Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues (or
R&B) was coined as a musical
marketing term in the
United States in 1949 by
Jerry Wexler at
Billboard magazine, and was used to designate upbeat
popular music performed by
African American artists that combined
jazz,
gospel, and
blues. It replaced the term
race music, which was deemed offensive, as well as the Billboard category name "Harlem Hit Parade," in June of 1949, and was initially used to identify the rocking style of music that combined the 12 bar blues format and boogie woogie with a backbeat, later known as
rock and roll. In 1948,
RCA Victor was marketing black music under the name "Blues and Rhythm," but the words were reversed by Wexler of
Atlantic Records, the most aggressive and most dominant label in the R&B field in the early years. By the
1970s, rhythm and blues was being used as a blanket term to describe
soul and
funk as well. Today, the acronym "R&B" is almost always used instead of "rhythm and blues", and defines the modern version of the soul and funk influenced African-American pop music that originated with the demise of
disco in
1980.
In its first manifestation, rhythm and blues was a predecessor to rock and roll. It was strongly influenced by jazz and
jump music as well as black
gospel music, and influenced jazz in return (
hard bop was the product of the influence of rhythm and blues,
blues, and
gospel music on
bebop) and African tribal beats.
The
first rock and roll consisted of rhythm and blues songs like "
Rocket 88" and "
Shake, Rattle and Roll" making an appearance on the popular music charts as well as the
R&B charts. "
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", the first hit by
Jerry Lee Lewis was an R&B
cover song that made #1 on pop, R&B and
country and western charts.
Musicians paid little attention to the distinction between jazz and rhythm and blues, and frequently recorded in both genres. Numerous
swing bands (for example,
Jay McShann's,
Tiny Bradshaw's, and
Johnny Otis's) also recorded rhythm and blues.
Count Basie had a weekly live rhythm and blues broadcast from
Harlem. Even a bebop icon like arranger
Tadd Dameron also arranged for
Bull Moose Jackson and spent two years as Jackson's pianist after establishing himself in bebop. Most of the studio musicians in R&B were jazz musicians. And it worked in the other direction as well. Many of the musicians on
Charlie Mingus's breakthrough jazz recordings were R&B veterans.
Lionel Hampton's big band of the early 1940s, which produced the classic recording "Flying Home" (tenor sax solo by
Illinois Jacquet) was the breeding ground for many of the bebop legends of the 1950s.
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson was a one-man fusion, a bebop saxophonist and a
blues shouter.
The
1950s was the premier decade for classic rhythm and blues. Overlapping with other genres such as jazz and rock and roll, R&B also developed regional variations. A strong, distinct style straddling the border with blues came out of
New Orleans and was based on a rolling piano style first made famous by
Professor Longhair. In the late 1950s,
Fats Domino hit the national charts with "
Blueberry Hill" and "
Ain't That a Shame". Other artists who popularized this
Louisiana flavor of R&B included
Clarence "Frogman" Henry,
Frankie Ford,
Irma Thomas,
The Neville Brothers, and
Dr. John.
At the start of their career,
The Rolling Stones were essentially an R&B band.
It was not until the
1980s that the term "R&B" regained ordinary usage. During that time, the soul music of
James Brown and
Sly & the Family Stone had adapted elements from
psychedelic music and other styles through the work of performers like
George Clinton. Funk also became a major part of
disco, a kind of dance pop
electronic music. By the early 1980s, however, funk and soul had become sultry and sexually-charged with the work of
Prince and others. At that time, the modern style of
contemporary R&B came to be a major part of
American popular music.
R&B today defines a style of African-American music, originating after the demise of
disco in
1980, that combines elements of
soul music,
funk music,
pop music, and (after
1986)
hip hop in the form known as
contemporary R&B. In this context only the abbreviation "R&B" is used, not the full expression.
Sometimes referred to as "
urban contemporary" (the name of the
radio format that plays hip hop and R&B music) or "urban pop", contemporary R&B is distinguished by a slick, electronic
record production style,
drum machine-backed rhythms, and a smooth, lush style of vocal arrangement. Uses of hip hop inspired beats are typical, although the roughness and grit inherent in hip hop are usually reduced and smoothed out.
