Ruby Johnson (April 19, 1936 – July 4, 1999) was an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

singer, best known for her recordings on the

Volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827). Defin ...

label in the late 1960s.

Life and career

She was born in

Elizabeth City, North Carolina Elizabeth City is a city in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,629. Elizabeth City is the county seat and largest city of Pasquotank County. It is the cultural, economic and e ...

, and was raised in the

Jewish faith Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, monotheism, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots ...

. She sang, with her eight brothers and sisters, in the Temple Beth-El choir. After completing high school, she moved to

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous ci ...

where she worked as a waitress and began singing

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

with local bands, before spending two years with Samuel Latham and the Rhythm Makers. She then moved to Washington, D.C. in the late 1950s, and joined Ambrose and the Showstoppers, the house band at the Spa nightclub. Local entrepreneur Never Duncan Jnr. became her manager, and placed her with record producer Dicky Williams. Her first single, "Calling All Boys", was issued in 1960 on the V-Tone label, before Duncan established his own

recording company A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...

, NEBS. She released a succession of singles on NEBS, including "Here I Go Again", "Worried Mind", and "Nobody Cares", some of which became local hits. When her local supporter, disc jockey Al Bell, began working for

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

in Memphis in 1965, he won her a contract with the label. There, she recorded a handful of classic soul records with the writing and production team of

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songw ...

and David Porter, and backing musicians including

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as ...

, "Duck" Dunn and

Al Jackson Alvin Neill Jackson (December 26, 1935 – August 19, 2019), affectionately referred to as "Little" Al Jackson, was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1959 to 1969. His 43 wins with the New York Mets were the franchi ...

. These were issued on the Stax subsidiary label, Volt. They included "I'll Run Your Hurt Away", which reached No. 31 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in 1966, and "If I Ever Needed Love", both tracks which became staples of subsequent soul compilations, such as those by Dave Godin. Despite the quality of her records, they met with little success, and after a few more years singing in clubs, she gave up her singing career in 1974. She worked in government posts, and eventually became the director of Foster Grandparents, a federal programme helping handicapped children relate to older generations. She also returned to worship and sing at the Temple Beth-El near her home in

Lanham, Maryland Lanham is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census it had a population of 11,282. The New Carrollton station (the terminus of the Washington Metro's Orange L ...

. A compilation CD, including many previously unissued tracks, was issued in 1993. She died in 1999, aged 63.

Discography

Singles

* 1961 "Callin' All Boys" / "Pleadin' Heart" – V-TONE 222 * 1963 "I Received Your Message" / "Stop Wasting Your Tears" – Pledge 108 * 1964 "Worried Mind" / "I'm Hooked" – NEBS 502 * 1964 "What Goes Up Must Come Down" / "I Want A Real Man" – NEBS 503 * 1965 "Let Me Apologise" / "Don't Start Nothing" – NEBS 101 * 1965 "Here I Go Again" / "Jerk Shout" – NEBS 501 * 1966 "I'll Run Your Hurt Away" / "Weak Spot" – Volt 133 * 1966 "Come To Me My Darling" / "When My Love Comes Down" – Volt 140 * 1967 "Reach Out and Touch Me" / "Come Back To Me" – NEBS 508 * 1967 "If I Ever Needed Love (I Sure Do Need It Now)" / "Keep On Keeping On" – Volt 147 * 1968 "I've Been Hurt (So Many Times)" / "Through Dealing" – NEBS 509 * 1968 "Why You Want To Leave Me" / "I Can't Do It" – NEBS 511 * 1969 "Nobody Care" / "Why Do You Want To Leave Me" – NEBS 600

Albums

''I'll Run Your Hurt Away'', Stax, 1993

References

External links

Volt Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Ruby 1936 births 1999 deaths American soul singers African-American Jews Jewish American musicians People from Elizabeth City, North Carolina 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American Jews