Ruby Wilson

Ruby Wilson (February 29, 1948 – August 12, 2016) was an American blues and gospel singer. She was known as "The Queen of Beale Street" as she sang in clubs on Beale Street, Memphis, Tennessee, for over 40 years. She had a successful touring and recording career, and appeared in a number of films. Early life Wilson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, the youngest in a family of six children. Her mother was a maid, her father was self-employed, and Wilson grew up picking and chopping cotton - work she later described as hot and unpleasant. Wilson's upbringing was filled with music, from two quite different sources - her mother, a deeply religious woman, only allowed her children to listen to gospel music, as she believed that all other music was "the devil's music". Wilson's mother was the choir director at their family church, and when she was 7 years old Wilson began singing in her mother's choir. On the other hand, Wilson's father loved blues and Wilson listened with him to blues musicians, which had a strong influence on her future career. Wilson met B.B. King for the first time when she was 14; King offered to be her godfather, and the two became close. When she was 15 years old, singer Shirley Caesar heard Wilson singing at church and invited her to tour with her as a backing singer. The following year, Wilson moved to Chicago, where she became a church choir director and sang gospel. She later returned to Texas and started singing jazz.