She was known as Miss Rhythm. Her artistry garnered her credit for the early importance of Atlantic records as a powerhouse R&B label in the 1950s. The label then became known as “The House That Ruth Built.” Her father was a church choir director and early on did not approve of her singing what he called the devil’s music. She rebelled in true teen fashion and rocketed right on by the concern and the music world has been graced by her artistry and legacy. That rebellious energy saw her later in her life standing up against a music industry that all too often exploited the talents of their artists.
Her sound bridges genres and the blurring of genre lines and her importance to popular music saw her inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. You could say her fellow inductees are in good company with her on that stellar list. Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Ella, they were all strong influences who made deep impressions on the palette of colors that are Brown’s sound. Early experiences as a teen saw her performing in USO clubs sneaking out of the house to go when her father was already at work.
That defiance is in the spirit of her artistry, a determination to make her music-making as rich and as vital as it is.