Friday, July 16, 2004 | 8:43 a.m.
Ray Charles died June 10, which has left another big gap in Ruth Brown's life.
"I look around and get so depressed," 76-year-old rhythm-and-blues icon Brown says. "All my friends, all the legends I came along with are slipping away."
Other legends Brown counts among her friends were Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Carmen McRae, Billy Eckstine, Joe Williams and many, many more.
"When I stop and think about it, it's been amazing," Brown said. "The people I've had a chance to work with, all the way down the line."
Charles was among the most legendary.
"Ray -- I had just seen him two months before he died," Brown said.
Their careers crossed paths many times through the decades -- she was one of the first singers to sign with the fledgling Atlantic Records in 1948. Charles joined the company in 1952.
Charles cut many R&B records in the '50s ("I Got a Woman," "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "Drown in My Own Tears" and "What'd I Say").
But Brown dominated the charts during the decade ("I'll Wait For You," "5-10-15 Hours," "Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean," "Oh What A Dream," "I Wanna Do More" and "Love Has Joined Us Together").
Charles was born Sept. 23, 1930, in Albany, Ga. Brown was born Jan. 30, 1928, in Portsmouth, Va. (Other Portsmouth legends include Ella Fitzgerald and Pearl Bailey.)
He won 12 Grammys and she won one, for the album "Blues on Broadway."
Charles was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, Brown in 1993.
"The first time he went on the road was with me," recalled Brown, who has lived in Las Vegas for 10 years.
Although she has been slowed by a stroke, Brown can still sing. She can't remember the lyrics as well as she used to, but when she looks at the words and puts them into song, she still touches the hearts of her fans.
They don't mind that she sits as she sings, conserving her energy for a set that often goes on for a couple of hours.
"Ray called me once and said they were doing a movie about him," Brown recalled. "Jamie Foxx is playing Ray. I asked him who they were going to get to play me and he said, 'Who do you want?' And I said, 'Halle Berry,' and he said, 'Ruth, I'm not that blind.' "
She still mourns the loss of her friend of almost 50 years.
"We look around, and that quick he's gone," Brown said.
Joe Williams, the jazz great who died in Vegas in 1999, was another close friend.
Williams held a scholarship concert each year at the Community College of Southern Nevada. The year he died, Brown filled in for him and the next day had a stroke.
"I've been ill, but I've been lucky," she said. "I lost my speech and the use of my legs."
After three years of therapy, she has mostly recovered from the stroke.
"As I was going through therapy a great lady, who is a doctor, told me to start listening to my music," Brown said. "Finally, I started listening and found out I could hear perfectly, but I had trouble with memory.
"I have to read the book, but the voice is still there. It's been amazing, People have been kind enough to accept me the way I am."
After five years of recovery, she has resumed her career. This week Brown started a two-week gig at a jazz club in New York City.
When she returns she will begin performing Thursdays at the Bootlegger Bistro, where she has appeared a few times in recent months.
A month ago she performed at Stanford University. She recently did a gig at the Regatta Bar in Boston.
"I've been so honored," she says with genuine humility.
Brown first performed in Vegas in 1955 at the Moulin Rouge, which had a brief-but-historic life (six months) providing a venue for black entertainers and black fans during a time of segregation.
She performed at Circus Circus for a few weeks in the '70s, but has never been a dominant headliner in Las Vegas.
"I really never had a chance to sing anyplace in Vegas," Brown said.
She thinks maybe it was because of her style.
"I'm a different kind of singer. I don't need the choreography and all that stuff," Brown said. " I just like people to understand what I'm singing."
Lounging around
Live music is back at Santa Fe Station's Memphis Championship Barbecue Lounge. Rocksicle, a local cover band playing power pop and mainstream rock songs from the '70s forward, performs at 10 p.m. Saturdays.
Jazz vocalist Louise Lambert is now appearing at the Chianti Cafe, 2985 N. Green Valley Parkway, 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Drummer Irv Kluger was feted with a surprise birthday party Friday night at Pogo's, hosted by his daughter, jazz vocalist Jessica Marciel. For the past 20 years Kluger has been the leader of a Friday-night jazz jam session at Pogo's, 2103 N. Decatur Blvd.
TV-film-Broadway Star Adrian Zmed will host "Dance Mania," billed as "the ultimate dance competition," at The NightClub at the Las Vegas Hilton. Beginning at 11 p.m. Sunday (and continuing each Sunday through Oct. 10) competitors will vie for cash prizes ($250 for first place). The couple who wins the finals in October will receive $2,000 plus a dinner for two in the Hilton Steakhouse, a weekend in a luxury suite and a 12-week paid dance contract with Hitz Productions.
Contestants should arrive at 10 p.m. They must have 90 seconds of music of their choice queued on CD. The first eight singles, couples or groups to sign up will be given the chance to compete.
archive
