In this episode of Blues Moments in Time, January 12 steps forward not as a day of tragedy or legislation, but as a celebration — a date stamped with beginnings, resilience, and the way we choose to remember. At the center is Ruth Brown, the “girl who sang the blues,” whose birthday becomes a kind of living memorial. We follow her journey from sneaking out to teenage club gigs, through car crashes, industry neglect, and years working as a domestic, to her return as a celebrated artist and fierce advocate for musicians’ rights.

We also look at how modern storytellers have intentionally claimed this date — from the online premiere of Ruth Brown, The Girl Who Sang the Blues to the way streaming-era commemorations teach audiences to mark the calendar and check back in with her story each year. January 12 shows how blues history is not frozen in old shellac, but constantly rewritten by how we share and revisit these lives.

Unlike many dates in music history, January 12 isn’t dominated by famous deaths from the blues pantheon. Instead, it leans toward birth, renewal, and the quiet politics of personal struggle — the contracts signed, the pay fought for, the respect demanded over a lifetime. In a genre so often marked by hard endings, January 12 stands as a reminder that some days on the blues calendar belong to the joy of what was born, not the sorrow of what was taken away.

Hosted by: Kelvin Huggins

Presented by: The Blues Hotel Collective

Keep the blues alive.

© 2026 The Blues Hotel Collective.