Rhythm-and-Blues MusicI INTRODUCTION

Tina Turner

American singer Tina Turner began performing rhythm-and-blues music in a band led by her former husband, Ike Turner,in the 1960s. After leaving Ike in the middle of a tour in 1976, she embarked on a solo career. She struggled for manyyears to rebuild her audience before releasing the hit album Private Dancer in 1984, containing the emotional song“What’s Love Got to Do with It.” She is shown here performing in Sweden in the year 2000.

Roger Lundsten/Scanpix /Retna, Ltd

Rhythm-and-Blues Music or R&B, variety of different, but related, types of popular music produced and supported primarily by black Americans beginning in the early

1940s (see African American Music). Rhythm-and-blues music, also known simply as R&B, embraces such genres as jump blues, club blues, black rock and roll, doo

wop, soul, Motown, funk, disco, and rap. First coined in 1949 by Jerry Wexler, who would become prominent with Atlantic Records, the term rhythm and blues was used

as a synonym for black rock and roll (rock-and-roll music done by black musicians) in the early and mid-1950s. Until white rock-and-roll performers such as Bill Haley

and Elvis Presley achieved mass popularity in the mid-1950s, what was commonly referred to as rock and roll by white disc jockeys and fans was referred to as the

latest style of R&B by black disc jockeys and fans.

As a tradition, R&B provided the single greatest influence on popular music worldwide for much of the second half of the 20th century. This influence can be traced in

forms of rock music, country and western, gospel music, and jazz as well as in a variety of non-Western forms of music (see Worldbeat), including Nigerian juju, a style

of popular dance music, and Algerian rai, another popular style distinguished by its rebellious lyrics. As the influence of various styles of R&B has grown, black urban

values have also permeated a wide variety of other cultures, most notably that of contemporary Euro-American youth.

II COMMON MUSICAL ELEMENTS

Despite vast differences between genres, such as rap and jump blues, there are common musical and social elements that link the many styles of R&B. The approach to

musical rhythm is the most important distinguishing characteristic of R&B music and its substyles. While all genres of R&B typically depend upon four-beat building

blocks (measures or bars), prominent use of syncopation, and a backbeat (beats two and four accented in each measure), the specific approach to the expression of

musical time (the so-called groove) is one of the primary means of differentiating one genre from another, and even one player or band from another.

Timbre is another important distinguishing characteristic of R&B. Timbre refers to the quality or color of a sound—for example, a listener may tell a saxophone and a

guitar apart, or distinguish one vocalist from another, by the differences in their timbre. Most styles of R&B rely extensively on timbre variation over the course of a

performance to achieve interest. R&B singers and instrumentalists often alternate between gentle, smooth timbres and harsh, raspy timbres, giving the music a wide

range of emotional expression.

In addition to rhythm and timbre, other common elements of R&B music include the use of: (1) the twelve-bar form, a three-lyric line structure originating in earlier

styles of blues; (2) call and response, whereby a singer or instrumentalist will sing or play a phrase and another vocalist or instrumentalist will answer with another

phrase; (3) incessant repetition of musical notes, rhythms, phrases, or verses; (4) the use of blue notes (notes that bridge the musical relationship between the minor

and major modes; see Mode); and (5) a tightly integrated and complex blending of instruments, in which it is often difficult to differentiate the separate sounds or

instruments being played at a given moment.

Finally, with the exception of rap, most R&B performances share a common instrumentation, with the performing ensemble divided into a rhythm section and a horn

section. Typically, the rhythm section consists of a drum set, bass, piano (sometimes organ instead of or in addition to piano), and guitar, while the horn section

features saxophones, trumpets, and occasionally trombones. The emphasis on horns in most styles of R&B has been one of the ways in which the music has historically

been differentiated from white rock music.

III HISTORY

A Origins

Rhythm and blues originated from the sociological, industrial, and technological changes that took place in the United States just prior to and during World War II

(1939-1945). Foremost among these changes was a widespread shift in American demographics. Attracted by relatively high-paying wartime employment, hundreds of

thousands of black Americans migrated from the rural South to Midwest, Northeast, and West Coast cities. In popular music, new styles were created to meet the

changing tastes of this demographic group, leading to the development of the urbane sounds of R&B.

