Ruth Alston Brown (née Weston; January 12, 1928[2][3][4] – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the "Queen of R&B".

[5] For these contributions, Atlantic became known as "the house that Ruth built"[6][7] (alluding to the popular nickname for the old Yankee Stadium).

Following a resurgence that began in the mid-1970s and peaked in the 1980s, Brown used her influence to press for musicians' rights regarding royalties and contracts; these efforts led to the founding of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

Willis Conover, the future Voice of America disc jockey, caught her act with Duke Ellington and recommended her to Atlantic Records bosses Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson.

[20] She followed up this hit with "I'll Wait for You" (1951), "I Know" (1951), "5-10-15 Hours" (1953), "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" (1953), "Oh What a Dream" (1954),[19] "Mambo Baby" (1954), and "Don't Deceive Me" (1960), some of which were credited to Ruth Brown and the Rhythm Makers.

Between 1949 and 1955, her records stayed on the R&B chart for a total of 149 weeks; she would go on to score 21 Top 10 hits all together, including five that landed at number one.

[21] Brown played many racially segregated dances in the southern states, where she toured extensively and was immensely popular.

"[22] Brown performed at the famed tenth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, which was produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. on June 20, 1954.

[23] Her first pop hit came with "Lucky Lips", a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and recorded in 1957.

She starred as Motormouth Maybelle Stubbs, a friendly and strong-willed record promoter and mother of Seaweed and L'il Inez, in the John Waters cult classic film Hairspray.

[26] The New York Times theater critic Frank Rich wrote, "Ruth Brown, the rhythm-and-blues chanteuse, applies sarcastic varnish and two-a-day burlesque timing to the ribald Andy Razaf lyrics of 'If I Can't Sell It, I'll Keep Sittin' on It.

'"[27] Brown's fight for musicians' rights and royalties in 1987 led to the founding of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1988.

She hosted the radio program Blues Stage, carried by more than 200 NPR affiliates, for six years, starting in 1989.

[35] Brown died in a Las Vegas–area hospital on November 17, 2006, from complications following a heart attack and stroke she suffered after surgery in the previous month.