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Tier 2 · legacy legend
Shirley Brown
Person · female · United States · born 1947 · recording since 1974
American musician
Also known as Ширли Браун
Timeline
12 events▣ Album 10◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1
1940s
1970s
· Debut release
Debut release: Woman to Woman
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1980s
1990s
2000s
Biography
English biography414 words · 3 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1371032840
Biography
Shirley Brown (born January 6, 1947, West Memphis, Arkansas) is an American R&B singer, best known for her million-selling single "Woman to Woman
Woman to WomanSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1It Ain’t No Fun7:15A2As Long as You Love Me3:25A3Stay With Me3:16A4I’ve Got to Go on Without You3:59B1Woman to Woman3:54B2So Glad to Have You3:41B3Passion3:56B4I Can’t Give You Up3:36B5I Need You Tonight3:14B6Between You and Me2:38", which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1975.
Biography
Brown was born in West Memphis, but was raised in Madison, Illinois, where she started singing in church at the age of nine. Early experience singing gospel gave her a powerful but expressive voice likened to that of Aretha Franklin. Albert King discovered her when she was aged 14, singing in the Harlem Club in Brooklyn, Illinois. Young Shirley went on the road with King for nine years. While King made sure she had a tutor, Brown often cut her classes to work with the band.
By 1972, Shirley was living in East St. Louis, Illinois, where she made her first record for the Abet label called, "I Ain't Gonna Tell" and "Love Built on a Strong Foundation". Bandleader Oliver Sain produced the record; Sain worked with King on his first hit record ten years earlier. By 1974, King recommended Brown to Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had been one of the label's stars for some time.
Her 1974 hit, "Woman to WomanWoman to WomanSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1It Ain’t No Fun7:15A2As Long as You Love Me3:25A3Stay With Me3:16A4I’ve Got to Go on Without You3:59B1Woman to Woman3:54B2So Glad to Have You3:41B3Passion3:56B4I Can’t Give You Up3:36B5I Need You Tonight3:14B6Between You and Me2:38" spent two weeks at No. 1 in the Billboard R&B chart and climbed to #22 in the Billboard Hot 100. It sold over one million copies by December 1974, and was awarded a gold disc. It would be Stax's final major hit record (the song was later covered by Barbara Mandrell in 1978 and became a top-five country hit).
A moderately successful debut album, Woman to Woman, was released by Stax on their Truth label, but by 1975, the company was struggling financially and also facing litigation. A follow-up single, "It Ain't No Fun" was only a moderate success, and Stax closed soon afterwards.
Her signing to Arista Records in 1977 resulted in the album Shirley Brown, produced by the former Stax owner Jim Stewart and writer-producer Bettye Crutcher, who provided most of the songs. These included "Blessed Is the Woman" which reached No. 14 R&B (#102 pop).
Brown continued to record for several labels after that, including Fantasy, on the re-formed Stax label, and Sound Town. She has been with the Mississippi based blues label, Malaco Records since 1989. She remains a popular live performer, mainly in southern states of the US, without having found the recording success of her earlier years.
