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.
Sonny Boy
Ruth Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Though you're only three, Sonny Boy,
You've no way of knowing,
There's no way of showing,
What you mean to me, Sonny Boy.
When there are grey skies,
I don't mind the grey skies,
You make them blue, Sonny Boy.
Let them all forsake me,
I still have you, Sonny Boy.
You're sent from Heaven
And I know your worth,
You've made a Heaven
For me, right here on Earth
When I'm old and grey, dear,
Promise you won't stray, dear
For I love you so, Sonny Boy.
When there are grey skies,
I don't mind the grey skies,
You make them blue, Sonny Boy.
Friends may forsake me,
Let `em, let `em all forsake me,
I still have you, Sonny Boy.
You're sent from Heaven
And I know your worth,
Why, you made a Heaven
For me, right here on Earth.
And the Angels, they grew lonely,
And they took you because they were lonely,
Now I'm lonely too, Sonny Boy.
Ruth Brown's "Sonny Boy" is a sweet ode to a young boy who means the world to the singer. Brown sings about how much she loves and adores Sonny Boy, who is only three years old, but for her, he is a precious gift sent from heaven. She sings about how he is her sunshine when there are grey skies, and she is grateful to have him in her life, even when her friends and other people let her down. Brown talks about how much Sonny Boy means to her and how he has made a heaven for her right here on Earth.
The lyrics of the song demonstrate the unconditional love that Brown has for Sonny Boy. She views him as a pure and innocent soul, and he has become her source of happiness and comfort. They share a bond that is unbreakable, and Brown promises to always love and protect him, even when they are old and grey. However, the song ends on a somber note as Brown sings about how the angels grew lonely and took Sonny Boy away from her. She is heartbroken and lonely, unable to find joy without him by her side.
Line by Line Meaning
Climb upon my knee, Sonny Boy,
Come sit on my lap, Sonny Boy.
Though you're only three, Sonny Boy,
Even though you're just a toddler, Sonny Boy.
You've no way of knowing,
You don't understand, Sonny Boy.
There's no way of showing,
There's no way to express, Sonny Boy.
What you mean to me, Sonny Boy.
How much you matter to me, Sonny Boy.
When there are grey skies,
When everything seems grim, Sonny Boy.
I don't mind the grey skies,
I'm not bothered by the gloom, Sonny Boy.
You make them blue, Sonny Boy.
You brighten my world, Sonny Boy.
Friends may forsake me,
People may leave me, Sonny Boy.
Let them all forsake me,
Even if everyone leaves me, Sonny Boy.
I still have you, Sonny Boy.
I still have you by my side, Sonny Boy.
You're sent from Heaven
You are a gift from God, Sonny Boy.
And I know your worth,
I know how valuable you are, Sonny Boy.
You've made a Heaven
You've made my life perfect, Sonny Boy.
For me, right here on Earth
Right here in this world, Sonny Boy.
When I'm old and grey, dear,
When I'm old and frail, Sonny Boy.
Promise you won't stray, dear
Promise me you'll always be by my side, Sonny Boy.
For I love you so, Sonny Boy.
Because I love you so much, Sonny Boy.
And the Angels, they grew lonely,
The angels in heaven felt alone, Sonny Boy.
And they took you because they were lonely,
They took you from me because they needed company, Sonny Boy.
Now I'm lonely too, Sonny Boy.
Now I feel alone without you, Sonny Boy.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Al Jolson, B.g. Desylva, Lew Brown, Ray Henderson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind