#3: Lucky Lips by Ruth Brown

City: Dauphin, MB
Radio Station: CKDM
Peak Month: March 1957
Peak Position in Dauphin ~ #6
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #25
YouTube: “Lucky Lips”
Lyrics: “Lucky Lips”

Ruth Brown (nee Weston) was born in 1928 in Portsmouth, Virginia. She was the eldest of seven siblings. In 1945, aged 17, Brown ran away from her home in Portsmouth along with the trumpeter Jimmy Brown, whom she soon married, to sing in bars and clubs. Jimmy Brown was an 18 year old Navy vet who played trumpet and sang in an acrobatic crowd-pleasing style, sort of Jackie Wilson before Jackie Wilson. The two formed a show they called Brown and Brown and their ensuing popularity up and down the Eastern seaboard put them on the track to something akin to stardom for non-recording singers. When they were about to head to her home state to perform they decided to get married to stave off questions from her friends and family about the show’s name and the impropriety of their relationship. The union didn’t last long but the name “Brown” did.  Ruth Brown next spent a month with Lucky Millinder’s orchestra. But he fired her for bringing sodas to the bandmates after the concert was over. Millinder complained that he hadn’t hired her to be a waitress. She also was a vocalist with Duke Ellington. Brown was also singer at the popular Crystal Caverns night club in Washington DC.

In 1949, arrangements were made for Ruth Brown to audition with Atlantic Records. However, Brown was unable to audition as planned because of a car crash outside of Philadelphia that crushed her legs. She’d been riding as a passenger with Jimmy Brown, who was hip to her promising new career, and eager to endear himself with the folks at Atlantic Records. The police on the scene took one look at her and said, “Forget the girl in the back, she’s dead”. The accident resulted in a nine-month stay in the hospital. Jimmy Brown, no longer interested in Ruth, who he now referred to as “a cripple,” left the scene once again to chase skirts.

Ruth Brown signed with Atlantic Records from her hospital bed. The label covered any costs for her hospitalization outside of her insurance policy. Brown was in crutches for her first recordings in 1949 with the record label. Her first single, “So Long”. The song was written by bandleader Russ Morgan in 1940. But Brown’s treatment of the pop song gave it a soulful quality. A writer on the spontaneous lunacy website remarked, As she sings, her voice rises and falls in volume, and “is alternately breathy and forceful. She bears down hard on certain passages and then lets up with a shocking lightness of touch.” The outcome was that record buyers felt as though they’d been dragged through the emotional wringer, and identified with Brown’s sense of devastation at saying goodbye to a relationship she’ll never forget. “So Long” climbed to #4 on the R&B charts.

Ruth Brown released several non-charting singles in late ’49 into 1950, including “Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe” and “Sentimental Journey”. Atlantic Records wanted her to shift her style from pop standards to R&B. In 1950, she released “Teardrops from My Eyes”. The single dominated the Billboard and Cashbox R&B charts, topping the former chart for eleven consecutive weeks, and 13-weeks on the Cashbox R&B charts. Soon she was known as “the girl with the tear in her voice,” a reference to the “squeak” she made on her high notes, as if her voice was breaking with emotion.

In 1951, her singles “I’ll Wait For You” and “I Know” made the Top Ten on the R&B charts. The following year Ruth Brown had her second number-one hit with the bluesy “5-10-15 Hours”. Her followup, “Daddy Daddy”, peaked at #1 in Los Angeles for several weeks in September ’52. She was back on top of the national R&B charts in America in late February ’53 with “Mama, She Treats Your Daughter Mean”. The song also climbed to #23 on the Billboard pop chart. Her next tunes, “Wild, Wild Young Men” and “Mend Your Ways” were also big sellers.

In 1954, Ruth Brown had two number-one R&B hits. The first was a gospel-flavored torch song titled “Oh What A Dream”. It was written by Chuck Willis, and backed by The Drifters (credited as the Rhythmmakers). The song spent eleven weeks at #1 between September 4th and November 13th, 1954. Her last number-one hit was “Mambo Baby” which spent a week on top of the R&B chart on the week of November 20 and a second week back at #1 on January 8, 1955. In 1955-56, Ruth Brown had six more songs crack the Top Ten Billboard R&B chart. “I Want to Do More” had the highest peak, reaching #3 in early 1956.

