Rudy Toombs
Encyclopedia
Rudolph "Rudy" Toombs born in Monroe, Louisiana
, was an American
black
songwriter
who wrote "Teardrops from My Eyes
", Ruth Brown
's first number one R&B successful
song
. He wrote more successes for Brown, including "5-10-15 Hours
" as well as "One Mint Julep
" for The Clovers
.
-style song-and-dance man, he became a productive lyricist
and composer
of doo-wop
songs and rhythm and blues
standards during the 1950s and 1960s. His best work was done at Atlantic Records
, writing and arranging songs for Ahmet Ertegün
. He died during 1962, murdered by robbers in the hallway of his apartment house in Harlem
.
Ruth Brown credits Toombs as a major reason for her success. She describes him as joyful, exuberant man, so full of life that he passed that ebullience on to her. He taught her how to take a moody blues ballad and make it into a bouncy jump song.
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
, was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
who wrote "Teardrops from My Eyes
Teardrops from My Eyes
"Teardrops from My Eyes", written by Rudy Toombs, was the first upbeat major hit for Ruth Brown, establishing her as an important figure in rhythm and blues. Recorded for Atlantic Records in New York City in September 1950, and released in October, it was on BillBoard's List of number-one R&B hits...
", Ruth Brown
Ruth Brown
Ruth Brown was an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, composer and actress, noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atlantic Records in the 1950s, such as "So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes" and " He Treats Your Daughter Mean".For these...
's first number one R&B successful
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
. He wrote more successes for Brown, including "5-10-15 Hours
5-10-15 Hours
"5-10-15 Hours" is a rhythm and blues song written by Rudy Toombs in 1952 for Ruth Brown and became another Rudy Toombs' number-one R&B hit for Brown. The song, smooth, sophisticated blues shouting at its best, has a touch of suppliance more characteristic of the vocal qualities of popular...
" as well as "One Mint Julep
One Mint Julep
"One Mint Julep" is a rhythm and blues song written by Rudy Toombs that became a hit for The Clovers. It was recorded by Atlantic Records in New York City on December 19, 1951 and released in March of 1952. It was one of the first "drinking songs" to become a hit and one of the first to feature a...
" for The Clovers
The Clovers
-History:The group formed in 1946 at Armstrong High School in Washington, D.C., with members Harold Lucas, Billy Shelton, and Thomas Woods. John "Buddy" Bailey was added soon after, and they began calling themselves the "Four Clovers", with Bailey on lead...
.
History
Although he began as a vaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
-style song-and-dance man, he became a productive lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
songs and rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
standards during the 1950s and 1960s. His best work was done at Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
, writing and arranging songs for Ahmet Ertegün
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
. He died during 1962, murdered by robbers in the hallway of his apartment house in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
.
Ruth Brown credits Toombs as a major reason for her success. She describes him as joyful, exuberant man, so full of life that he passed that ebullience on to her. He taught her how to take a moody blues ballad and make it into a bouncy jump song.
Songs
Some of Toombs best known songs are listed below:- "Teardrops from My EyesTeardrops from My Eyes"Teardrops from My Eyes", written by Rudy Toombs, was the first upbeat major hit for Ruth Brown, establishing her as an important figure in rhythm and blues. Recorded for Atlantic Records in New York City in September 1950, and released in October, it was on BillBoard's List of number-one R&B hits...
" a hit for Ruth Brown - "One Mint JulepOne Mint Julep"One Mint Julep" is a rhythm and blues song written by Rudy Toombs that became a hit for The Clovers. It was recorded by Atlantic Records in New York City on December 19, 1951 and released in March of 1952. It was one of the first "drinking songs" to become a hit and one of the first to feature a...
" (sung by The CloversThe Clovers-History:The group formed in 1946 at Armstrong High School in Washington, D.C., with members Harold Lucas, Billy Shelton, and Thomas Woods. John "Buddy" Bailey was added soon after, and they began calling themselves the "Four Clovers", with Bailey on lead...
, went to number one on the charts in 1951) - "5-10-15 Hours5-10-15 Hours"5-10-15 Hours" is a rhythm and blues song written by Rudy Toombs in 1952 for Ruth Brown and became another Rudy Toombs' number-one R&B hit for Brown. The song, smooth, sophisticated blues shouting at its best, has a touch of suppliance more characteristic of the vocal qualities of popular...
