Ruth Brown

1
  • Year:
    1993
  • Inducted by:
    Bonnie Raitt
  • Category:
    Performers
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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.

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.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Program Cover 1993
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1993 Inductee Ruth Brown with Bonnie Raitt
Nobody can sell a song like Ruth Brown
Bonnie Raitt

Photography: Kevin Mazur, WireImage