Between 1949 and 1955, her records stayed on the Billboard R&B chart for a total of 149 weeks.

In September ’56, Ruth Brown recorded “Lucky Lips”. The single was released by Atlantic Records in January 1957.

“Lucky Lips” is a song that was written by the songwriting team of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. It was recorded in 1956 by Ruth Brown and became his 18th of 21 Top Ten hits on the Billboard R&B chart, and her second charting single on the Billboard Pop chart. Her first crossover hit was in 1953 with “(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean”. The song was covered in 1957  by Gale Storm, and in the UK by singer Alma Colgan.

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller were both born on Atlantic coast to Jewish families in 1933. This was the year Adolph Hitler came to power in Germany. Leiber left Baltimore and Stoller left Long Island. They met in Los Angeles in 1950 when they were each seventeen years old. The duo wrote over 70 songs that made the pop charts across three decades. Their first song was in 1952, “Hard Times,” Charles Brown’s final Top Ten R&B hit. Lieber and Stoller’s last hit record was “I Keep Forgettin’” recorded by Michael McDonald in 1982. In between they collaborated with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil to compose “On Broadway” for The Drifters. They also co-wrote “There Goes My Baby” for The Drifters with Ben. E. King. When Ben E. King went solo, Lieber and Stoller co-wrote “Stand By Me”. Leiber and Stoller had one of their best successes with The Coasters who recorded the duo’s “Searchin’”, “Yakety-Yak,” “Charlie Brown”, “Love Potion No. 9”, and “Poison Ivy” among others.

But Leiber and Stoller struck gold writing songs that are now part of Elvis Presley’s most memorable tunes. These include “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Don’t,” “King Creole”, “You’re So Square (Baby I Don’t Care)” and “She’s Not You.” They also wrote “Trouble” for Elvis from the 1958 film King Creole. Other notable hits they wrote include “Kansas City”, a hit for Wilbert Harrison in 1959; “Black Denim Trousers And Motor Cycle Boots” for The Cheers in 1955; And “The Rev. Mr. Black” for The Kingston Trio in 1963. In addition to being a successful songwriting team, Leiber and Stoller founded  Red Bird Records in 1963. The label released “The Leader Of The Pack” and “Remember Walking In The Sand” for The Shangri-Las, “Chapel Of Love” for The Dixie Cups and “I Wanna Love Him So Bad” by The Jelly Beans.

“Lucky Lips” is a song about someone who is a great kisser. They “don’t need a four-leaf clover, rabbit’s foot or a good look charm.” Because they’ve got “lucky lips,” they’ll always be in a relationship with someone.

“When they spin that wheel of fortune, all I do is kiss my chips…” Because they are so popular and desirable in the game of romance, it’s clear they’ll always be a winner. In the original version of the song for Ruth Brown, the lyrics opened with this verse:

When I was just a little girl with long and silky curls,
my mama told me: “Honey, you got more than other girls!
Now you may not be good looking, but you’ll soon wear diamond clips.
And you’ll never have to worry, ’cause you’ve got lucky lips!

As Cliff Richard was a male singer, the opening verse was altered to these lyrics:

When I was just a little baby I didn’t have many toys,
but my mama used to say, son, you’ve got more than other boys.
Now you may not be good looking, and you may not be too rich.
But you’ll never ever be alone, ’cause you’ve got lucky lips.

“Lucky Lips” peaked at #1 in Arlington (VA), #2 in Chicago, #3 in Baltimore, #4 in Toronto, #5 in Detroit, New Orleans, Washington DC, and Pittsburgh, #6 in Dauphin (MB), #7 in Boston and Los Angeles, #8 in Newport News (VA), and #9 in Caribou (ME). In America, “Lucky Lips” became Ruth Browns’ second single to appear on the Billboard pop chart.