" (sung by Ruth Brown, finished number one R&B in 1951) - "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One BeerOne Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer"One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" or "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer" is a call and response blues song written by Rudy Toombs and recorded by Amos Milburn in 1953. It is one of several drinking songs recorded by Milburn in the early 1950s that placed in the top ten of the Billboard R&B chart...
", written for Amos MilburnAmos MilburnAmos Milburn was an African American rhythm and blues singer and pianist, popular during the 1940s and 1950s...
and coveredCover versionIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by John Lee HookerJohn Lee HookerJohn Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, and in the television series GleeGlee (TV series)Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
among others. - "Thinking and Drinking"
- "Gum DropGum DropFor the candy, see gumdrop. For the CSI episode, see Gum Drops. For the children's stories by Val Biro, see Gumdrop ."Gum Drop" is a popular song written by Rudy Toombs....
", a hit for The Crew-CutsThe Crew-CutsThe Crew-Cuts were a Canadian vocal quartet, that made a number of popular records that charted in the United States and worldwide. They named themselves after the then popular crew cut haircut, one of the first connections made between pop music and hairstyle...
in 1955. - "I'm Shakin'", a hit for Little Willie JohnLittle Willie JohnWilliam Edward John was better known by his stage name Little Willie John. Many sources erroneously give his second name as Edgar...
- "Lonesome River Blues"
- "I Cried and Cried"
- "I Get a Thrill"
- "It Hurts To Be in Love" for Frankie Lymon and the TeenagersFrankie LymonFranklin Joseph "Frankie" Lymon was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of a New York City-based early rock and roll group, The Teenagers. The group was composed of five boys, all in their early to mid teens...
Artists
His songs (apart from those recordings listed above) have been sung by the following artists:- Amos MilburnAmos MilburnAmos Milburn was an African American rhythm and blues singer and pianist, popular during the 1940s and 1950s...
- Hank BallardHank BallardHank Ballard , born John Henry Kendricks, was a rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of Hank Ballard and The Midnighters and one of the first proto-rock 'n' roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s...
- Freddy King
- Ella Mae MorseElla Mae MorseElla Mae Morse , was an American popular singer. Morse blended jazz, country, pop, and R&B.-Career:Morse was born in Mansfield, Texas, United States. She was hired by Jimmy Dorsey when she was 14 years old. Dorsey believed she was 19, and when he was informed by the school board that he was now...
- Otis Williams and the CharmsOtis Williams and the CharmsOtis Williams and the Charms were an American doo-wop vocal group in the 1950s, who were originally billed as The Charms. Williams is not related to Otis Williams of The Temptations.-Career:...
- The OriolesThe OriolesThe Orioles were a successful and influential American R&B group of the late 1940s and early 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal bands who established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound....
- James BrownJames BrownJames Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
- Big Joe TurnerBig Joe TurnerBig Joe Turner was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to the songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." Although he came to his greatest fame in the 1950s with his pioneering rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and...
- Louis JordanLouis JordanLouis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...
- Pat BoonePat BooneCharles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
- Wynonie HarrisWynonie HarrisWynonie Harris , born in Omaha, Nebraska, was an American blues shouter and rhythm and blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. With fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952, Harris is generally considered one of rock and roll's forerunners, influencing Elvis Presley...
- Hank SnowHank SnowClarence Eugene "Hank" Snow was a Canadian-American country music artist. He charted more than 70 singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980...
- Johnny "Guitar" Watson
- Betty EverettBetty EverettBetty Everett was an African-American soul singer and pianist, best known for her biggest hit single, the million-selling "The Shoop Shoop Song ".-Early career:...
- Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
- The Five KeysThe Five KeysThe Five Keys is an American rhythm and blues vocal group that was instrumental in shaping this genre in the 1950s.It was formed with the original name of Sentimental Four in Newport News, Virginia, U.S., in the late 1940s, and initially consisted of two sets of brothers - Rudy West and Bernie...
- Albert KingAlbert KingAlbert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
- Bill Haley & His CometsBill Haley & His CometsBill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets , was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of...
- The BlastersThe BlastersThe Blasters are a rock and roll music group formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin , with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had...