The profound sociological changes of the World War II period were accompanied by two significant technological developments: the invention of the electric guitar in the

late 1930s and the discovery of the German-invented tape recorder by the music industry at the end of the war. With the new, relatively affordable technology of

magnetic tape, which simplified the recording process (see Sound Recording and Reproduction: The Tape Recorder), enterprising individuals were able to start

independent record companies. Since the major record companies in the United States, with the exception of Decca Records, had little interest in R&B, newly formed

independent companies, such as Atlantic, Chess, Specialty, and Modern, were crucial for the production and distribution of R&B recordings.

Another important industrial change resulted from the rise of television broadcasting in the United States in the late 1940s. Radio-station owners who thought that

television would soon make radio obsolete sold their stations at bargain prices. New radio-station owners, seeking a niche in the marketplace, often turned to newly

urbanized American blacks. Beginning with the Memphis radio station WDIA in 1948, these emergent black-oriented radio stations allowed the new independent record

companies to air the sounds of R&B to a black urban audience.

B Early R&B Styles

Louis Jordan

In the late 1930s, big band saxophonist and vocalist Louis Jordan developed a new kind of energetic dance music, knownas jump blues or shuffle boogie. Jordan and his Tympany Five, a downsized ensemble of piano or guitar, bass, drums, sax,and trumpet, greatly influenced a host of rhythm-and-blues artists as well as one of the earliest rock-and-roll bands, BillHaley and the Comets. This excerpt is from the song “Five Guys Named Moe” (1943).

"Five Guys Named Moe" composed by J. Bresler and L. Wynn, performed by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five from The R and B Box: 30 Years of Rhythm and Blues (Cat.# MCARhino - originally on Decca)(c) MCA Publishing, a Div. ofUniversal Studios, Inc. (p)1992 Classics Records. Courtesy ofThe Verve Music Group, under license from Universal MusicEnterprises. All Rights Reserved./The Everett Collection, Inc.

Although the sounds of early black urban music were being performed throughout the United States, the recording of R&B began on the two coasts. Former big-band

jazz musician Louis Jordan formed a small ensemble in 1938, which he eventually named the Tympany Five. Signed to New York-based Decca Records, Jordan recorded

primarily in the up-tempo, horn-driven style known as jump blues. His compositions tended to be based on traditional 12-bar blues and featured appealing riffs

(repeated phrases commonly played by the horn section), simplified rhythmic solos, and humorous lyrics. Many of Jordan's biggest hits, including “G.I. Jive” (1944),

“Caldonia” (1945), and “Choo Choo Ch'Boogie” (1946), were exceedingly popular with both black and white audiences. The jump-blues style he originated rapidly spread

among black musicians, with distinctive regional variants emerging in cities such as New Orleans, Louisiana, and Memphis, Tennessee. Jordan influenced every R&B

artist in the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s, including James Brown, B. B. King, and Chuck Berry.

B. B. King

B. B. King is pictured here plucking on “Lucille,” the name the influential blues musician gave to his guitar. King began toteach himself guitar in 1945 and made his first recording in 1950. He was still recording albums and touring internationallymore than 50 years later, delighting fans as his playing seemingly brought Lucille to life.

REUTERS/THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE

At the same time, a number of pianists, including Nat 'King' Cole and Charles Brown, pioneered a much quieter, subdued style known as club blues. These artists were

often called sepia Sinatras (see Sinatra, Frank), a moniker that reflected the crooning vocal style that characterized this genre. By playing ballads with a highly rhythmic

piano style, Cole, like Jordan, was able to sell his music well to both black and white audiences.

Two other styles of R&B were popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s: an instrumental strain largely modeled on jump blues and featuring a coarse, honking tenor

saxophone sound; and the vocal-group genre. The most important musicians who promoted the instrumental style were tenor saxophonist Big Jay McNeely, alto and

baritone saxophonist Paul Williams, and tenor saxophonist Joe Houston. The most important vocal groups of the time included the Ink Spots, the Mills Brothers, and the

Ravens.

C R&B and Rock and Roll

Chuck Berry

American singer and guitarist Chuck Berry is regarded as one of the most influential musicians in the history of popularmusic. Beginning in the 1950s he won fame for the complexity of his guitar playing and the energy of his liveperformances. Many of his songs are considered rock-and-roll classics, including “Roll Over Beethoven” (1956) and“Johnny B. Goode” (1958).

