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.
On What A Dream
Ruth Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So disappointed, I laid back down
Oh, what a dream, what a dream
I had last night
Dreamed I held you in my arms
But I'm still waitin' for that day to come
(What a dream)
What a dream
(What a dream)
I had last night
Oh, what a dream
(What a dream)
What a dream
(What a dream)
I had last night
Dreamed we were walkin' down the aisle
The organ was playing "Here Comes the Bride"
You looked out at me and you began to smile
When I looked around everybody began to cry
I opened my eyes, you weren't there
All of my happiness just disappeared
Oh, what a dream
(What a dream)
What a dream
(What a dream)
I had last night
I opened my eyes, you weren't there
All of my happiness just disappeared
Oh, what a dream
(What a dream)
What a dream
(What a dream)
I had last night
Oh, what a dream
(Oh, what a dream)
What a dream
(Oh, what a dream)
I had last night
The lyrics in Ruth Brown’s “On What a Dream” depicts a dream that the singer had and her feelings after waking up from it. She starts the song by stating that she woke up and was disappointed with her reality, so she goes back to sleep hoping to have the same dream. In her dream, she holds the person she loves in her arms and walks down the aisle where they were getting married, and everyone is filled with tears of joy. However, her happiness is short-lived as she wakes up only to realize that it was just a dream, and the person she loves is not there.
The song captures the feelings of longing and disappointment that come with the uncertainty of the future. The singer yearns for a day where she will hold the person she loves in her arms and walk down the aisle with them. The dream symbolizes her deepest desires and serves as a source of hope for her.
Overall, the song is an emotional journey that moves from a place of hope to a place of longing and uncertainty. The dream serves as a powerful symbol for the singer’s desires, but the reality of her life is much different.
Line by Line Meaning
Woke up this morning and I looked around
I woke up from my sleep and started to survey my environment to see if you were around.
So disappointed, I laid back down
I was disappointed that you were not around, so I went back to bed.
Oh, what a dream, what a dream
I had a really exciting dream.
I had last night
The dream happened in my sleep last night.
Dreamed I held you in my arms
My dream involved me holding you tightly in my arms.
But I'm still waitin' for that day to come
Although it was just a dream, I am still waiting for the day when we can be together.
Dreamed we were walkin' down the aisle
In my dream, we were walking down the aisle together, likely for a wedding.
The organ was playing 'Here Comes the Bride'
The organ in the dream was playing the well-known wedding song, 'Here Comes the Bride.'
You looked out at me and you began to smile
When you saw me in the dream, you began to smile.
When I looked around everybody began to cry
All the people around us in the dream started to cry, possibly because of the happiness of the occasion.
I opened my eyes, you weren't there
When I woke up from the dream, you were not actually there with me.
All of my happiness just disappeared
I was no longer as happy as I was in the dream because you were not actually there beside me.
Oh, what a dream, what a dream
Again, referencing the exciting dream that was had.
Oh, what a dream
Once more, reflecting on the dream that was had.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
George Phinn
Music like this lives on forever. This is the Route’s of R & B. Done by the Best there is. - Ruth Brown. Ruth Brown and Lavern Baker - in a Class All By Themselves
Riogi
This is a true gem being sung by a true gem.
Donald Morrow
The Queen of R&B (a whole decade before Aretha Franklin) and Chuck Willis, master R&B songwriter are a match made in heaven on this masterwork. The story told here is positively cinematic. Ruth's vocals are pure soul (long before the word was coined). And it all is backed by the best Doo-Wop R&B instrumentation in existence. Not only one of Ruth Brown's best records, but Atlantic Records' best.
Ray Vivalino
This song goes straight to your heart ❤
Riogi
It really does, Sylvester.
Ray Vivalino
Love this song, give me peace within myself
WendyKS93
Written by the late great Chuck Willis. I love to listen to this lady sing.
Poetress7
So many remakes being made when there are so many untold stories like Ruth's. She fought for artists to receive royalties & fair contracts, won a Tony award, is the aunt of legendary rapper Rakim & had so many interesting turns in her career with many famous ties & connections along the way, Amazing talent!
bennie sedillo
I love this song. Ruth was great.
John Benn
What an incredible voice. Wonderful sounds from a true artist. Well done