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.
What'd I Say
ruth brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come and love me daddy, all night long
All right now, hey hey, all right
See the girl with the diamond ring
She knows how to shake that thing
All right now darling now, hey hey, hey hey
I'm gonna see you back in Arkansas
Oh yes well, you don′t do right
Don't do right
When you see me in misery
Come on baby, see my need, oh yeah yeah
All right, all right, oh babe what?
When you see me in misery
Come on baby, see my need, oh yeah yeah
He yhey, all right
See the girl with the red dress on
She can do the balling all night long
Yeah yeah, what'd I say, all right
Well, tell me what′d I say yeah, tell me what′d I say right now
Tell me what'd I say, tell me what′d I say right now
Tell me what'd I say, tell me what′d I say yeah
And I wanna know, baby, I wanna know right now
And I wanna know, baby, I wanna know right now yeah
Baby, I wanna know, baby, I wanna know yeah
What? What said? What said? ...
Hey hey - ho ho - hey hey - ho ho
Hey hey ho ho aah
One more time, just one more time
Tell me one more time right now, just one more time
Tell me one more time now, just one more time
Tell me one more time yeah, just one more time
Tell me one more time, just one more time
Tell me one more time yeah, just one more time
Huh huh - ho ho - huh huh - ho ho ...
Make me feel so good - make me feel so good
Make me feel so good right yeah - make me feel so good
Oh baby - make me feel so good
Make me feel so good yeah - make me feel so good
Make me feel so good - make me feel so good
Make me feel so good yeah - make me feel so good
Uh uh - ho ho - huh huh - ho ho ...
Oh, it's all right - baby, it′s all right
Baby, it's all right - baby, it's all right
Baby, it′s all right - baby, it′s all right
Baby, it's all right yeah - baby, it′s all right
Baby, it's all right - baby, it′s all right
Baby, it's all right - baby, it′s all right
Oh, shake that thing - baby shake that thing
Baby, shake that thing now - baby shake that thing
Baby, shake that thing - baby shake that thing
Baby, shake that thing right now - baby shake that thing
Baby, shake that thing - baby shake that thing
Baby, shake that thing - baby shake that thing
Oh, feel all right right now - make me feel all right
Make me feel all right now - make me feel all right
Oh - make me feel all right
Make me feel all right yeah - make me feel all right
Make me feel all right - make me feel all right
Make me feel all right - make me feel all right
The lyrics to Ruth Brown's "What'd I Say" describe a man pleading with a woman to love him all night long. The song praises the woman's physical movement on the dance floor, referring to her as the girl with the diamond ring and red dress, stating that she knows how to shake that thing and can do the balling all night long. The man tells the woman to tell her mama and papa that he will be taking her back to Arkansas and pleads with her to come see his need when he's in misery. The song ends with the man asking the woman to tell him what he said and declaring that it's all right.
The lyrics can be interpreted as a celebration of physical passion and sexual desire. The man is enamored with the woman's movements and wants to be with her all night, even begging for her help when he's in emotional pain. However, the song also has a sense of desperation, with the man asking the woman to tell her family that he will take her away and questioning what he said when he's in a state of need.
Overall, "What'd I Say" is an energetic and passionate song that encapsulates the excitement and tensions of physical attraction.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey mama, don′t you treat me wrong
The singer is asking their lover not to mistreat them.
Come and love me daddy, all night long
The singer is expressing their desire to be loved by their partner for an entire night.
See the girl with the diamond ring
The singer is pointing out a girl wearing a diamond ring.
She knows how to shake that thing
The singer is stating that the girl with the diamond ring knows how to dance well.
Tell your mama, tell your pa
The singer is asking their lover to tell their parents about them.
I'm gonna see you back in Arkansas
The singer is planning to see their lover again in Arkansas.
Oh yes well, you don′t do right
The singer is accusing their lover of not treating them well.
When you see me in misery
The singer is saying that when they are in pain or sadness their lover should take care of them.
Come on baby, see my need, oh yeah yeah
The singer is pleading with their lover to understand their needs and help them feel better.
See the girl with the red dress on
The singer is pointing out another girl wearing a red dress.
She can do the balling all night long
The singer is saying that the girl in the red dress knows how to have fun for a whole night.
Well, tell me what′d I say yeah, tell me what′d I say right now
The singer is asking their lover to explain what they said or did in response to the singer's previous statements.
And I wanna know, baby, I wanna know right now
The singer is expressing their urgency in wanting to know their lover's response immediately.
What? What said? What said? ...
The singer is confused and repeating what their lover said.
One more time, just one more time
The singer is asking their lover to repeat what they said one more time.
Make me feel so good - make me feel so good
The singer is asking their lover to make them feel good.
Oh, it's all right - baby, it′s all right
The singer is acknowledging that everything is okay with their lover.
Oh, shake that thing - baby shake that thing
The singer is encouraging their lover to dance and have fun.
Oh, feel all right right now - make me feel all right
The singer is asking their lover to make them feel good and happy.
Writer(s): Ray Charles
Contributed by Camden J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Julian McCroy Sr
She was the "Brick" House that built Atlantic Records! Without Ruth Brown, Atlantic Records would have folded. She established them early in the 50's! Great song to display the raw talent of performers!
buster jones
Great Sound
Aleix Gómez
Me Gusta!
prunepurple
"My Babe" with other lyrics
CoverHeaven
I'd say ''This Train'' cause Dixon's ''My Babe'' is based on ''This Train''.
Antonio Servian
Puro rock and roll oh jeahhh my love