UPI/THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE

In the 1950s the dominant strains of R&B began to be directed toward teenagers instead of adults. The vocal-group style of the 1940s gave way to 1950s doo wop,

which featured close-harmony singing, usually at slower tempos. Artists such as the Five Keys, and later the Coasters and the Drifters, sang songs with lyric themes

that voiced concerns of American teenagers, including rebellion, school, romance, and cars.

Little Richard

Little Richard was one of the most prominent performers of early rock and roll. In the mid-1950s, with his hair extendedabout six inches from his forehead, thick mascara around his eyes, and outrageous jackets, Little Richard represented thespirit of rebellion that lay at the core of rock and roll’s popularity among the American youth of the time. In 1955 LittleRichard recorded his first hit, “Tutti Frutti,” which employed an African American tradition of wordplay and which set thestandard for his subsequent songs, including “Good Golly Miss Molly” (1958).

The Everett Collection, Inc./"Good Golly Miss Molly" performed by Little Richard, from The Specialty Sessions (Cat.# Specialty SPCD-8508-2) (c) Jondora Music (BMI), Robin HoodMusic, and Third Story Music. (p)1958Specialty Records, Inc., 1992 FantasyRecords. All rights reserved.

Pioneered largely by guitarist Chuck Berry and pianist Little Richard, black rock and roll emerged during the 1950s and forever changed American culture. The crucial

innovation of black rock and roll was in the expression of rhythm. Berry and Little Richard subdivided the basic quarter beat into two eighth notes, rather than following

the three-eighth-note, or triplet, shuffle subdivision that had been the hallmark of the earlier rhythm-and-blues styles. With this innovation, an exciting, high-energy

groove could be achieved. Both artists also substantially increased the tempo of their performances, giving their music a frantic style that appealed to American

teenagers. Finally, both artists wrote songs that reflected the youthful fancies of their audience. Classics such as Little Richard's “Tutti Frutti” (1955) and “Lucille” (1957)

and Berry's “Maybellene” (1955) and “Johnny B. Goode” (1958) were covered (performed by other musicians) innumerable times in the 1960s and 1970s. As important

as these artists were in originating a new style of music, their influence in later decades was felt primarily by white rock musicians, as trends in R&B tended to

increasingly diverge from rock and roll beginning in 1960.

D Motown and Soul Music

The Temptations

With their rich vocal harmonies and emotional performances, the Temptations were the leading soul-music group of the1960s. Aided by the sterling work of two songwriters from the Motown record company, Smokey Robinson and NormanWhitfield, the Tempations reached the top-40 pop charts nearly two dozen times in the decade. Their number-one hit from1965, “My Girl,” has become a classic.

Star File Photo Agency, Ltd.Jim Cummins/Star File

In the 1960s the three most important styles of R&B were: (1) Chicago soul, influenced by gospel-music songs; (2) the Motown sound, which combined polished

songwriting with a straightforward vocal delivery; and (3) southern soul, the most gospel-influenced style of R&B. Chicago soul was epitomized by the work of singer

and songwriter Curtis Mayfield with the group the Impressions. Mayfield tended to write what he termed “songs of faith and inspiration,” with compositions such as

“People Get Ready” (1965), which featured several different lead singers trading vocal lines in call-and-response fashion. Other trademarks of Mayfield and the Chicago

soul genre included the frequent use of falsetto (an artificially high voice), the writing of idiosyncratic parts for stringed instruments, the use of the vibraphone (a

musical percussion instrument), and a song structure that incorporated short two- and four-bar interludes, often arranged for unique instrumental combinations such as

vibes and guitar.

Diana Ross

American popular singer Diana Ross had numerous top-selling hits with the Motown vocal group the Supremes during the1960s. Later Ross established a solo career in music and motion pictures and became an international star. She is shownhere during the taping of an awards show for television in 2006.

Fred Prouser/Reuters /Corbis

In 1959 the Motown record company (see Motown Record Company, L.P.) was formed by Berry Gordy, Jr., in Detroit, Michigan. Gordy was so successful at developing a

recognizable sound for Motown recordings that the company name quickly began to be applied as a designation for a genre of music. The most important Motown

artists of the 1960s included singer Diana Ross with the female vocal group the Supremes, singer and songwriter Smokey Robinson with the male vocal group the

Miracles, and the male vocal group the Temptations. The majority of Motown artists (exceptions including saxophonist Junior Walker and singers Marvin Gaye and Stevie

Wonder) were vocal groups that updated the doo-wop style of the 1950s with a heavy, even beat. The productions were ornate, laden with strings and horns.

