Ruth Brown

Was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes known as the "Queen of R&B".

She was noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atlantic Records in the 1950s, such as "So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes" and "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean". For these contributions, Atlantic became known as "the house that Ruth built". Brown was a 1993 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, Brown was the eldest of seven siblings. She attended I. C. Norcom High School. Brown's fathe by Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Dinah Washington.

In 1945, aged 17, Brown ran away from her home in Portsmouth along with the trumpeter Jimmy Brown, whom she soon married.

Her first pop hit came with "Lucky Lips", a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and recorded in 1957. The single reached number 6 on the R&B chart and number 25 on the U.S. pop chart.

During the 1960s, Brown faded from public view and lived as a housewife and mother.

Brown died in a Las Vegas–area hospital on November 17, 2006, from complications following a heart attack and stroke she suffered after surgery in the previous month.

She was 78 years old.

A memorial concert for her was held on January 22, 2007, at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York.

Brown is buried at Roosevelt Memorial Park, Chesapeake City, Virginia.