THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602100096
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Next weekend will be Ruth Weston Brown time in Portsmouth.
On Saturday night, the legendary Portsmouth-born blues singer will give an 8 p.m. concert at Willett Hall.
On Sunday afternoon, she'll hold court at the Portsmouth City Council Chambers, signing pre-publication copies of her new book, ``Miss Rhythm,'' from 2 until 5 p.m.
Brown collaborated on the autobiography with Andrew Yule, author of biographies of Sean Connery, Al Pacino and Richard Lester. Yule will be with her for the book-signing.
For the concert, Brown will bring the seven musicians who usually play with her. In addition, the show will open with Freddy Cole, younger brother of Nat ``King'' Cole, who has built his own reputation as a jazz pianist/vocalist/composer.
Ruth Brown's life is a legend and comments from younger musicians address that.
``This is the lady, take my word for it, who started it all,'' Stevie Wonder wrote. ``Wasn't for Ruth Brown there wouldn't be no Aretha, wouldn't be nobody. I'm here to tell you, this lady is a true legend.''
Bonnie Raitt called Brown's life story ``a one-shot history lesson.''
Born in 1928, the first of seven Weston children, Ruth began singing at Emanuel AME Church on North Street where her father was the choir director. During World War II, in defiance of her father, she also began singing at the local USO ``for coloreds only.''
In 1945, at age 17, she ran away from home to marry and go on the road with singer-trumpeter Jimmy Brown. He left her high and dry when she discovered he was already married.
Stranded in Washington, D.C., she landed a gig to raise money for a bus ticket back to Portsmouth, at the Crystal Caverns, a club operated by Cab Calloway's sister, Blanche.
Patrons of the club, however, were taken with Brown's unique blue-note-dripping delivery of ballads and she was asked to stay on. Blanche Calloway became her manager.
Within months Duke Ellington and deejay Willis Conover were propelling her to Atlantic Records, a new label specializing in rhythm and blues. In 1949, Brown's first recording, ``So Long,' was an immediate sensation and rose to No. 6 on Billboard charts.
In 1950s, her recording of ``Teardrops from My Eyes'' set her course for the rest of the decade and the course of music that soon would be called rock 'n' roll.
``Teardrops'' was Ruth Brown's first fast number and, during the recording session, her voice cracked to produce a squeal-like sound. A producer liked it and called it a ``tear.'' That became the singer's trademark.
``Teardrops'' skyrocketed to No. 1 on the charts and four other big sellers that year made Brown the top-selling black female recording artist between 1951 and 1954.
After 10 years of solid hits for Atlantic, Brown was still broke. The record company claimed she owed them money, denying they owed her royalties.
Brown withdrew to Long Island, where she took jobs as a housekeeper, teacher's aide and bus driver to put her sons through college.
Redd Foxx helped pull her out of obscurity in 1976, when he asked her to play the role of Mahalia Jackson in a civil rights musical, ``Selma.'' Then she moved to ``Black and Blue'' for an eight-month stint in Paris before going to Broadway.
Meanwhile, in the 1980s, Brown began hosting radio programs, ``Harlem Hit Parade'' and later ``Blues Stage,'' for National Public Radio and she appeared in a rock 'n' roll comedy, ``Hairspray.''
For ``Black and Blue'' she won a Tony and a year later she received a Grammy for ``Blues on Broadway.''
Since then, she's been a frequent guest on television shows and has toured around the world. ILLUSTRATION: Ruth Brown
Freddy Cole
by CNB