Traditional pop singer, Gale Storm, covered “Lucky Lips” in 1957, and her single stalled at #77 on the Billboard pop chart. Meanwhile, in the UK, traditional pop singer Alma Colgan had a #26 hit in England with “Lucky Lips”.

In 1963, Cliff Richard covered “Lucky Lips”, making it an international Top Ten hit. Richard’s cover peaked at number-one in Belgium, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, and West Germany. It also climbed to #2 in Finland, #4 in Australia and the UK, #7 in France and #10 in Spain. Cliff Richard also recorded a German-language version of the song which climbed to #1 in Austria, Switzerland and West Germany.

In 1965, Swedish recording artist Siw Malmkvist recorded a Swedish-language version of “Lucky Lips” titled “Slit och släng”. It climbed to #2 on the Swedish pop chart.

In 1958, “This Little Girl’s Gone Rockin'” became Ruth Browns’ 19th song to crack the Top Ten on the Billboard R&B chart. Written by Bobby Darin, the single also reached #24 on the Billboard Hot 100. And in 1959, Brown saw her final appearances on the R&B charts with “I Don’t Know” (written by Brook Benton), and “Don’t Deceive Me”. The first of these reached #5 and the second climbed to #10.

Ruth Brown’s final appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 was “Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean”. The re-issue of her number-one R&B hit from 1953 made it to #99 in 1962. Meanwhile, in the 1960s Ruth Brown devoted her time to being a wife and a mother. She made a rare public appearance in 1965 on the NBC program TV Gospel Time. In 1970, she received a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category for her cover of the Beatles’ song “Yesterday”. She lost out to Aretha Franklin who won with “Share Your Love with Me”.

She returned to music in 1975 at the urging of the comedian Redd Foxx, followed by a series of comedic acting jobs. This launched her career in TV, film, and stage. She had a recurring role during the 1979-80 season of the sitcom Hello, Larry as the neighbor, Leona Wilson. She starred as Motormouth Maybelle Stubbs, a friendly and strong-willed record promoter and mother of Seaweed and L’il Inez, in the cult classic 1988 film Hairspray. On Broadway, she starred in productions of Amen Corner and Black and Blue. The latter earned her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1989. 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.'” She recorded an album with the songs’ title and earned a Grammy Award nomination in 1990 in the Best Traditional Blues Album category.

Brown’s fight for musicians’ rights and royalties in 1987 led to the founding of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1988. She was one of the first recipients of the Pioneer Award in 1989. In 1989, she released an album, Blues and Broadway, which won a Grammy for best jazz vocal performance, female. She was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Brown recorded and sang with the rhythm-and-blues singer Charles Brown. She also toured with Bonnie Raitt in the late 1990s. Her 1995 autobiography, Miss Rhythm, won the Gleason Award for music journalism. She also appeared on Bonnie Raitt’s 1995 live DVD Road Tested, singing “Never Make Your Move Too Soon”. Ruth Brown was nominated for another Grammy in the Traditional Blues category for her 1997 album, R + B = Ruth Brown. In the 2000 television miniseries Little Richard, she was portrayed by singer Tressa Thomas.

Ruth Brown died in Henderson, Nevada, in 2006 at the age of 78. In 2016, she posthumously received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. And in 2017, Ruth Brown was inducted into National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

August 24, 2024
Ray McGinnis

References:
“Ruth Brown (1928-2006),” Black Past, July 22, 2017.
Liz, Ruth Brown – The R&B Singer Who Built Atlantic Records,” The Vintage Inn, March 6, 2024.
Sampson, “Ruth Brown – So Long,” spontaneouslunacy.net, July 31, 2018.
William Grimes, “Jerry Leiber, Rock ‘n’ Roll Lyricist, Dies at 78,” New York Times, August 22, 2011.
David Fricke,”Leiber and Stoller: Rolling Stone’s 1990 Interview With the Songwriting Legends,” Rolling Stone, August 22, 2011.
Leiber and Stoller – About, Leiber Stoller.com.
Ruth Brown, “5-10-15 Hours“, Atlantic Records, 1952.

CKDM 730-AM Dauphin (MB) Top Ten | March 23, 1957