Topically Yours - Ruth Brown

Host Deardra Shuler revisits this show in Memory of the Legendary Ruth Brown. Ms. Brown was an R&B singer and actress noted for bringing a popular music style to rhythm and blues in a series of hit songs for the fledgling Atlantic Records: "Teardrops From My Eyes," "So Long", and "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean". Ruth put Atlantic Records on the map and it became known as "The house that Ruth built". In the 1980s, Brown pressed for musicians' rights regarding royalties and contracts. This led to the founding of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. She made the role of Motormouth Maybelle her own when she performed in the Broadway musical Black and Blue which earned Ruth a Tony. Ruth was also a Grammy Award winner. She passed in November of 2006 at age 78.