Portal:Rhythm and blues
Introduction
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to African Americans, at a time when "rocking, jazz based music ... [with a] heavy, insistent beat" was becoming more popular. In the commercial rhythm and blues music typical of the 1950s through the 1970s, the bands usually consisted of a piano, one or two guitars, bass, drums, one or more saxophones, and sometimes background vocalists. R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American history and experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy, as well as triumphs and failures in terms of societal racism, oppression, relationships, economics, and aspirations.
The term "rhythm and blues" has undergone a number of shifts in meaning. In the early 1950s, it was frequently applied to blues records. Starting in the mid-1950s, after this style of music had contributed to the development of rock and roll, the term "R&B" became used in a wider context. It referred to music styles that developed from and incorporated electric blues, as well as gospel and soul music. From 1960s to 70s, some British groups were referred to and promoted as being R&B bands. By the 1970s, the term "rhythm and blues" had changed once again and was used as a blanket term for soul and funk. (Full article...)
Selected article
Neo soul is a term coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contemporary R&B. Heavily based in soul music, neo soul is distinguished by a less conventional sound than its contemporary R&B counterpart, with incorporated elements ranging from jazz, funk, and hip hop to pop, fusion, and African music.
Developed in the United States and United Kingdom during the 1980s and early 1990s as a soul "revival" movement, neo soul emerged into the mainstream with the commercial and critical breakthroughs of several neo soul artists during the 1990s, as it was marketed as an alternative to the producer-driven, digitally-approached R&B of the time. Since its initial mainstream popularity and impact on the sound of contemporary R&B, it has been expanded and diversified musically through the works of both American and international artists. According to Mark Anthony Neal, "neo-soul and its various incarnations has helped to redefine the boundaries and contours of black pop".
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Selected biography -
Monica Denise Arnold (formerly Brown; born October 24, 1980) is an American singer, rapper and actress. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, she began performing as a child and joined a traveling gospel choir by the age of ten. Monica signed with record producer Dallas Austin through his label Rowdy Records in 1993, and gained prominence following the release of her debut studio album, Miss Thang (1995). Her follow up releases were met with further commercial success; her second, The Boy Is Mine (1998) remains her best-selling album and spawned three Billboard Hot 100-number one singles: "The Boy Is Mine" (with Brandy), "The First Night" and "Angel of Mine".
She then parted ways with Arista and Rowdy Records in favor of Clive Davis' J Records upon the label's launch in 2000. Her Japan-exclusive third album, All Eyez on Me (2002) was met with a steep critical and commercial decline, although its partial re-issue, After the Storm (2003), served as her fourth album and became her first to debut atop the US Billboard 200. Executive produced and largely written by rapper Missy Elliott, it was led by the single "So Gone", which peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. Her fifth and sixth albums, The Makings of Me (2006) and Still Standing (2010) also peaked atop the Billboard 200; the latter received two Grammy Award nominations. Her seventh, New Life (2012) peaked at number four on the chart despite unfavorable critical response, and failed to spawn any charting singles; her eighth, Code Red (2015) saw a continued decline in reception and marked her final release with RCA. (Full article...)General images -
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Muddy Waters, a major influence on the movement, pictured in 1971 (from British rhythm and blues) -
Georgie Fame, leader of one of the most widely influenced R&B groups, in 1968 (from British rhythm and blues) -
The Moonglows, 1956 (from Doo-wop) -
Usher was cited by Billboard as the no. 1 Hot 100 artist of the 2000s decade, with 7 number-one singles that accumulated 42 weeks at the top. (from Contemporary R&B) -
Alexis Korner in Hamburg in 1972 (from British rhythm and blues) -
The original line up of the Kinks, 1965 (from British rhythm and blues) -
Chris Barber, one of the major figures in the early popularisation of the blues in Britain, playing at the Musikhalle, Hamburg, 1972 (from British rhythm and blues) -
Alicia Keys ranked fifth on Billboard Artist of the Decade list. "No One" ranks No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs of the decade. (from Contemporary R&B) -
The Jam in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1982 (from British rhythm and blues) -
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Kathy Young with the Earth Angels performing Kathy's hit "A Thousand Stars" during the festival of this genre celebrated at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in May 2010 (from Doo-wop) -
John Lee Hooker, whose visit to England was the anticipated R&B event of 1964, shown in 1978 (from British rhythm and blues) -
Michael Jackson holds the record for the best-selling new jack swing album with his 1991 release, Dangerous. (from New jack swing) -
Lead Belly's recordings would be a major part of British R&B repertoires, although he never performed in the UK (from British rhythm and blues) -
Led Zeppelin performing at Chicago Stadium in January 1975 -
The instruments of the skiffle group the Quarrymen, who would become the Beatles (from British rhythm and blues) -
The Jimi Hendrix Experience performing on Dutch television in 1967 (from British rhythm and blues) -
Janet Jackson's Control, released in 1986, was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 1980s. (from New jack swing) -
The Cleftones during their participation in the doo-wop festival celebrated in May 2010 at the Benedum Center. (from Doo-wop) -
Alternative R&B artist Frank Ocean performing at the Coachella Festival in 2012 (from Alternative R&B) -
Herman Santiago, original lead singer of the Teenagers (from Doo-wop) -
Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings at Middelburg in 2009 (from British rhythm and blues) -
The Animals in 1964 (from British rhythm and blues) -
The Ramones in Toronto (1976) (from Doo-wop)
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Sources
- ^ "Ruth Brown, the Queen of R&B, was born 93 years ago today". Frank Beacham's Journal. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
