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 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 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. 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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Stone Rollin' is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Raphael Saadiq, released March 25, 2011, on Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at Blakeslee Recording Company in Los Angeles from 2009 to 2010. Inspired by the loud, raw sound of his live performances, Saadiq worked with recording engineer and long-time collaborator Chuck Brungardt to produce a grittier, more aggressive sound for the album. Primarily performed by Saadiq, Stone Rollin' expands on the classicist, soul music style of his previous 2008 album, The Way I See It, with other R&B styles, including funk, blues, and rock music. Music writers have noted the album for its stylistic breadth, groove-based compositions, contemporary detail, varied subject matter, and incorporation of the Mellotron keyboard.

Initially released in Europe, the album attained international charting in several countries, including Norway, where it reached its highest chart position. In the United States, it debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 21,000 copies in its first week, making it Saadiq's highest-charting release in the US. The album produced three singles, including the US R&B hit "Good Man". Upon its release, Stone Rollin' received general acclaim from music critics, earning praise for its classicist style, musical eclecticism, and Saadiq's songwriting. As of May 2011, the album has sold 32,100 copies in the United States. Saadiq promoted the album with a concert tour spanning from March to August 2011, performing shows in North American venues and European music festivals.

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Sledge at the 2010 Alabama Music Hall of Fame Concert

Percy Tyrone Sledge (November 25, 1940 – April 14, 2015) was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song "When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 1966. It was awarded a million-selling, Gold-certified disc from the RIAA.

After working as a hospital orderly in the early 1960s, Sledge achieved his greatest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a series of emotional soul songs. In 1989, Sledge received the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. (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 2Led Zeppelin performing at Chicago Stadium in January 1975
Image 3Alicia 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 4Muddy Waters, a major influence on the movement, pictured in 1971 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 5The Moonglows, 1956 (from Doo-wop)
Image 6John Lee Hooker, whose visit to England was the anticipated R&B event of 1964, shown in 1978 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 7Kathy 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 8Herman Santiago, original lead singer of the Teenagers (from Doo-wop)
Image 9Janet Jackson's Control, released in 1986, was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 1980s. (from New jack swing)
Image 10Georgie Fame, leader of one of the most widely influenced R&B groups, in 1968 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 11Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac onstage in 1970 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 12The Ramones in Toronto (1976) (from Doo-wop)
Image 13Alexis Korner in Hamburg in 1972 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 14Lead 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 15The original line up of the Kinks, 1965 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 16The Jam in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1982 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 17The instruments of the skiffle group the Quarrymen, who would become the Beatles (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 18Beyoncé was named by Billboard the most successful female act of the 2000s. (from Contemporary R&B)
Image 19Chris 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 20Usher 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 21The Jimi Hendrix Experience performing on Dutch television in 1967 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 22Alternative R&B artist Frank Ocean performing at the Coachella Festival in 2012 (from Alternative R&B)
Image 23The Cleftones during their participation in the doo-wop festival celebrated in May 2010 at the Benedum Center. (from Doo-wop)
Image 24Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings at Middelburg in 2009 (from British rhythm and blues)