History
With the transition from soul to R&B in the early to mid 1980s, solo singer
Luther Vandross and new stars like Prince (
Purple Rain) and
Michael Jackson (
Off the Wall,
Thriller) took over, and dominated the primary schools throughout the 1980s. Jackson's
Thriller, which repopularized black music with pop audiences after a post-disco backlash among United States mainstream audiences, is the best-selling album of all time worldwide.
Female R&B singers like
Whitney Houston and
Janet Jackson gained great popularity during the last half of the decade; and
Tina Turner, then in her 50s, came back with a series of hits with crossover appeal. Also popular was
New Edition, a group of teenagers who served as the prototype for later
boy bands such as the
New Kids on the Block,
The Backstreet Boys, and others.
In
1986,
Teddy Riley began producing R&B recordings that included influences from the increasingly popular genre of hip hop music. This combination of R&B style and hip-hop rhythms was termed
new jack swing, and artists such as
Keith Sweat,
Guy,
Jodeci, and
BellBivDeVoe (featuring former members of New Edition). Another popular, but short-lived group, with more pronounced R&B roots was
Levert, whose lead singer,
Gerald Levert, was the son of
O'Jays lead vocalist
Eddie Levert.
In the early
1990s, R&B group
Boyz II Men repopularized classic-soul inspired vocal harmony, and several similar groups (among them
Shai,
Soul for Real, and
Dru Hill) would follow in their footsteps. Boyz II Men, and several of their competitors, benefited from lush ballads from producers such as
Babyface and
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who brought Michael Jackson's sister Janet Jackson to fame during the late 1980s and early 1990s. As a solo artist, Babyface and contemporaries such as
Brian McKnight eschewed prominent hip hop influences, and recorded in a smooth, soft style of R&B termed
quiet storm.
In the early 1990s,
alternative rock,
adult contemporary, and
gangsta rap ruled the charts, and R&B artists began adding even more of a rap/hip hop sound to their work. New jack swing had its synthesizer-heavy rhythm tracks replaced by grittier
East Coast hip hop inspired backing tracks, resulting in a genre labeled "
hip hop soul" by
Sean "Puffy" Combs, producer for
Mary J. Blige. Blige and other hip hop soul artists such as
R. Kelly,
Montell Jordan,
Brandy, and
Aaliyah, more than their slicker new jack swing predecessors, brought hip hop slang, style, and attitudes to R&B music. The subgenre also includes a heavy gospel influence with vocal inflections and sounds. The style became less popular by the end of the 1990s, but later experienced a resurgence. The hip hop soul sound continues to be heard in the work of artists such as
Jaheim,
Ashanti,
Amerie, and
Keyshia Cole.
During the mid-1990s, highly successful artists such as
Mariah Carey, girl group
TLC and the aforementioned Boyz II Men brought contemporary R&B to the mainstream. Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey recorded several
Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits, including "
One Sweet Day", a collaboration between both acts which became the longest-running number-one hit in Hot 100 history. In addition, both Boyz II Men and TLC released albums in
1994,
II and
CrazySexyCool, respectively, that sold over ten million copies, earning them
diamond certification from the
Recording Industry Association of America. Other top-selling R&B artists from this era included singer
Toni Braxton, singer/songwriter/producer R. Kelly, and girl group
En Vogue.
During the later part of the decade,
neo soul, which added a
1970s soul music influence to the hip hop soul blend, arose, led by artists such as
D'Angelo,
Lauryn Hill, and
Maxwell. Several artists, most notably
Missy Elliott, further blurred the line between R&B and hip hop by recording in both genres simultaneously.
During the late-1990s and early
2000s, the influence of pop on R&B could be heard in the work of several pop musicians, most notably
Jennifer Lopez and the later recordings of
*NSYNC and the early recordings of
98 Degrees. *NSYNC's lead singer
Justin Timberlake went on to make several solo recordings that showed heavy influences from both R&B and hip hop music. Other pop stars who perform heavily R&B influenced pop music (sometimes referred to as "dirty pop","urban pop", or a modern definition of "hip pop") include
Britney Spears,
Gwen Stefani, and
Pink.
In the
United Kingdom, R&B found its way into the
UK garage subgenre of
2Step, typified by R&B-style singing accompanied by
breakbeat/
jungle rhythms. Among the most notable 2Step artists is
Craig David, who crossed over to American R&B audiences in the early 2000s.
