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.
St. Louis Blues
Ruth Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I hate to see that evening sun go down,
'Cause my lovin' baby done left this town.
If I feel tomorrow, like I feel today,
If I feel tomorrow, like I feel today,
I'm gonna pack my trunk and make my getaway.
She pulls my man around by her apron strings.
And if it wasn't for powder and her store-bought hair,
Oh, that man of mine wouldn't go nowhere.
I got those St. Louis blues, just as blue as I can be,
Oh, my man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea,
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me.
I love my man like a schoolboy loves his pie,
Like a Kentucky colonel loves his rocker and rye
I'll love my man until the day I die, Lord, Lord.
I got the St. Louis blues, just as blue as I can be, Lord, Lord!
That man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea,
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me.
I got those St. Louis blues, I got the blues, I got the blues, I got the blues,
My man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea,
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me, Lord, Lord!
The Ruth Brown song "Stop Knocking" is a classic blues track that is filled with deep emotions, heartbreak, and sorrow. The opening lines of the song are a recurring theme in blues music, where the evening sunset signifies the end of the day and the end of a relationship. The lyrics convey the sadness and pain of the singer as her lover leaves town. She finds it hard to accept that her love has left her and is remorseful that she did not do enough to keep him.
In the following lines, the singer is contemplating leaving town if she feels the same way the next day. She feels that there is nothing left for her in the town as her lover is gone. These lyrics resonate with the pain of lost love and the desire to run away from everything that reminds her of her past relationship.
In the next verse, the singer talks about the woman from St. Louis who has stolen her man away. She feels jealous of the woman who has the diamond rings and is able to pull her man away. The singer feels that if it was not for the woman's beauty enhancements, her man would not have left her. This verse again highlights the pain and jealousy felt by the singer for her lost love.
The final verse of the song expresses the deep love the singer has for her man. She loves him like a schoolboy loves his pie and a Kentucky colonel loves his rocker and rye. She will love him until the day she dies. This verse shows the depth of the singer's love and her desire to keep her love alive, even though her man has left her.
Line by Line Meaning
I hate to see that evening sun go down
I feel a heavy sadness when the day ends
Cause my lovin' baby done left this town
Because my beloved partner has departed from here
If I feel tomorrow, like I feel today
If my emotions remain unchanged from today to tomorrow
I'm gonna pack my trunk and make my getaway
I will gather my belongings and leave this place
Oh, that St. Louis woman, with her diamond rings
A woman from St Louis, adorned with precious jewelry
She pulls my man around by her apron strings
She manipulates my partner with ease
And if it wasn't for powder and her store-bought hair
If it wasn't for cosmetics and fake hair
Oh, that man of mine wouldn't go nowhere
My partner wouldn't have gone away
I got those St. Louis blues, just as blue as I can be
I am extremely sad and melancholic
Oh, my man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
My partner is excessively indifferent and unfeeling
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me
Otherwise, he would not have left me so far away
I love my man like a schoolboy loves his pie
I am very fond of my partner
Like a Kentucky colonel loves his rocker and rye
Like a wealthy man loves his favorite drink and chair
I'll love my man until the day I die, Lord, Lord
I will love my partner until the end of my life
I got those St. Louis blues, I got the blues, I got the blues, I got the blues
I am feeling extremely sad, deeply melancholic
That man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
My partner is excessively indifferent and unfeeling
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me, Lord, Lord!
Otherwise, he wouldn't have left me so far away
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: WILLIAM C HANDY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Frost Gaming
I hate to see that evening sun go down,
I hate to see that evening sun go down,
'Cause my lovin' baby done left this town.
If I feel tomorrow, like I feel today,
If I feel tomorrow, like I feel today,
I'm gonna pack my trunk and make my getaway.
Oh, that St. Louis woman, with her diamond rings,
She pulls my man around by her apron strings.
And if it wasn't for powder and her store-bought hair,
Oh, that man of mine wouldn't go nowhere.
I got those St. Louis blues, just as blue as I can be,
Oh, my man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea,
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me.
I love my man like a schoolboy loves his pie,
Like a Kentucky colonel loves his rocker and rye
I'll love my man until the day I die, Lord, Lord.
I got the St. Louis blues, just as blue as I can be, Lord, Lord!
That man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea,
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me.
I got those St. Louis blues,
I got the blues, I got the blues, I got the blues,
My man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea,
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me, Lord, Lord!
Read more: http://artists.letssingit.com/ruth-brown-lyrics-st-louis-blues-pzxwkwm#ixzz3IwHNSjwT
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Frost Gaming
I hate to see that evening sun go down,
I hate to see that evening sun go down,
'Cause my lovin' baby done left this town.
If I feel tomorrow, like I feel today,
If I feel tomorrow, like I feel today,
I'm gonna pack my trunk and make my getaway.
Oh, that St. Louis woman, with her diamond rings,
She pulls my man around by her apron strings.
And if it wasn't for powder and her store-bought hair,
Oh, that man of mine wouldn't go nowhere.
I got those St. Louis blues, just as blue as I can be,
Oh, my man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea,
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me.
I love my man like a schoolboy loves his pie,
Like a Kentucky colonel loves his rocker and rye
I'll love my man until the day I die, Lord, Lord.
I got the St. Louis blues, just as blue as I can be, Lord, Lord!
That man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea,
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me.
I got those St. Louis blues,
I got the blues, I got the blues, I got the blues,
My man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea,
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me, Lord, Lord!
Read more: http://artists.letssingit.com/ruth-brown-lyrics-st-louis-blues-pzxwkwm#ixzz3IwHNSjwT
LetsSingIt - Your favorite Music Community
mary drake
Love the music - having been to New Orleans brings back so many great memories
Баба Гадя
божественна!
Rowan Branning
So soulful and gorgeous! This is real music.
Shrimani J. Senay
Gotta love Ruth.
xkecoupe
simply incredible.... what a voice! .....what emotions.... fine backing band...check her LP "A Good Day For the Blues"
wes boki
Spanky Davis, trumpet; Hank Crawford, alto sax; Red Holloway, tenor sax; Britt Woodman, trombone; Bobby Forrester, piano and organ; Rodney Jones, guitar and banjo, Al McKibbon, acoustic bass, Grady Tate, drums.
flamencoprof
Thx for the listing and the caring enuff to do it. Unusual to hear a banjo solo in a recording like this.
tamaz patarkalashvili
One of the best version. Especially good is trumpet party
Roger Latham
Now That's What I Call Blues..............