*Miss (Ms.) Rhythm Is In The House- The R&B Of Miss Ruth Brown

Click On Title To Link To YouTube’s Film Clip Of Ruth Brown Doing "Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean". Wow!

CD Review

Ruth Brown, Miss Rhythm (Greatest Hits And More), 2CD Set, Ruth Brown, Atlantic Records, 1989

Okay, I have spent a fair amount of time tracing the roots of rock and roll back to the early 1950s and the heyday of rhythm and blues. And of course part of that process required a look, a serious look, at the pivotal roles of the likes of black male R&B performers like Big Joe Turner, Ike Turner and Little Milton. Those are some of the key forces that drove the sound. Unlike the early blues, however, where black female singers dominated the charts and the flow of where the music was heading women were not as prominent in the link between R&B and the emergence of rock and rock as a national (and later international) musical genre. But they were there. And the black (and proud) female singer under review here, Ruth Brown, rightly known under the moniker "Miss Rhythm", was right there along with Dinah Washington and Lavern Baker to sing up a storm. Thanks, gals.

The name Ruth Brown has come up a number of times in this space when talking about 1950's blues, R&B and rock. However, those occasions have usually been as a "talking head" commentator in documentaries like Martin Scorsese's multi-part PBS blues series of 2003. And the tale Miss Brown had to tell about the background to her performing career was not pretty concerning the segregated dance halls, second-rate accommodations and other intolerable conditions that black musicians, great and small, male and female had to work under. Despite that, she still had a few crossover hits and got those white teenagers jumping. That doesn't make up for the indignities she suffered, nothing will, but she has to know that in her prime she had that thing- "Miss Rhythm, indeed!"

Some of this material on this 2CD set sounds as fresh today as when it was first recorded. Others, as is the nature of such compilations, are either gimmicky, second-rate or both. Here are some of the fresh sounds that highlight Miss Brown's talent; "So Long", "Be Anything", "5-10-15 Hours", "Daddy Daddy" and "Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean" (Wow, on this last one). From Disc One. From Disc Two; "Why Me', "This Little Girl's Gone Rocking", "Somebody Touch Me" and "Don't Deceive Me".

"This Little Girl's Gone Rockin'"

I wrote my mom a letter
And this is what I said

Well-a, well-a, well-a, well-a
I washed all the dishes
And I did a lot more
I even bought the dinner
At the grocery store

Now, Mom, you'll find
The key next door cause
This little girl's gone rocking

I left some biscuits for the pup
I put fresh water in his cup
And now I'm off
I'm gonna live it up cause
This little girl's gone rocking

Well, I'm be home about
Twelve tonight and not a
Minute, minute, minute later
Don't forget the front door lock
That's all for now
I'll see you later, mater

You'll find these things
That you wanted done
I'm off to meet that special one
Boy, oh, boy, will we have fun
Cause this little girl's gone rocking

Well, I'm be home about
Twelve tonight and not a
Minute, minute, minute later
Don't forget the front door lock
That's all for now
I'll see you later, mater

You'll find these things
That you wanted done
I'm off to meet that special one
Boy, oh, boy, will we have fun
Cause this little girl's gone rocking
Yeah, this little girl's gone rocking.....


"(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean"


Mama he treats your daughter mean
Mama he treats your daughter mean
Mama he treats your daughter mean
He's the meanest man I've ever seen

Mama he treats me badly
Makes me love him madly
Mama he takes my money
Makes me call him honey

Mama he can't be trusted
He makes me so disgusted
All of my friends they don't understand
What's the matter with this man

I tell you mama he treats your daughter mean
Mama he treats your daughter mean
Mama he treats your daughter mean
He's the meanest man I've ever seen

Mama this man is lazy
Almost drives me crazy
Mama he makes me squeeze him
Still my squeezes don't please him

Mama my heart is aching
I believe it's breaking
I've stood all that I can stand
What's the matter with this man?

I tell you Mama he treats your daughter mean
Mama he treats your daughter mean
Mama he treats your daughter mean
He's the meanest man I've ever seen