| Genres: |
R&B / Soul
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| Descriptive "tags": |
soul • stax • rhythm and blues • deep soul • female vocalists
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| Decades Active: |
1990s
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| Links online: |
Wikipedia
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Biography
19 April 1936, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, USA, d. 4 July 1999, Lanham, Maryland, USA. To many soul fans, Johnson was chiefly remembered for her wonderful deep-soul Volt recording, ‘I’ll Run Your Hurt Away’, released in March 1966, but some of her other material from the same era confirmed that she was a high-quality soul singer. Although African-American, Johnson was raised in North Carolina in the quasi-Jewish Temple Beth-El faith. One of nine children, she grew up singing a cappella at the local temple, but aspired to emulate the power-soul style of Aretha Franklin and Etta James. After singing with Samuel Latham And The Rhythm Makers at Virginia Beach, she moved to Washington, DC, and became show-opener at the popular Spa Club. Never Duncan, manager of Bobby Parker (of ‘Watch Your Step’ fame), signed her first to the Philadelphia-based V-Tone label (for which Parker was also recording), and then to his own Nebs outlet. Subsequently,...
Read the Full Biography of Ruby Johnson
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