Influenced by Tin Pan Alley, a popular style of American songwriting (see Popular Music: Early 20th Century), the compositions and arrangements were exceedingly well

crafted. Motown represented the sound of American youth through most of the 1960s and, for an independent record company, achieved unprecedented success.

Isaac Hayes

Soul singer and songwriter Isaac Hayes had a smash hit with the theme song to the motion picture Shaft in 1971. Hayesrekindled his career in the late 1990s and was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

Frank Franklin II/AP/Wide World Photos

Southern soul was originated by singer and songwriter James Brown and singer and pianist Ray Charles. On many of the earliest soul records, Charles would take a

traditional religious song, such as “I Got Religion,” and transform it into a secular paean to love (“I've Got A Woman,” 1955). This style was fully realized on recordings

issued by Memphis-based Stax Records and New York-based Atlantic Records in the mid- and late 1960s with vocal artists such as Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding.

Beginning at the same time as Motown, Stax developed its own unique, identifiable sound around a studio band consisting of instrumental group Booker T. and the

MG's, keyboardist Isaac Hayes, and the Mar-Key horn section (later the Memphis Horns). With star artists, such as Redding and soul duo Sam and Dave, producing a

sparse, gospel-derived sound, Stax performers sold records to white audiences while generating substantial record sales among black audiences. By adding such

refinements as string accompaniments, southern soul remained a significant presence in popular music throughout much of the 1970s, with such successful artists as

the family vocal group the Staple Singers and Memphis-based singers Isaac Hayes and Al Green.

E Funk and Disco

James Brown Sings “I Got You”

American soul singer James Brown entertained audiences with his rhythmically complex music for more than fourdecades. In the early 1960s, at a time when crooners and vocal groups dominated rhythm-and-blues music, Brown gaveenergetic performances that left audiences screaming. This excerpt is from one of his most popular songs, 1965’s “I GotYou (I Feel Good).”

Benainous-Tinacci/Liaison Agency/"I Got You (I Feel Good)" composed and performed by James Brown with Maceo Parker and band, from James Brown Star Time: The HardestWorking Man in Show Business (Cat.# Polygram 849 110-2)(c)1966 FortKnox Music Inc. (adm. Carlin American Music) (p)1991 Polygram RecordsInc. Courtesy of Polydor Records, under license from Universal MusicEnterprises. All Rights Reserved.

In the late 1960s, at the height of soul music's popularity, significant changes in cultural views began to be articulated by many black Americans. Black militancy began

to make its presence felt, accompanied by an increased sense of African heritage. This cultural and social emphasis on African identity was reflected in popular music.

With the song “Cold Sweat” (1967), James Brown signaled the birth of funk music. Funk de-emphasized melody and harmony, bringing rhythm, which was commonly

understood as the defining aspect of African music, to the foreground. Funk recordings, like much indigenous African music, often consisted of a complex groove in

which every instrument played a different rhythm, and all sounds fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Complete verses and choruses were often written without a chord

change. This style was adopted by a number of artists, perhaps most significantly by soul group Sly and the Family Stone and vocalist George Clinton with the groups

Parliament and Funkadelic. These musicians synthesized the funk style with elements from white rock music.

George Clinton

Musician George Clinton was one of the early pioneers of funk music, leading to the nickname Dr. Funkenstein. Clinton’smusic contains elements of several different styles, including rock, psychedelic music, and rhythm and blues. Many rapartists of the 1990s borrowed snippets of Clinton’s music for their own songs, cementing his status as a musical icon.

Henry McGee/Globe Photos, Inc.

Disco rivaled funk's popularity in the early 1970s and ultimately surpassed it by the middle of the decade. Like funk, disco was a dance-oriented style. In contrast to

funk, however, disco was dominated by arrangements featuring strings and synthesizers that tended to boost the importance of beats one and three, often creating a

heartbeat-like rhythm. Springing out of Latino, black, and gay subcultures and prominently featuring women artists, such as American singers Donna Summer and

Gloria Gaynor, disco was viewed by many as a substantial threat to mainstream rock music. Despite the hostility with which it was met, disco managed to give rise to a

handful of highly original ensembles, such as Earth, Wind & Fire and the Fatback Band.

