R&B pioneer Ruth Brown has died at the age of 78 following a stroke and a heart attack. The singer, who passed away in a Las Vegas hospital on Friday, was known as 'the girl with a tear in her voice' due to her emotional style of delivery. Brown's heyday was during the 1950s, when she became a bestselling female artist, releasing songs including the likes of 'So Long', and 'Mambo Lips'. Her hits for Atlantic Records were so huge that the company became known during that period as "the house that Ruth built".
Her career slumped and her work with Atlantic ended with the onset of the 1960s. She didn't return to music until the 1970s, when her career revival garnered her a Grammy Award and a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a musical, and included a series of acting roles in TV and film. Subsequently, Brown led in the fight to achieve proper musicians' rights and royalties, campaigning which led to the setting up of the Rhythm And Blues Foundation. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
Singer Bonnie Raitt says of Brown: "Ruth was one of the most important and beloved figures in modern music. You can hear her influence in everyone from Little Richard to Etta [James], Aretha [Franklin], Janis [Joplin] and divas like Christina Aguilera today."