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.
You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
Ruth Brown Lyrics
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You'd be so nice by the fire
While the breeze on high sang a lullaby
You'd be all that I could desire
Under stars chilled by the winter
Under an August moon burning above
You'd be so nice, you'd be paradise
The lyrics to Ruth Brown's song "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" describe the feeling of longing for someone special to come home to. The song talks about how the person would be a perfect companion by the fire while the breeze outside sings a lullaby. The lyrics paint a picture of a cozy home, a warm fire, and the presence of someone loved. They also talk about how even under the stars in winter or a burning August moon, this person would still be paradise to come home to and love.
The lyrics of this song are quite romantic and portray a sense of yearning for something. They evoke a feeling of nostalgia, longing, warmth and coziness. They create a sense of home, a space of love and rest. They are also very relatable, as most people have experienced the feeling of wanting to come home to someone special, especially after a long and tiring day.
Line by Line Meaning
You'd be so nice to come home to
Returning home to you would be such a welcoming and comforting feeling
You'd be so nice by the fire
Having you beside me by the fire would be so pleasant
While the breeze on high sang a lullaby
Listening to the breeze above while being with you by the fire would make it feel like a lullaby
You'd be all that I could desire
Being with you at that moment would fulfill all of my desires
Under stars chilled by the winter
Being under the stars during winter, which typically brings a chilly atmosphere, would still be a pleasant experience if I were with you
Under an August moon burning above
Being under an August moon, which typically brings a burning hot atmosphere, would still be a pleasant experience if I were with you
You'd be so nice, you'd be paradise
Being with you would feel like paradise
To come home to and love
Coming home to you would be a beautiful and loving experience
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind