(upbeat music) - [Damon] When my aunt signed with Atlantic Records, it was the fifties.

It was a much different time for Black Americans in terms of what you could question, what you could not question.

My name is Damon Williams, and I'm the chairman of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

The Rhythm and Blues Foundation was founded in 1998, primarily by my aunt, Ruth Brown, who um had some issues with the recording industry, and her main issue was that many of the artists from the forties and fifties were never compensated for the recordings by the record labels.

And so, in the latter part of her career, upon asking where her royalties were and having the door shut in her face, she decided to do something about it.

So with the help of attorney Howard Beagle and some other supporters, they essentially took on the music industry, and, lack of better word, exposed that the music industry was not compensating rhythm and blues artists for their recordings.

The Rhythm and Blues Foundation is a nonprofit organization that was set up to help specifically rhythm and blues artists who recorded music from the 1950s through the 1990s who find themselves in need of either monies for financial assistance, for bills like rent, utilities, or other things, or they need financial assistance for medical bills.

I think organizations like the Rhythm and Blues Foundation would be necessary regardless of whether or not my aunt went on her journey to help get it established or not.

The bottom line is artists age up, their ability to generate the same amount of income, their ability to go out on stage and dance and sing for hours just changes, and the legacy of these artists and the mission of the organization are very, very important to our community, so that's why I committed myself and have tried to do the best that I can do to keep the organization moving forward.

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