Portal:Rhythm and blues

Wikipedia's Rhythm and Blues Portal

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 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...)

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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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Shirley Mae Goodman (June 19, 1936 – July 5, 2005) was an American R&B singer, best known as one half of Shirley & Lee, a 1950s duo. Later in her career, she had a resurgence as part of the group Shirley and Company with the disco hit "Shame, Shame, Shame" in the 1970s. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various rhythm and blues-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Georgie Fame, leader of one of the most widely influenced R&B groups, in 1968 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 2The Animals in 1964 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 3The instruments of the skiffle group the Quarrymen, who would become the Beatles (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 4Alexis Korner in Hamburg in 1972 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 5The Ramones in Toronto (1976) (from Doo-wop)
Image 6Beyoncé was named by Billboard the most successful female act of the 2000s. (from Contemporary R&B)
Image 7The original line up of the Kinks, 1965 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 8The Moonglows, 1956 (from Doo-wop)
Image 9Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac onstage in 1970 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 10John Lee Hooker, whose visit to England was the anticipated R&B event of 1964, shown in 1978 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 11The Cleftones during their participation in the doo-wop festival celebrated in May 2010 at the Benedum Center. (from Doo-wop)
Image 12The Jimi Hendrix Experience performing on Dutch television in 1967 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 13Muddy Waters, a major influence on the movement, pictured in 1971 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 14Kathy 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)
Image 15Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings at Middelburg in 2009 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 16Usher 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)
Image 17Janet Jackson's Control, released in 1986, was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 1980s. (from New jack swing)
Image 18The Jam in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1982 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 19Herman Santiago, original lead singer of the Teenagers (from Doo-wop)
Image 20Lead Belly's recordings were major part of British R&B repertoires: he never performed in the UK (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 21Led Zeppelin performing at Chicago Stadium in January 1975
Image 22Chris 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)
Image 23Alicia 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)