Category:R&B

The term "Rhythm & Blues" was originally coined as a marketing label in the late 1940s as a way to sell what were then called "race" records, as they were typically done by black performers. As such, R&B had a lot of different styles, from the slower, ballad types, to doo-wop, to what would quickly become Rock & Roll. At first, R&B records were hard to come by -- they'd typically be only sold in the black parts of town, meaning that while records might sell very well there, they still wouldn't be a "hit", as they wouldn't even show up on the "mainstream" (read "white") charts. Even though these records didn't show up on the charts, though, they were still very influential on a lot of musicians, and by the 1960s, R&B was firmly entrenched in the cultural landscape, and had a lot of hit records, especially with labels like Motown.

Over time, R&B developed as well, into forms like Funk and Soul, the latter of which is an American-born combination of R&B (rhythm and blues) and gospel, that emerged during the final years of the 1950s with the recordings of James Brown, the more pop-oriented Sam Cooke and the always resilient Ray Charles. The genre however did not actually distinguish itself from R&B until the 60s, where a number of different geographically-determined styles emerged, all of which were dubbed soul.

The argueably most important of these scenes was headquarted in the southeast, headquarted in Memphis, Tennessee and Florence, Alabama respectively. Stax Records and their subisidary Volt in Memphis was as progressive as you get in the 1960s American south. Behind the integrated house band, Booker T. and the MGs, and the visionary Jim Stewart, Stax produced countless early soul hits from Wilson Pickett, Don Covay and their superstar, Otis Redding. Along with the similar minded Fame in Florence, home to Aretha Franklin, Jimmy Hughes and Percy Sledge, the two labels distinguished the southern soul sound. This style was probably the most energetic of all early soul, sticking close to the energy of R&B and gospel music. The secular attempt at the music deemed to be immensly popular and is often classified as the true soul music. It should also be noted that Atlantic Records was essential in popularizing the style. Aretha Franklin, Solomon Burke, Ray Charles, Rufus and Carla Thomas all recorded albums for the burgeoning New York label. (Read More)

Now, R&B refers mainly to the current crop of black singers who typically will do either dance music (like Destiny's Child) or neo-soul (like Usher), but it has little in common with what was originally called "R&B". (Read More)