Rhythm and blues

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"R&B" redirects here. For a newer definition of the term R&B, see Contemporary R&B. For other uses, see Rhythm and blues (disambiguation).
Rhythm and blues
Stylistic origins: Jazz, blues, and gospel music
Cultural origins: 1940s United States
Typical instruments: Guitar - Bass - Harmonica - Trumpet - Saxophone - Drum kit - Piano - Organ - Keyboard
Mainstream popularity: Significant from 1940s to 1960s; iconic afterwards
Derivative forms:Rock and Roll - Soul music - Funk - Ska - Reggae
Subgenres
Contemporary R&B - Doo wop

Rhythm and blues (also known as R&B or RnB) is a popular music genre combining jazz, gospel, and blues influences, first performed by African American artists.

Writer/producer Robert Palmer defines "rhythm & blues as a catchall term referring to any music that was made by and for black Americans.[1] He has used the term R&B as a synonym for jump blues.[2] Lawrence Cohn, author of Nothing but the Blues, writes that rhythm and blues was an umbrella term invented for industry convenience. According to him, the term embraced all black music except classical music and religious music, unless a gospel song sold enough to break into the charts. [3]

Contents

[edit] Late 1940s

In 1947, the term rhythm and blues was coined as a musical marketing term in the United States by Jerry Wexler of Billboard magazine.[4] It replaced the term race music (which originally came from within the black community, but was deemed offensive in the postwar world).[5] In that year, Louis Jordan dominated the top five listings of the R&B charts with three songs, and two of the top five songs were based on the boogie-woogie rhythms that had come to prominence during the 1940s.[6] Louis had formed his band, the Tymphany Five in 1938. It consisted of him on saxaphone, and vocals along with musicians on trumpet, tenor saxophone, piano, bass, and drums, and varied in size from six to eight members. [7]

Lawrence Cohn describes the music as "grittier than his boogie-era jazz-tinged blues"[8] Robert Palmer describes it as "urbane, rocking, jazz based music" with a heavy, insistent beat".[9] In 1948, RCA Victor was marketing black music under the name Blues and Rhythm. That year found the Wynonie Harris song, Good Rockin' Tonight, in the number two spot, following band leader Sonny Thompson's "Long Gone" at #1.[10][11]

Jordan's music, along with that of Big Joe Turner, Wynonie Harris, and others, is now also referred to as jump blues.

In 1949, the term rhythm and blues replaced the Billboard category Harlem Hit Parade.[3] Also in that year, "The Huckle-Buck", recorded by band leader and saxophonist Paul Williams, was the #1 R&B tune, remaining on top of the charts for nearly the entire year. Written by musician and arranger Andy Gibson, the song was described as a "dirty boogie" because it was risque and raunchy.[12] When Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers toured, the concerts were sweaty riotous affairs that got shut down on more than one occasion. Their lyrics, which were written by Roy Alfred, were mildly sexually suggestive. One teenager from Philadelphia said "That Hucklebuck was a very nasty dance."[13][14] Also in 1949, a new version of a 1920s blues song, "Ain't Nobody's Business" was a #4 hit for Jimmy Witherspoon, and Louis Jordon and the Tymphany Five once again made the top 5 with "Saturday Night Fish Fry".[15]

[edit] Early to mid 1950s

Working with African American musicians, Greek American Johnny Otis, who had signed with the Newark, New Jersey-based Savoy Records, produced many R&B hits in 1951, including: "Double Crossing Blues", "Mistrustin' Blues" and "Cupid's Boogie", all of which hit number one that year. Otis scored ten top ten hits that year. Other hits include: "Gee Baby", "Mambo Boogie" and "All Nite Long".[16] The Clovers, a vocal trio who sang a distinctive sounding combination of blues and gospel, had the #5 hit of the year with "Don't You Know I Love You" on Atlantic Records.[17][18][19] Also in July 1951, Cleveland, Ohio DJ Alan Freed started a late-night radio show called "The Moondog Rock Roll House Party" on WJW-AM (850).[20] Freed's show was sponsored by Fred Mintz, whose R&B record store had a primarily African American clientle. Freed began refering to the rhythm and blues music he played as rock and roll.

Ruth Brown, on the Atlantic Records label, placed hits in the top 5 every year from 1951 through 1954: "Teardrops from My Eyes", "Five, Ten, Fifteen Hours", "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" and "What a Dream". Faye Adams‘s "Shake a Hand" made it to #2 in 1952. In 1953, the R&B record buying public made Willie Mae Thornton's original recording of Lieber and Stoller's Hound Dog the #3 hit that year.[21] That same year The Orioles, a doo-wop group, had the #4 hit of the year with Crying in the Chapel.[22]

[edit] Mid to late 1950s

Ray Charles came to national prominence in 1955 with "I Got a Woman". It was an upfront use of gospel music convention in an R&B context. Big Bill Broonzy said of Charles' music: "He's mixing the blues with the spirituals... I know that's wrong."[23] With urging of Leonard Chess at Chess Records, Chuck Berry had reworked a fiddle tune with a long history, "Ida Red". The resulting "Maybellene" was not only a #3 hit on the R&B charts that year, but it also reached into the top 30 on the pop charts. Alan Freed, who had moved to the much larger market of New York City, helped the record become popular with white teenagers. Freed had been given part of the writers' credit by Chess in return for his promotional activities; a common practice at the time.[24]

Two Elvis Presley records made the R&B top five in 1957: "Jailhouse Rock"/"Treat Me Nice" at #1, and "All Shook Up" at #5, an unprecedented acceptence of a non-African American artist into a music category known for being created by blacks.[25] Nat King Cole, a former jazz pianist who had had #1 and #2 hits on the pop charts in the early 1950s ("Mona Lisa" at #2 in 1950 and "Too Young" at #1 in 1951) had a record in the top 5 in the R&B charts in 1958, "Looking Back"/"Do I Like It".

