Ruth Brown

Year:
1993
Inducted by:
Bonnie Raitt
Category:
Performers

Introduction

The R&B singer who built Atlantic Records.

They called Atlantic “the house that Ruth built” for good reason—her two dozen hits put the budding company on the map. She was both a diva and a fighter, a glamorous R&B singer and a tireless advocate for musicians’ rights.

Bonnie Raitt Inducts Ruth Brown

Bonnie Raitt Inducts Ruth Brown at the 1993 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Bonnie Raitt Inducts Ruth Brown

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"Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean"

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Hall of Fame Essay

1993

Michael Hill

“The House that Ruth Built.” That's what Atlantic Records, as a fledgling R&B label in the Fifties, was often called. Ruth Brown was one of the first artists signed by Atlantic founders Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. In the course of 10 years, Ruth Brown made the Billboard R&B charts with 24 of the more than 80 sides she recorded for Atlantic.

Crooner Frankie Laine christened her “Miss Rhythm” in 1951, and that reflected her position as the preeminent R&B singer of the decade.