Present day
By the 2000s, the cross-pollination between R&B and hip hop had increased to the point where, in most cases, the only prominent difference between a record being a hip hop record or an R&B record is whether its vocals are rapped or sung. Mainstream modern R&B has a sound more based on rhythm than hip hop soul had, and lacks the
hardcore and soulful urban "grinding" feel on which hip-hop soul relied. That rhythmic element descends from new jack swing. R&B began to focus more on solo artists rather than groups as the 2000s progressed. As of 2005, the most prominent R&B artists include
Usher,
Beyoncé (formerly of
Destiny's Child), and
Mariah Carey whose music often blurs the line between contemporary R&B and pop.
Soulful R&B continues to be popular, with artists such as
Alicia Keys,
John Legend,
Toni Braxton and
American Idol winner
Fantasia showcasing classic influences in their work. Some R&B singers have used elements of
Caribbean music in their work, especially
dancehall and
reggaeton.
Quiet storm, while still existent, is no longer a dominant presence on the pop charts, and is generally confined to urban adult contemporary radio. Most of the prominent quiet storm artists, including Babyface and Gerald Levert, began their careers in the 1980s and 1990s, although newer artists such as
Kem also record in the quiet storm style. Its influence can still be seen in singles such as Mariah Carey's "
We Belong Together".
In addition, several producers have developed specialized styles of song production.
Timbaland, for example, became notable for his hip hop and jungle based syncopated productions in the late-1990s, during which time he produced R&B hits for Aaliyah,
Ginuwine, and singer/rapper Missy Elliott. By the end of the decade, Timbaland's influences had shifted R&B songs towards a sound that approximated his own, with slightly less of a hip hop feel.
Lil' Jon became famous for a style he termed "
crunk & B", deriving its influences from the
Southern hip hop subclassification of crunk music. Jon gave his main R&B artist,
Ciara, the title of "The First Lady of
Crunk & B", and
Brooke Valentine and Usher have also recorded R&B songs with strong crunk influences.
These are the major subgenres of
contemporary R&B, roughly in chronological order of popularity.
Quiet storm
Quiet storm is a broad category of R&B and jazz-based music that is mellow, laid-back and often romantic. Its name comes from an innovative radio show that originated at
WHUR at
Howard University in the mid-1970s, named after
Smokey Robinson's hit
1975 single "Quiet Storm". Unlike contemporary R&B, quiet storm shows little influence from hip hop, and generally plays to the urban adult contemporary crowd. The genre achieved great mainstream success during the 1980s with artists like
Luther Vandross,
Anita Baker, and
Sade. Among other notable quiet storm musicians are
Lionel Richie,
Gerald Levert,
Joe, and
Brian McKnight.
New jack swing
A fusion of hip hop music and R&B, new jack swing was distinguished by significant use of
rapped choruses or bridges and prominent use of drum machines such as the
Roland TR-808.
Teddy Riley and his group
Guy are credited with being the inventor of the genre; other notable figures include
Bobby Brown,
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis,
Jodeci, and
Boyz II Men. A female alternative, new
jill swing, was championed by acts such as
Janet Jackson,
Total,
Shanice,
TLC, and
SWV.
Hip hop soul
Essentially new jack swing for the
1990s, hip hop soul took the style further towards a pure hip hop sound, usually accompanied by a nervy,
gangsta rap-esque image. The sound was remenescent of funk with the inclusion of relatively darker baselines with elongated groove notes. Among its most notable figures were
Montell Jordan,
BLACKstreet,
Groove Theory, and the "Queen of Hip Hop Soul",
Mary J. Blige.
Neo soul
Neo soul blends a hip hop influenced R&B sound with the classic soul of the 1970s. True neo soul is characterized by an earthy feel, accented by soul-styled harmonies, and accompanied by
alternative hip hop beats. It generally has a much less mainstream sound than general R&B music. Some artists of this genre include
Van Hunt,
Tony! Toni! Toné!,
Angie Stone,
Maxwell,
D'Angelo,
Erykah Badu,
Lauryn Hill, and
Jill Scott.
* The related genres of
blues,
gospel,
soul music,
funk,
disco, and
hip hop music*
List of R&B musicians*
Rhythm and Blues Foundation*
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks - The
Billboard magazine singles and tracks chart commonly referred to as "The R&B singles chart" over the years.
