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.
Mend Your Ways
Ruth Brown Lyrics
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Time to hit the road, find the door, yeah ya gotta go
'cause I been down this road now a million times
I've heard every one of your bullshit lines
If ya think I'm gunna listen just one more time
You got a problem now!
For all I've said
You'll never be
No you'll never be the one
You've come back, said ya mend't your ways
Your dimestore smile don't hide what you betray
I know you ain't no friend of mine
You better find a sucker further down the line
I seen the light and the truth is mine
Ya ain't welcome here
The lyrics to Ruth Brown's song "Mend Your Ways" are about a woman who has finally had enough of her partner's lies and betrayal. She tells him that he needs to leave because she has heard all of his lies before and she isn't going to listen to them anymore. The singer makes it clear that she is done with him and that he should leave, even if it means hitting the road and finding another woman.
The woman in the song has been through this situation many times and is now realizing that she needs to stand up for herself and not put up with his behavior anymore. She tells him that he will never be the one for her, no matter what he says or does, and that he needs to mend his ways if he wants to have a chance with someone else. However, she knows that he probably won't change and that she needs to move on and find someone who will treat her right.
Overall, "Mend Your Ways" is a powerful song about a woman who has had enough of a partner's lies and betrayal. It is a message to anyone who is in a similar situation that they need to stand up for themselves and not put up with behavior that is hurtful and disrespectful.
Line by Line Meaning
I think there's something, you should know
I have something important to tell you
Time to hit the road, find the door, yeah ya gotta go
It's time for you to leave and find your way out
'cause I been down this road now a million times
I have experienced this situation many times before
I've heard every one of your bullshit lines
I am not interested in hearing any more of your insincere explanations
If ya think I'm gunna listen just one more time
I am not willing to listen to you anymore
You got a problem now!
You have caused a problem
For all I've said
I have made myself clear
And all I've done
My actions have been consistent with my words
You'll never be
You are not capable of being
No you'll never be the one
Not even close to being what I need or want
You've come back, said ya mend't your ways
You have returned and claimed to have improved your behavior
Your dimestore smile don't hide what you betray
Your fake smile cannot conceal your dishonesty
I know you ain't no friend of mine
You are not my ally or companion
You better find a sucker further down the line
You should look for someone else who is more gullible to deceive
I seen the light and the truth is mine
I have finally realized the truth and it belongs to me
Ya ain't welcome here
You are not welcome in this place or in my life
Contributed by Alexandra K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.