Shirley Brown (born January 6, 1947, West Memphis, Arkansas)[1] is an American R&B singer, best known for her million-selling single "Woman to Woman", which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1975.
Shirley Brown | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 6, 1947 |
| Origin | West Memphis, Arkansas, United States |
| Genres | R&B |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Labels | Abet, Stax, Arista, Malaco |
Biography
editBrown was born in West Memphis, but was raised in Madison, Illinois, where she started singing in church at the age of nine. Early experience singing gospel gave her a powerful but expressive voice likened to that of Aretha Franklin.[2] Albert King discovered her when she was aged 14, singing in the Harlem Club in Brooklyn, Illinois. Young Shirley went on the road with King for nine years. While King made sure she had a tutor, Brown often cut her classes to work with the band.[2][3][4]
By 1972, Shirley was living in East St. Louis, Illinois, where she made her first record for the Abet label called, "I Ain't Gonna Tell" and "Love Built on a Strong Foundation".[4] Bandleader Oliver Sain produced the record; Sain worked with King on his first hit record ten years earlier.[2] By 1974, King recommended Brown to Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had been one of the label's stars for some time.[2]
Her 1974 hit, "Woman to Woman" spent two weeks at No. 1 in the Billboard R&B chart[5] and climbed to #22 in the Billboard Hot 100. It sold over one million copies by December 1974, and was awarded a gold disc.[6] It would be Stax's final major hit record[5] (the song was later covered by Barbara Mandrell in 1978 and became a top-five country hit).
A moderately successful debut album, Woman to Woman, was released by Stax on their Truth label,[7] but by 1975, the company was struggling financially and also facing litigation. A follow-up single, "It Ain't No Fun" was only a moderate success, and Stax closed soon afterwards.[5][8]
Her signing to Arista Records in 1977 resulted in the album Shirley Brown, produced by the former Stax owner Jim Stewart and writer-producer Bettye Crutcher, who provided most of the songs. These included "Blessed Is the Woman" which reached No. 14 R&B (#102 pop).[5][9]
Brown continued to record for several labels after that, including Fantasy, on the re-formed Stax label, and Sound Town.[9] She has been with the Mississippi based blues label, Malaco Records since 1989.[10] She remains a popular live performer, mainly in southern states of the US, without having found the recording success of her earlier years.[5][11]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US R&B [12] |
US Pop [12] | |||||
| 1974 | Woman to Woman | 11 | 98 | |||
| 1977 | Shirley Brown | ― | ― | |||
| 1979 | For the Real Feeling | ― | ― | |||
| 1984 | Intimate Storm | ― | ― | |||
| 1989 | Fire & Ice | 66 | ― | |||
| 1991 | Timeless | 63 | ― | |||
| 1993 | Joy and Pain | ― | ― | |||
| 1995 | Diva of Soul | 67 | ― | |||
| 1997 | The Soul of a Woman | ― | ― | |||
| 1998 | Three Way Love Affair | ― | ― | |||
| 2000 | Holding My Own | ― | ― | |||
| 2004 | Woman Enough | ― | ― | |||
| 2009 | Unleashed | ― | ― | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||
Singles
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US R&B [12] |
US Pop [12] | |||||
| 1974 | "Woman to Woman" | 1 | 22 | Woman to Woman | ||
| 1975 | "It Ain't No Fun" | 32 | 94 | |||
| 1977 | "Blessed Is the Woman (With a Man Like Mine)" | 14 | — | Shirley Brown | ||
| "I Need Somebody to Love Me" | 50 | — | ||||
| 1978 | "I Can't Move No Mountains" | 92 | — | Non-album single | ||
| 1979 | "After a Night Like This" | 73 | — | For the Real Feeling | ||
| 1980 | "You've Got to Like What You Do" | 73 | — | Non-album single | ||
| 1984 | "This Used to Be Your House" | 70 | — | Intimate Storm | ||
| "I Don't Play That" | 68 | — | ||||
| 1985 | "Boyfriend" | 69 | — | |||
| 1989 | "Ain't Nothin' Like the Lovin' We Got" | 46 | — | Fire & Ice | ||
| 1995 | "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)" | 80 | — | Diva of Soul | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||
Grammy Award history
edit1975 - Nominated for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Hamilton, Andrew. "Shirley Brown Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Shirley Brown". Reno Tahoe Blues Fest. Archived from the original on June 15, 2009. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
- ^ "Shirley Brown". Blast From the Past. May 7, 2009. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
- ^ a b "Shirley Brown-Part 1". Soul Express. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Shirley Brown". Artist Direct. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 343. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ Callahan, Mike; Edwards, David (March 25, 2002). "Stax-Related Album Discography: Hip/Respect/Koko/Gospel Truth/Truth/We Produce/Partee". Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^ "Stax History". Soulville USA. Archived from the original on January 11, 2005. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
- ^ a b "Shirley Brown-Part 2". Soul Express. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
- ^ Pollak, Bill (1998). "Shirley Brown". MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
- ^ "Shirley Brown-Part 3". Soul Express. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Shirley Brown - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
