Portal:Rhythm and blues

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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 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...)

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"Don't Forget About Us" is a song by American R&B singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was written by Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox and Johntá Austin, and produced by Carey, Dupri and Cox. On October 10, 2005, it was released as the lead single from the reissue of her tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi: Ultra Platinum Edition (2005). The song is influenced by R&B and hip hop soul music genres, and lyrically chronicles the emotions felt by the protagonist after the loss of their relationship. Carey explained that the true meaning of the song is to be interpreted by the listener, therefore not disclosing its entire meaning publicly.

The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, with many heavily comparing it to Carey's previous single "We Belong Together". Several reviewers felt the song's similarity marked Carey's lack of creativity with it, while others embraced its radio-friendly formula. "Don't Forget About Us" became Carey's seventeenth chart topping single on the US Billboard Hot 100, tying the record for most number-one singles by a solo artist set by Elvis Presley 36 years before. Internationally, the song topped the charts in Finland, and reached the top-ten in Hungary.

Carey performed the song at the 33rd Annual American Music Awards, and during the half-time of the Thanksgiving game between the Detroit Lions and the Atlanta Falcons. Additionally, the song was included on the set-lists of Carey's The Adventures of Mimi and Angels Advocate Tours. The song's music video chronicles the two time frames, Carey in the present, as well as the past memories she shared with her ex-lover that continue to haunt her. "Don't Forget About Us" was nominated for two awards at the 49th annual Grammy Awards held on February 11, 2007. (Full article...)

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Combs in 2023

Sean Love Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage name Diddy, formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer and record executive. He is credited with the discovery and cultivation of artists such as the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Usher. Combs has won three Grammy Awards from 13 nominations, two MTV Video Music Awards, an MTV VMA Global Icon Award in 2023, and a Guinness World Record for "Most Successful Rap Producer" in 1997.

Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Combs worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Records, in 1993. He embarked on his recording career following the mainstream success of his first signee, the Notorious B.I.G., for whom he served as manager and hype man. Released in the wake and memory of B.I.G's unsolved murder, Combs's debut studio album, No Way Out (1997), was met with critical acclaim, peaked atop the Billboard 200 and received septuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Its two preceding singles, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" (featuring Mase) and "I'll Be Missing You" (with Faith Evans featuring 112), both peaked the Billboard Hot 100—the latter became the first hip hop song to debut atop the chart. His second and third albums, Forever (1999) and The Saga Continues... (2001), both peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 despite mixed critical reception, while his fourth, Press Play (2006), peaked atop the chart once more. Combs then formed the musical group Diddy – Dirty Money—with R&B singers Kalenna Harper and Dawn Richard—to release the collaborative album Last Train to Paris (2010), which peaked at number seven and was supported by the single "Coming Home" (featuring Skylar Grey). His fifth studio album, The Love Album: Off the Grid (2023), was met with moderate critical and commercial response, and served as his first release without a major label. (Full article...)

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

Image 1The Animals in 1964 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 2Beyoncé was named by Billboard the most successful female act of the 2000s. (from Contemporary R&B)
Image 3The instruments of the skiffle group the Quarrymen, who would become the Beatles (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 4Alternative R&B artist Frank Ocean performing at the Coachella Festival in 2012 (from Alternative R&B)
Image 5Georgie Fame, leader of one of the most widely influenced R&B groups, in 1968 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 6Chris 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 7The original line up of the Kinks, 1965 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 8The Jimi Hendrix Experience performing on Dutch television in 1967 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 9Led Zeppelin performing at Chicago Stadium in January 1975
Image 10Kathy 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 11Lead 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)
Image 12Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac onstage in 1970 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 13Alicia 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)
Image 14Michael Jackson holds the record for the best-selling new jack swing album with his 1991 release, Dangerous. (from New jack swing)
Image 15Usher 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 16Herman Santiago, original lead singer of the Teenagers (from Doo-wop)
Image 17John Lee Hooker, whose visit to England was the anticipated R&B event of 1964, shown in 1978 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 18Janet Jackson's Control, released in 1986, was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 1980s. (from New jack swing)
Image 19The Jam in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1982 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 20The Moonglows, 1956 (from Doo-wop)
Image 21Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings at Middelburg in 2009 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 22Alexis Korner in Hamburg in 1972 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 23The Cleftones during their participation in the doo-wop festival celebrated in May 2010 at the Benedum Center. (from Doo-wop)
Image 24Muddy Waters, a major influence on the movement, pictured in 1971 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 25The Ramones in Toronto (1976) (from Doo-wop)