Tommy Brown

In 1950 the Griffin Brothers came across Brown during their travels through Atlanta, Georgia, prompting him to cut sides for Savoy Records in that city under his own name and supported by their band before he headed north to Washington, DC, and became a member of their combined touring and recording outfit. Brown’s debut Dot Records single with the Griffin Brothers took the shape of a rendition of Dave Bartholomew’s “Tra-La-La,” which proved enormously popular by reaching number seven on the R&B charts in August 1951. An even stronger success arrived in December when Brown’s deeply felt “Weepin’ & Cryin” climbed to number three and launched a run of similarly overwrought releases. After splitting from the Griffin Brothers in 1952, Brown rejoined Savoy for a lone session issued under the name “Tommy 'Weepin' & Cryin' Brown.” He went on to explore an assortment of blues and R&B approaches for an array of labels including King Records, where he supplied a vocal reading of “Honky Tonk” with Bill Doggett, United alongside Walter Horton, Groove, Imperial Records, and ABC Records. Brown continued working as a nightclub singer and comedian in Atlanta through the 1960s and 1970s, his last known employment being at a nursing home.