NRR Project: “Teardrops from My Eyes”
Written by Rudy Toombs
Performed by Ruth Brown
Recorded 1950
2:55
Everything you need to know about this cut is present in Steve Bergsman’s excellent essay on the piece at the National Recording Registry.
It’s interesting that this song should be considered a precursor to rock ‘n’ roll. This song, if sung slowly and with expressiveness, plays out like any ballad; the difference here is that Ruth Brown, the “Queen of R & B,” takes the song at a jaunty, blistering pace, making it a song you can move to, that lifts you up out a state of neutrality. If that’s one definition of rock, so be it.
The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: Patti Page sings Tennessee Waltz.
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