1940s-50s
40s and 50s style was very formal. Black artists were looking for respect and success (there was still segregation in America), and that meant following acceptable styles of the time - coiffured hair, stilettos and glamorous dresses emphasising the hour-glass figure. Two popular R&B singers, Ruth Brown and Dinah Washington, adopted the classy fashions of Hollywood actresses, as opposed to the Capri pants and pony tails of 50s rock 'n' roll kids.
Ruth Brown (left)
Atlantic Records was nicknamed 'the house that Ruth built' as she had so many hits with them in the 50s.
Her rich voice suited her songs such as Teardrops in My Eyes and (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean.
After her star faded, she worked as a domestic help to support her family.
Ruth set up the Rhythm & Blues Foundation to help artists recoup royalties, after she spent 9 years trying to do the same.
Her singing career was revived by the 80s. She also appeared in the film Hairspray and Broadway show Black and Blue which won her a Tony Award for Best Actress. More on Ruth
Dinah Washington (right)
Hugely popular singer with a series of hits in the R&B charts '48-'55. Broke into the mainstream in 1959 with What a Diff'rence a Day Makes.
Mad About the Boy was used in a jeans advert as recently as 1999.
Dinah had a difficult personal life, with 7(!) marriages which fed her powerful, heartfelt voice. Died after an accidental overdose of diet pills and alcohol in 1963, aged 39.
She was a key influence on R&B. More on Dinah
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