Long before there was the Queen of Soul (Aretha Franklin), there was the Queen of R&B - Ruth Brown. It wasRuth Brown's success that enabled Atlantic Records to grow from being a minor independent to a major powerhousein the American record industry. After first registering on the R&B chart in 1950, she registered an array ofhits over the next decade, with several also crossing over to the pop chart.Late Date was her second album for Atlantic. The first, issued in 1957 was merely a compilation of tracks recordedover the previous eight years. Late Date was specifically recorded for album release but found Ruth forsakingher traditional R&B base for an album of standards! It was a risky strategy but one which worked to perfection -today Late Date is regarded as one of her better albums.