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The original title of the song was "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer", and was sung that way when first recorded and released in 1953 by Amos Milburn. George Thorogood, among others, for some reason changed it to "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" when recording or performing it.
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{{Short description|American performer and songwriter}}
{{Infobox musical artist
{{Infobox musical artist
| honorific_prefix =
| honorific_prefix =
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| native_name =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| native_name_lang =
| birth_name = Rudolph Toombs
| birth_name = Rudolph Toombs<ref name="AMG"/>
| alias =
| alias =
| birth_date = {{Birth year|1914}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date text|1914}}
| birth_place = [[Monroe, Louisiana]], United States
| birth_place = [[Monroe, Louisiana]], United States
| origin =
| origin =
| death_date = November 28, {{Death year and age|1962|1914}}
| death_date = November 28, {{Death year and age|1962|1914}}
| death_place = United States
| death_place = [[New York City|New York]], United States<ref name="AMG"/>
| genre = [[Jump blues]], [[rhythm and blues]], [[blues]]
| genre = [[Jump blues]], [[rhythm and blues]], [[blues]]
| occupation = [[Songwriter]]
| occupation = [[Songwriter]]
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}}
}}


'''Rudolph Toombs''' (1914 &ndash; November 28, 1962) was an American performer and [[songwriter]]. He wrote "[[Teardrops from My Eyes]]", [[Ruth Brown]]'s first number one [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] song, and other [[hit single|hit songs]] for her, including "[[5-10-15 Hours]]". He also wrote "[[One Mint Julep]]" for [[The Clovers]].<ref>{{cite book
'''Rudolph Toombs''' (1914 &ndash; November 28, 1962)<ref name="AMG">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rudy-toombs-mn0000303896|title=Rudy Toombs Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More...|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=August 5, 2024}}</ref> was an American performer and [[songwriter]]. He wrote "[[Teardrops from My Eyes]]", [[Ruth Brown]]'s first number one [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] song, and other [[hit single|hit songs]] for her, including "[[5-10-15 Hours]]". He also wrote "[[One Mint Julep]]" for [[The Clovers]].<ref>{{cite book
| author1= [[Jim Dawson]]
|author=Dawson Jim; Propes, Steve
| author2= [[Steve Propes]]
| year= 1992
| year= 1992
| title= What Was the First Rock 'n' Roll Record
| title= What Was the First Rock 'n' Roll Record
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==History==
==History==
Toombs was born in [[Monroe, Louisiana]]. He began as a [[vaudeville]]-style song-and-dance man and later became a productive [[lyricist]] and [[composer]] of [[doo-wop]] songs and [[rhythm and blues|rhythm-and-blues]] standards in the 1950s and 1960s. Some of his work was done at [[Atlantic Records]], writing and arranging songs for [[Ahmet Ertegun]]. Toombs was murdered by robbers in the hallway of his apartment house in [[Harlem]] in 1962.<ref name="imdb">{{cite web
Toombs was born in [[Monroe, Louisiana]]. He began as a [[vaudeville]]-style song-and-dance man and later became a productive [[lyricist]] and [[composer]] of [[doo-wop]] songs and [[rhythm and blues]] standards in the 1950s and 1960s. Some of his work was done at [[Atlantic Records]], writing and arranging songs for [[Ahmet Ertegun]]. Toombs was murdered by robbers in the hallway of his apartment house in [[Harlem]], New York, in 1962.<ref name="imdb">{{cite web
|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0867514/bio
|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0867514/bio
|title=Biography for Rudy Toombs
|title=Biography for Rudy Toombs
|publisher=IMDb
|website=IMDb.com
|access-date=2006-11-01
|access-date=2006-11-01
}}</ref>
}}</ref>
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==Songs==
==Songs==
Some of Toombs best known songs are listed below.<ref name="imdb"/>
Some of Toombs' best known songs are listed below.<ref name="imdb"/>
* "[[Teardrops from My Eyes]]", a hit for Ruth Brown
* "[[Teardrops from My Eyes]]", a [[Rhythm and blues]] song for [[Ruth Brown]], which was a hit for her in 1950
* "[[One Mint Julep]]", sung by the [[the Clovers|Clovers]] (number 1 [[R&B]] in 1951) [[cover version|covered]] in an instrumental version by [[Ray Charles]] ([[R&B]] number 1, [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] number 8 in 1961)
* "[[One Mint Julep]]",<ref name="AMG"/> recorded by [[The Clovers]] (number 1 [[R&B]] in 1951), [[cover version|covered]] in an instrumental version by [[Ray Charles]] (number 1 R&B, [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] number 8 in 1961)
* "[[5-10-15 Hours]]", sung by Ruth Brown (number 1 R&B in 1951)
* "[[5-10-15 Hours]]", recorded by Ruth Brown (number 1 R&B in 1951)
⚫
* "I Cried and Cried" recorded by Varetta Dillard in 1952
* "[[One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer]]", written for [[Amos Milburn]] and [[cover version|covered]] by [[John Lee Hooker]], [[Jimmy Witherspoon]] (1963), [[George Thorogood and the Destroyers]], and in the television series [[Glee (TV series)|''Glee'']] among others. The original title of the song was "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer", and was sung that way when first recorded and released in 1953 by Amos Milburn. George Thorogood, among others, for some reason changed the order to "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" when recording or performing it.
* "[[One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer]]", recorded in 1953 by [[Amos Milburn]]
* "I Get a Thrill" recorded by Wynonie Harris in 1954
* "Thinking and Drinking"
* "Thinking and Drinking"
* "[[Gum Drop (song)|Gum Drop]]", a hit for the [[the Crew-Cuts|Crew-Cuts]] in 1955
* "[[Gum Drop (song)|Gum Drop]]", a 1955 hit for [[Otis Williams and the Charms]], covered by [[The Crew-Cuts]] that year
* "I'm Shakin'", a hit for [[Little Willie John]] in 1960, covered by the [[the Blasters|Blasters]] in 1981, [[Long John Baldry]] in 1996, [[Jack White (musician)|Jack White]] in 2012, and [[Willy Moon]] in 2013
* "I'm Shakin'", a hit for [[Little Willie John]] in 1960, covered by [[The Blasters]] in 1981, [[Long John Baldry]] in 1996, [[Jack White (musician)|Jack White]] in 2012, and [[Willy Moon]] in 2013
* "That's Your Mistake", performed by Otis Williams in 1955, covered by the Crew Cuts
* "That's Your Mistake", recorded by Otis Williams in 1955, covered by The Crew Cuts the next year
* "Lonesome Whistle Blues", covered by [[Freddie King]] in 1961 and by [[Chicken Shack]] in 1968
* "Lonesome Whistle Blues", recorded by [[Freddie King]] in 1961 and by [[Chicken Shack]] in 1968
⚫
* "[[It Hurts to Be in Love]]", co-written with [[Julius Dixson]] for [[Annie Laurie (musician)|Annie Laurie]] in 1957<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/it-hurts-to-be-in-love-mt0001306242 |title=It Hurts to Be in Love – Annie Laurie: Listen, Appearances, Song Review |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=2013-03-12}}</ref>
⚫
* "I Cried and Cried"
* "I Get a Thrill"
⚫
* "It Hurts to Be in Love", co-written with [[Julius Dixson]] for [[Annie Laurie (musician)|Annie Laurie]] (1957)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/it-hurts-to-be-in-love-mt0001306242 |title=It Hurts to Be in Love – Annie Laurie: Listen, Appearances, Song Review |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=2013-03-12}}</ref>


