This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. Today we continue our archive series R&B, rockabilly and early rock 'n' roll with the late R&B singer Ruth Brown. She was one of Atlantic Records' first hitmakers.

Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on X (Opens in new window) Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to print (Opens in new window) Singer Ruth ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Singer Ruth Brown, whose recordings of "Teardrops in My Eyes," "5-10-15 Hours" and "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" shot her to rhythm-and-blues stardom in the 1950s, has died ...

Brown started out in the '40s and influenced a host of singers, including Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin. Her hits include "Teardrops from My Eyes." She died in 2006. Originally broadcast in 1997.

They came over for my 20th birthday and brought the contracts, and I signed them on my bed in the hospital there at Chester. Brown started out in the '40s and influenced a host of singers, including ...