Miss Rhythm: The Autobiography of Ruth Brown, Rhythm and Blues Legend

by Ruth Brown, Andrew Yule

The personal story of Tony Award-winner Ruth Brown recounts the origins of such hit songs as "Mamma, He Treats Your Daughter Mean" and describes her role in the careers of such artists as Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder.

Genres: Music, Memoir, Biography

360 pages, Hardcover

First published February 22, 1996

Reviews

[Steve Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruth Brown was an early star of 1940s and '50s rhythm & blues with hits like "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" and "Teardrops From My Eyes." Miss Rhythm (her nickname) tells the story of Brown's early childhood growing up poor, working on her grandmother's farm, and eventually developing a singing act that led her to larger and larger opportunities until she was signed by fledgling independent record label, Atlantic Records. Yes, THAT Atlantic Records, but in those days they only had a few artists, and the stars were Ray Charles, LaVerne Baker and Ruth Brown. But all was not roses. Ruth was constantly hooking up with men who let her down, and she even had reason to believe Atlantic was shortchanging her and her fellow artists. When the direction of the label changed in the 1960s, Brown and her fellow R&B stars (with the exception of Ray Charles) fell onto hard, hard times. Typically that's the end of a story like this - rags to riches and back to rags - but Brown didn't give up and not only revived her performing career but also became a tireless champion on behalf of early R&B recording artists for restitution of unpaid sales royalties they were entitled to. This was a rags to riches to rags and back to the top story in every sense of the word.

[Christopher D.]

great history and I know one of the people in the book

[Chi Chi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts off a fairly standard musician autobiography, then about through it turns into a story about struggling to resolve royalty issues for the R&B pioneers on Atlantic Records. It will definitely make you respect Ahmet Ertegun a lot less.

[Caz · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far I love this book!

[Naomi Krokowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent account of a heroine who battled to get black pioneering artists their due from unscrupulous white owned record companies. What an amazing survivor she was!