Rhythm and Blues....

Rhythm & Blues is a genre that started with a bang in the late 1940s in African American communities, and has only only gotten bigger with time. Starting in the 1960s, after this style of music contributed to the development of rock and roll, the term Rhythm & Blues became used to refer to music styles that developed from and incorporated electric blues, as well as gospel and soul music. By the 1970s, the term rhythm and blues was being used as a blanket term to describe soul and funk. Since the 1990s, the term Contemporary R&B is now mainly used to refer to a modern version of soul and funk-influenced pop music.

In the 1940s, Louis Jordan and his band, the Tympany Five, which consisted of him on saxophone and vocals, along with musicians on trumpet, tenor saxophone, piano, bass and drums, dominated the R&B charts with three of the top five hits. The early 1950s introduced famous artists such as Johnny Otis, who produced ten top ten hits in 1951; Fat Domino; Little Richard; Ruth Brown, who placed hits in the top 5 every year from 1951 through 1954; and Ray Charles. Carl Perkins, Della Reese, and Chuck Berry dominated the charts in the late 1950s. Also at that time, the movie industry found a way to incorporate this popular genre of music, and Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Big Joe Turner, The Treniers, The Platters, The Flamingos, all made it onto the big screen starting in 1956. In 1957, extraordinaire Elvis Presley made his surprising debut on the R&B charts with "Jailhouse Rock"/"Treat Me Nice" at #1, and "All Shook Up" at #5, an unprecedented acceptance of a non-African American artist into a music category known for being created by blacks. Sam Cooke‘s #5 hit "Chain Gang" is indicative of R&B in 1960, as is Chubby Checker's #5 hit "The Twist". Also, Motown Records, an immediately successful Rhythm & Blues record label started in 1959 by Berry Gordy, had its first million-selling single in 1960 with The Miracles' "Shop Around."

Today, this genre is referred to as "Contemporary R&B," using inspirations from the great artists listed above, but also taking elements from modern soul, funk, dance, and hip hop. Contemporary R&B has a slick, electronic record production style, drum machine-backed rhythms, the occasional guitar riff to give the song a rock feel, the occasional saxophone solo to give a jazz feel, and a smooth, lush style of vocal arrangement. In the early to mid 1980s, new stars such as Prince and Michael Jackson rose in popularity, but the females led the scene in that decade with the introduction of Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, and Janet Jackson. By the '90s, R&B artists were incorporating hip-hop sounds into their music, and popularity shifted to Boyz II Men, Brian McNight, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Mary J. Blige, R. Kelly, Usher, and Mariah Carey. Today, soulful R&B continues to be popular, with artists such as Rihanna, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J Blige, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Mario, Alicia Keys, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, and John Legend showcasing classic influences in their work.

Playlist: Songs 31-39