights the theme of abusive relationships and the struggles that victims face when trying to free themselves from unhealthy romantic bonds. The lyrics provide valuable insight into the mindset of someone dealing with abuse and the difficulties they face in trying to escape from it.
Line by Line Meaning
Mama he treats your daughter mean
This man treats me poorly, with little compassion or kindness.
Mama he treats me badly
He causes me emotional pain and suffering through his actions and words.
Makes me love him madly
Despite his mistreatment of me, I find myself unable to stop loving him.
Mama he takes my money
He takes advantage of me financially, making me feel used and taken advantage of.
Makes me call him honey
He demands that I use affectionate terms towards him, even though he doesn't treat me in a loving way.
Mama he can't be trusted
He is unreliable and untruthful, causing me to doubt his intentions and actions.
He makes me so disgusted
His behavior is so repulsive and unpleasant that it fills me with nausea and distaste.
All of my friends they don't understand
My friends are confused and concerned about my relationship with him, given how poorly he treats me.
What's the matter with this man
I cannot comprehend why he treats me in such a cruel and callous manner.
Mama this man is lazy
He avoids work or effort, and his lack of motivation causes me frustration and angst.
Almost drives me crazy
His laziness and lack of effort is pushing me close to insanity.
Mama he makes me squeeze him
He demands physical affection from me, but it doesn't satisfy him or make him happy.
Still my squeezes don't please him
Even though I do my best to show him physical affection, it's not enough to fulfill his emotional needs.
Mama my heart is aching
The emotional pain he inflicts on me is causing me great sorrow and distress.
I believe it's breaking
I fear that my heart is so damaged that it may never fully recover from the harm he has caused.
I've stood all that I can stand
I have reached my limit in tolerating his mistreatment of me and can no longer remain in this toxic relationship.
He's the meanest man I've ever seen
In all my life, I have never encountered someone as spiteful, cruel, and unkind as this man.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: DARYL HALL, JOHN OATES, SARA ALLEN, BEN DREW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@stevecannon1774
Not given the respect she deserves as one of the mothers of Rock and R&B.
@ChakaKhanian
I saw this clip at The National Museum of African American Music and was mesmerized ❤
@matthays716
Rock and roll would not exist without ruth brown
@CASSICF
Wow 🤩 I heard her for the first time yesterday! With my love for music, WHY haven’t I heard of this phenomenon before now?!?!! She is amazing! Top tier 👏🏾
@marinaeugenios4190
OMG!!!! Here is a talent and such a performer!!! Where are vocalist like this today????
@LadyDuchess
They’re still in the Black church. 🤷🏾♀️
@billsoderholm3125
Covered up with auto tune.
@eevee2esponfan
Poofs like Taylor Swift and Arianda Grande have buried them
@blackscorpionlair5444
most of them are smoking weed & ruining they're voices
@awsome1605
50's RnB is so explosive, Ruth rocked the house!