==Artists==
==Artists==
His songs (apart from those recordings listed above) have been sung by the following artists:<ref>{{cite web
His songs (apart from those recordings listed above) have been sung by the following artists:<ref name="AMG"/>
{{div col begin}}
|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p132305|pure_url=yes}}
|title=Rudy Toombs
|publisher=[[AllMusic]]
|access-date=2007-11-25
}}</ref>
*[[Amos Milburn]]
*[[Amos Milburn]]
*[[Hank Ballard]]
*[[Hank Ballard]]
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*[[Jack White (musician)|Jack White]]
*[[Jack White (musician)|Jack White]]
*[[The Honeydrippers]]
*[[The Honeydrippers]]
{{div col end}}


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:1962 deaths]]
[[Category:1962 deaths]]
[[Category:1962 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:1962 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:Vaudeville performers]]
[[Category:American vaudeville performers]]
[[Category:Musicians from Monroe, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Musicians from Monroe, Louisiana]]
[[Category:American murder victims]]
[[Category:American murder victims]]
[[Category:People murdered in New York City]]
[[Category:People murdered in New York City]]
⚫
[[Category:20th-century American musicians]]
[[Category:American blues singers]]
[[Category:American blues singers]]
[[Category:Jump blues musicians]]
[[Category:Jump blues musicians]]
[[Category:Murdered African-American people]]
[[Category:Murdered African-American people]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American musicians]]
⚫
[[Category:20th-century American songwriters]]

Latest revision as of 22:25, 5 August 2024

Rudy Toombs
Birth nameRudolph Toombs[1]
Born1914 (1914)
Monroe, Louisiana, United States
DiedNovember 28, 1962 (aged 47–48)
New York, United States[1]
GenresJump blues, rhythm and blues, blues
OccupationSongwriter

Rudolph Toombs (1914 – November 28, 1962)[1] was an American performer and songwriter. He wrote "Teardrops from My Eyes", Ruth Brown's first number one R&B song, and other hit songs for her, including "5-10-15 Hours". He also wrote "One Mint Julep" for The Clovers.[2][3]

History

[edit]

Toombs was born in Monroe, Louisiana. He began as a vaudeville-style song-and-dance man and later became a productive lyricist and composer of doo-wop songs and rhythm and blues standards in the 1950s and 1960s. Some of his work was done at Atlantic Records, writing and arranging songs for Ahmet Ertegun. Toombs was murdered by robbers in the hallway of his apartment house in Harlem, New York, in 1962.[3]

Ruth Brown credited 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 blues.[4]

Songs

[edit]

Some of Toombs' best known songs are listed below.[3]

Artists

[edit]

His songs (apart from those recordings listed above) have been sung by the following artists:[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e "Rudy Toombs Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More..." AllMusic. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  2. ^ Jim Dawson; Steve Propes (1992). What Was the First Rock 'n' Roll Record. Boston & London: Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-12939-3.
  3. ^ a b c "Biography for Rudy Toombs". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2006-11-01.
  4. ^ Shaw, Arnold (1978). Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm & Blues. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-02-061740-2.
  5. ^ "It Hurts to Be in Love – Annie Laurie: Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
[edit]
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