Introduction
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within the African-American community 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 starting to become 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. 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
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music is a studio album by American rhythm and blues and soul musician Ray Charles, released in April 1962 on ABC-Paramount Records, in both mono and stereo format, ABC-410 and ABCS-410. Recording sessions for the album took place in early to mid-February 1962 at Capitol Studios in New York City and at United Recording Studios in Hollywood. The album features country, folk and western standards covered and redone by Charles in popular song forms of the time, such as jazz and R&B, as well as production by himself and renown conductor Sid Feller.
As his fifth LP release for ABC-Paramount, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music became a rapid critical and commercial success as it brought Ray Charles further mainstream notice, following his tenure for Atlantic Records. With the help of the album's four charting singles, Charles earned recognition in the pop market, as well as airplay on both R&B and country radio stations. Modern Sounds and its lead single, "I Can't Stop Loving You", were both certified gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America on July 19, 1962, as each record had sold half a million copies in the United States.
Regarded by many music writers and critics as Charles' greatest studio effort, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music has been included on several publications' "best album" lists in disparate genres, as well as R&B and country music lists, respectively. Modern Sounds has also been considered as a landmark album in American music, as Charles' integration of soul and country bended racial barriers in music, amid the height of the civil rights struggle. In the process of recording the album, Charles became one of the first black musicians to exercise complete artistic control over his own recording career. In October 1988, Modern Sounds was reissued on compact disc by Rhino Entertainment. In 2003, the album was ranked number 104 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
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WikiProjects
Selected biography -
Leslie Sebastian Charles MBE (born 21 January 1950), known professionally as Billy Ocean, is a Trinidadian-born British singer and songwriter. Between 1976 and 1988, he had a series of hit songs in the UK and internationally.
After releasing several recordings under other stage names, he achieved breakthrough success with the 1976 single "Love Really Hurts Without You". It was the second single released under the stage name Billy Ocean and peaked at no. 2 in the UK and no. 3 in Australia. Later that year, he achieved two additional top 20 singles in the UK. In 1977, his single "Red Light Spells Danger" also peaked at no. 2. After a period of limited chart success, he released the single "Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)" in 1984. In the UK, the song peaked at no. 6. In the U.S., it entered the Billboard Hot 100 at no. 85 but peaked at no. 1 ten weeks later. Ocean won the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for the song. It also charted in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and across Europe under three different titles. Across the next three years, Ocean accumulated a series of international hit singles. Released in 1985, "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" peaked at no. 1 in the UK and no. 2 in the U.S. the following year. In the same year, he achieved an American no. 1 with the single "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)". In 1988, his single "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" reached no. 1 in the U.S. and no. 3 in the UK. (Full article...)
General images -
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Georgie Fame, leader of one of the most widely influenced R&B groups, in 1968 (from British rhythm and blues) -
Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings at Middelburg in 2009 (from British rhythm and blues) -
The Cleftones during their participation in the doo-wop festival celebrated in May 2010 at the Benedum Center. (from Doo-wop) -
The Animals in 1964 (from British rhythm and blues) -
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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) -
John Lee Hooker, whose visit to England was the anticipated R&B event of 1964, shown in 1978 (from British rhythm and blues) -
Alexis Korner in Hamburg in 1972 (from British rhythm and blues) -
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) -
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The instruments of the skiffle group the Quarrymen, who would become the Beatles (from British rhythm and blues) -
The Jam in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1982 (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) -
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) -
Herman Santiago, original lead singer of the Teenagers (from Doo-wop) -
The Ramones in Toronto (1976) (from Doo-wop) -
The original line up of the Kinks, 1965 (from British rhythm and blues) -
Alternative R&B artist Frank Ocean performing at the Coachella Festival in 2012 (from Alternative R&B) -
Led Zeppelin performing at Chicago Stadium in January 1975 -
Muddy Waters, a major influence on the movement, pictured in 1971 (from British rhythm and blues) -
The Moonglows, 1956 (from Doo-wop) -
The Jimi Hendrix Experience performing on Dutch television in 1967 (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) -
Janet Jackson's Control, released in 1986, was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 1980s. (from New jack swing)
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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.
