Ruth Brown - The Queen Of R&B: The Singles & Albums Collection 1949-61 (2021)

Perhaps more than any other artist, Ruth Brown helped lead the way in bridging the gap between R&B and pop as far as female artists were concerned, paving the way for the likes of Mary Wells and Aretha Franklin in the ‘60s. So successful was she that she became known as “The Queen Of R&B” and her record company Atlantic was sometimes referred to as “the house that Ruth built”, so much did her hits contribute to the label’s commercial fortunes. Between 1949 and 1962 she racked up 25 R&B hits, including five No. 1s, with several crossing into the pop charts. This great-value 109-track 4-CD set comprises just about all the A & B sides of her singles on Atlantic and Philips during these years, which include the titles from her albums “Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Miss Rhythm”, plus most of the titles from her albums “Late Date With Ruth” for Atlantic and “Along Comes Ruth” for Philips. It features all her 25 career R&B and pop chart hits including the R&B No. 1s “Teardrops From My Eyes”, “5-10-15 Hours”, “(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean”, “Oh What A Dream” and “Mambo Baby”. It’s a substantial and comprehensive overview of her primary career as a chart artist, and a highly entertaining showcase for her unique talent as a pop and R&B song stylist.