F Dance Music and Rap

Michael Jackson

American singer, dancer, and songwriter Michael Jackson performs during a 1993 concert tour in Asia. Jackson began hiscareer as a child performing with his brothers in the group known as the Jackson 5, and achieved worldwide fame as asolo performer, largely due to his unique style of singing and dancing. Jackson’s 1982 album Thriller won anunprecedented eight Grammy Awards and produced a record-breaking seven Top Ten hits.

REUTERS/THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE

In the 1980s and 1990s disco gave way to a number of other genres. During this period, superstars such as Prince, Michael Jackson, and Janet Jackson worked within

funk and other styles of dance music and produced songs by borrowing from a number of styles. Michael Jackson, in particular, was influenced by popular music from

other regions, most notably Central and South America (see Worldbeat). Although a number of hybrid styles were created during this time, most popular R&B music

remained dance-oriented. Moreover, with the rise of music video in the early 1980s, the dancing abilities of performers gained much greater significance.

Public Enemy

American rap group Public Enemy, formed in 1987, became known for its controversial lyrics and creative backing tracks.Focusing on political and social commentary, the members of Public Enemy attempted to avoid the commercialism intowhich they claimed other rap groups had fallen. Pictured in the bottom row, from left, are Flavor Flav, Chuck D, andProfessor Griff. DJ Terminator X is in the center of the top row.

Ray/Retna, Ltd

The most significant development in popular music in the 1980s and 1990s has been the advent of rap, which originated as a genre of folk music in New York City's

south Bronx in the mid- and late 1970s. Rap soon redefined and challenged notions of musical composition, copyright protection, and intellectual property. The roots of

rap lie in African and African American verbal games, present in the work of Jamaican toasting and dub artists (DJs talking over recorded music) of the late 1960s and

1970s; the work of American disc jockeys of the 1940s and 1950s; and the poetry of a number of black writers of the 1960s, such as the Last Poets and the Watts

Prophets. The Jamaican dub and toasting styles of declaimed, semi-spoken vocals were taken to the Bronx by Jamaican immigrants and eventually were fused with new

technologies, such as electronic drum machines. These topical rhymes were often layered over samples (electronic snippets of existing recorded music) of earlier artists

to form new songs.

The first rap recording was “Rapper's Delight,” by the Sugarhill Gang (1979). It became a novelty hit, but it was not until 1986, when Run-DMC covered popular rock

group Aerosmith's “Walk This Way,” that rap achieved popularity with white audiences. A year later, politically conscious rap found its most prominent voice in Public

Enemy. In the late 1980s, one of rap's most controversial subgenres, gangsta rap, rose to prominence with the debut album Straight Outta Compton (1988) by the

group Niggaz with Attitude (N.W.A). In the 1990s rappers such as Master P in New Orleans and Puff Daddy in New York City became entrepreneurs as well as artists,

starting highly successful recording labels as well as myriad spin-off companies.

IV CURRENT TRENDS

Lauryn Hill

After the release of her debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998), American singer Lauryn Hill won fiveGrammy Awards, including album of the year.

Sam Mircovich /REUTERS

By the mid-1990s, elements of rap—including sampling, scratching (a percussion technique that involves running a record needle manually across vinyl records), and

declaimed vocals—had become part of what could perhaps best be described as dance-based, post-disco music. The vocal-group tradition of R&B continued, perhaps

best represented by TLC, as did the prominence of solo vocal acts, such as singers Mary J. Blige, R. Kelly, and Maxwell.

V SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE

The various styles of R&B have followed a cycle that originated in the mid-19th century with music from minstrel shows. The general cycle starts when black Americans

develop a musical style that is an integral part of a much larger black subculture, embracing language, fashion, demeanor, and attitudes. From the outset of this

development, a small number of white Americans become interested in both the music and the subculture and actively participate on the fringes of the nascent

subculture. Eventually, some of these white participants begin to make their own versions of the music, some of which then gain widespread popularity among white

youth. The popularity of the music transfers part of the language, fashion, style of dance, and attitude of the subculture into the mainstream of American culture. In its

role as one of the most popular forms of music, R&B has always found an audience outside its black American roots, a fact that is unlikely to change in the 21st century.

Contributed By:Rob BowmanMicrosoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.