Grammy Award history
Grammy Award
1975 - Nominated for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 6 | 38.9th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 11 | 82.8th |
| Studio albums | 10 | 91.1th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 12 | 88.9th |
| Recording span (years) | 35 | 74.2th |
| Genres | 1 | 56th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (11 release groups · 10 studio albums)
Albums · 10
1974 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 38:54
A1It Ain’t No Fun7:15A2As Long as You Love Me3:25A3Stay With Me3:16A4I’ve Got to Go on Without You3:59B1Woman to Woman3:54B2So Glad to Have You3:41B3Passion3:56B4I Can’t Give You Up3:36B5I Need You Tonight3:14B6Between You and Me2:381977 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 47:07
1Blessed Is the Woman (With a Man Like Mine)3:462When You Really Love Somebody4:193Said I Wasn't Gonna Give You No More Love3:294I Need Somebody to Love Me4:355Givin' Up4:586Long on Lovin'2:547Midnight Rendezvous4:138I'll Be Right Here Lovin' You3:539A Mighty Good Feeling5:3010Lowdown, Dirty, Good Lover2:5711Honey Babe3:3012I Can't Move No Mountains3:031979 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 36:53
A1When, Where and What Time4:21A2Crowding in on My Mind3:35A3After a Night Like This4:36A4Dirty Feelin'5:23B1Hang on Louie5:36B2Eyes Can't See4:52B3Move Me - Move Me4:16B4Love Starved4:141984 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 36:27
1Boyfriend5:062I Don't Play That4:093Looking For The Real Thing3:274This Love5:175I'm Up To No Good3:486Love Fever3:567This Used To Be Your House5:108Leave The Bridges Standing5:341989 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 47:05
1What 'Cha Gonna' Do When the Money Runs Out4:242Ain't Nothin' Like the Lovin' We Got4:463Tell Me Something Good4:234Silent Treatment4:325King Size Love4:056If This Is Goodbye4:447Take Me to Your Heart4:228Sowed to the Wind5:229I Wonder Where the Love Has Gone5:1210Anticipation5:151993 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 48:02
1Joy And Pain4:532Hearts Are Made To Be Loved4:303Take It Like A Woman3:564It's A Pleasure Easin' Your Pain4:425You're Gonna Make Me Cry6:046A Two-Way Thang5:287'Bout To Make Me Leave Home4:488You Know What You're Gettin' At Home4:409It Don't Hurt Like It Used To5:5510Long On Lovin'- Shirley Brown3:061995 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 49:15
1You Ain't Got to Hide Your Man4:232If You're Weak Enough4:583Good Loving Man4:104One More Time5:545You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man5:116Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is4:207Talk to Me5:388Sprung on His Love4:209Better You Go Your Way5:1510Leftover Love5:061997 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 55:53
1Why You Want to Love Me Like That5:132You're Never Gonna Find Another Love Like Mine4:273Don't Go Lookin' for My Man5:114The Power of a Woman4:045Who Is Betty4:546Female Player4:337The Search Is Over5:478The Last Time I Cry (Over a Man)5:099You Left a Good Woman for a Good Time5:5710I Caught You With Your Pants Down5:1811He Looked Beyond My Faults5:202000 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 52:08
1Sweet Lips, Big Hips4:172If You Keep Using My Love4:073How Close We Came4:084Is There a Lover In the House3:305Sticking By My Man4:516Walking or Crawling5:167Cold Turkey4:078The Best Woman5:249Wrapped Up In Your Love4:0710If I Were Your Woman3:5211When a Woman Loves a Man3:4112Through the Storm4:482009 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 13 tracks · 57:46
1Upside Down4:042I Don't Wanna Leave4:253Clean House3:544You Should'A Known Better3:445I Wish You Didn't Love Me So Good4:146Let Me Relax You4:327If You Can't Hit It Right3:558A Sample Of My Love5:009You Gave Me Hell4:5310Why4:3911When I Hear Your Name5:4912You Ain't Gone Get No More Of My Love4:3213Watch What You Tell Your Friends4:05
Album · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | TimelessSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 9 tracks · 41:151Still in Love4:17 2Let's Make Love Tonight4:48 3I Had A Talk With My Man5:11 4Three Way Love Affair4:12 5Lovin' To Soon3:56 6Share Your Love5:09 7If I Didn't Love You4:23 8I Feel Your Love Changing4:34 9TIme4:45 | Compilation | — |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Shirley Brown head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 6 | 38.9th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 11 | 82.8th |
| Studio albums | 10 | 91.1th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 12 | 88.9th |
| Recording span (years) | 35 | 74.2th |
| Genres | 1 | 56th |
Awards & honours
Where this record comes from
aliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/61f1ebb5-b16c-4386-93d2-b48bfc651a8ediscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/61f1ebb5-b16c-4386-93d2-b48bfc651a8ecore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7498706genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7498706seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Brownbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Brown
Why this artist is in the database
- List of soul musicians
Tier rule: genre canon: soul
Image: no portrait (not displayed: the licence credit is missing)
Wikidata: Q7498706 · MusicBrainz: 61f1ebb5-b16c-4386-93d2-b48bfc651a8e
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