RUBY ANDREWS

Ruby Andrews makes her home in Chicago and is best known for 1967's "Casanova (Your Playing Days Are Over)."

She was born Ruby Stackhouse in Hollandale, Mississippi, on March 12, 1947. She was in Chicago by 1953 and there attended Hyde Park High School. In her teens, she sang with a group called the Vondells, who recorded the single “Errand Boy” / “Lenora” for the Marvello label in 1964. Under the name Ruby Stackhouse, she made her solo debut on Kelmac Records in 1965, “Please Tell Me” / “Wishing.”

She then moved on to the Zodiac label, where she recorded as Ruby Andrews. Her first two singles there, “Let’s Get a Groove Going” and “Johnny’s Gone Away,” did not sell. However, the third time was the charm. The misspelled “Casonova (Your Playing Days Are Over),” co-written by Joshie Jo Armstead, featured a classic Chicago mid-tempo arrangement (even though it was recorded in Detroit). The single hit #9 on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues chart and reached #51 pop in the late summer of 1967.

The year 1969 gave Andrews her second-biggest hit, “You Made a Believer (Out of Me).”  She stayed with Zodiac for six years, recording sixteen singles and an album, 1972’s Black Ruby. A track from it, “Just Lovin’ You,” became a favorite on the British Northern Soul scene. Many of Andrews’ songs on Zodiac were co-written and produced by Fred Bridges, Robert Eaton and Richard Knight, who also wrote for the vocal group, the Brothers of Soul (“I Guess That Don’t Make Me a Loser,” 1968).

By 1976, Ruby Andrews was on ABC, It released an LP on her, Genuine Ruby, which featured the tracks “Merry Go Round” and “Queen of the Disco.” The label folded in 1977, leaving Andrews without a record deal.

“Casanova” saw new life in 1980, when the Chicago-based group Coffee recorded a dance version. In went to #13 in the UK but did not chart stateside.

In 1991, Andrews worked with producer Swamp Dogg on her album Kiss This. It came out on the Ichiban label. She also released a single on Ichiban, “I Got What I Want at Home” / “To the Other Woman,” in 1993. The year of 2004 saw the release of Just Loving You, a retrospective, on Grapevine Records.

Ruby Andrews remains active in the music business and is the CEO of Genuine Ruby Records, LLC.

Charted singles:

“Casonova [sic] (Your Playing Days Are Over” (1967) R&B #9, Pop #51
“Hey Boy Take a Chance On Love” (1968) Pop #92
“The Love I Need” (1968) R&B #48
“You Made a Believer (Out of Me)” (1969) R&B #18, Pop #96
“Everybody Saw You” (1970) R&B #34, Pop #118
“Can You Get Away” (1970) R&B #41
“You Ole Boo Boo You” (1971) R&B #47