Brook Benton was at the top of the R&B charts in 1959 and 1960 with one #1 and two #2 hits. Benton had a certain warmth in his voice that attracted a wide variety of listeners, and his ballads led to comparisons to performers such as Cole, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.[26]

Two black-owned record labels, one of which would become hughly successful, made their debut in 1959: Sam Cooke's Sar, and Berry Gordy's Motown..[27]

[edit] 1960s and later

Sam Cooke‘s #5 hit "Chain Gang" is indicative of R&B in 1960, as is Chubby Checker’s #5 hit "The Twist". [28][29]

Record label Stax introduced Memphis soul music in 1961 with the Mar-Keys' Last Night, an instrumental featuring horns, electric organ, and drums,[30] and Carla Thomas's "Gee Whiz". The arrangement for "Gee Whiz" used violins, piano, along with drums and back up singers.[31] That same year Motown had its first million seller with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' Shop Around.[32]

The music industry category of music previously known as Rhythm and blues was being called soul music by the early 1960s, and similar music by white artists was labeled blue eyed soul.[33] By the 1970s, the term rhythm and blues was being used as a blanket term to describe soul and funk. In the 2000s, the acronym R&B is almost always used instead of the full rhythm and blues, and mainstream use of the term refers to contemporary R&B, which is a modern version of soul and funk-influenced pop music that originated as disco became less favorable.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Palmer, Robert (1995-09-19). Rock & Roll: An Unruly History. Harmony. ISBN 978-0517700501. 
  2. ^ Palmer, Robert [1981-05-21]. Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta. Viking Adult. ISBN 978-0670495115. 
  3. ^ a b Cohn, Lawrence; Aldin,Mary Katherine; Bastin,Bruce [September 1993]. Nothing but the Blues: The Music and the Musicians. Abbeville Press. 
  4. ^ Sacks, Leo. "The Soul of Jerry Wexler", New York Times, 1993--08-29. Retrieved on 2007-01-11. 
  5. ^ Cohn, Lawrence; Aldin,Mary Katherine; Bastin,Bruce [September 1993]. Nothing but the Blues: The Music and the Musicians. Abbeville Press, 314. 
  6. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1947", Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-12-23. 
  7. ^ [1] [2]
  8. ^ Cohn, Lawrence; Aldin,Mary Katherine; Bastin,Bruce [September 1993]. Nothing but the Blues: The Music and the Musicians. Abbeville Press, 173. 
  9. ^ Palmer, Robert (1982-07-29). Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta, paperback, Penguin, 146. ISBN 978-0140062236. 
  10. ^ http://www.vocalgroupharmony.com/Swinging.htm
  11. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1948", Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-12-23. 
  12. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1444711/bio
  13. ^ http://www.wfmu.org/LCD/26/huck1.html]
  14. ^ http://www.wfmu.org/LCD/26/huck2.html
  15. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R%26B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1949
  16. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.jsp?JSESSIONID=QPBXHGLFbQhkhw1S20fwnLwvQ2Nqb6zCmJLZ6NLnQQ2zNnyMWg9Q!-72533986&pid=1388
  17. ^ http://www.history-of-rock.com/vocal_groups.htm
  18. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.jsp?JSESSIONID=QPBXHGLFbQhkhw1S20fwnLwvQ2Nqb6zCmJLZ6NLnQQ2zNnyMWg9Q!-72533986&pid=1388
  19. ^ http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6730003/a/Don't+You+Know+I+Love+You+&+Other+Favorites.htm
  20. ^ http://library.case.edu/digitalcase/SearchResults.aspx?q=mintz
  21. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1953", Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-12-23. 
  22. ^ The Orioles Record Label Shots. Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
  23. ^ Cohn, Lawrence; Aldin,Mary Katherine; Bastin,Bruce [September 1993]. Nothing but the Blues: The Music and the Musicians. Abbeville Press, 173. 
  24. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.jsp?JSESSIONID=gwpQHnLPbv4cYhCG80yCBx6Pg878GwrkyyZ9196BdWhZwLT2271G!1236061003&&pid=4076
  25. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1957", Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-12-23. 
  26. ^ Simon, Tom. Brook Benton Biography. Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
  27. ^ Palmer, Robert (1995-09-19). Rock & Roll: An Unruly History. Harmony. ISBN 978-0517700501. 
  28. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1959", Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-12-23. 
  29. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1960", Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-12-23. 
  30. ^ [3] sample
  31. ^ ]http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/mediaplayer.asp?ean=610583191929&disc=2&track=14] sample of "Gee Whiz"
  32. ^ Palmer, Robert (1995-09-19). Rock & Roll: An Unruly History. Harmony, 83,84. ISBN 978-0517700501. 
  33. ^ Palmer, Robert (1995-09-19). Rock & Roll: An Unruly History. Harmony, 82. ISBN 978-0517700501. 
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