View source for R&B

{{BaseArticle
 | shortdesc = Music genre originating in the 1940s in the United States
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{{Redirect|RnB|the Japanese television station that uses the abbreviation RNB|Nankai Broadcasting|the EP by Ruger and Bnxn|RnB (EP)}}
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{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Rhythm and blues
| image             = 
| caption           = 
| stylistic_origins = * [[Jazz]]<ref name=Encyclopedia>Jessie Carney Smith, ed. "Encyclopedia of African American popular culture" Greenwood, 2011, p.1163.</ref>
* [[blues]]<ref name=Encyclopedia/><ref name=folklife/>
* [[spirituals]]<ref name=Encyclopedia/>
* [[gospel music|gospel]]<ref name=Encyclopedia/><ref name=folklife/>
* [[boogie-woogie]]<ref name=folklife/>
* [[jump blues]]<ref name=folklife/>
* [[swing music|swing]]<ref name=folklife/>
| cultural_origins  = 1940s, [[Deep South]], United States 
| instruments       = {{hlist|[[Double bass]]|[[drum kit]]|[[electric guitar]]|[[electric organ]]|[[horn section|horns]]|[[piano]]|[[saxophone]]}}
| derivatives       = * [[Beat music]]
* [[Brill Building (genre)|Brill Building]]
* [[disco]]
* [[funk]]
* [[hard bop]]
* [[hip-hop]]
* [[mod revival]]
* [[post-disco]]
* [[rock and roll]]
* [[reggae]]
* [[ska]]
* [[smooth jazz]]
* [[soul music|soul]]
* [[Zouk love (music style)|zouk love]] 
* [[zydeco]]
| subgenres         = * [[Alternative R&B]]
* [[Christian R&B]]
* [[contemporary R&B]]
* [[doo-wop]]
* [[quiet storm]]
| fusiongenres      = * [[Jazz fusion]]
* [[Latin R&B]]
* [[Minneapolis sound]]
* [[neo soul]]
* [[new jack swing]]
* [[raï'n'B]]
* [[Grime music#rhythm & grime|rhythm & grime]]
* various [[hip-hop]] fusions (see [[#Since the 1980s|§ Since the 1980s]])
| regional_scenes   = 
| local_scenes      = * [[Motown#Motown sound|Detroit]]
* [[New Orleans rhythm and blues|New Orleans]]
* [[British rhythm and blues|United Kingdom]]
| other_topics      = * [[Black gospel music]]
* [[blue-eyed soul]]
* [[brown-eyed soul]]
* [[rare groove]]
* [[slow jam]]
* [[urban contemporary music]]
}}
'''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&nbsp;... [with a] heavy, insistent beat" was starting to become 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 music|gospel]] and [[soul music|soul]]. By the 1970s, the term "rhythm and blues" had changed once again and was used as a blanket term for soul and [[funk]].

In the late 1980s, a newer style of R&B developed, becoming known as "[[contemporary R&B]]". This contemporary form combines rhythm and blues with various elements of [[jazz]], soul, funk, [[disco]], [[blues]] and [[electronic music|electronic]].

==Etymology, definitions and description==
Although [[Jerry Wexler]] of ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine is credited with coining the term "rhythm and blues" as a musical term in the United States in 1948,<ref name="sacks">{{cite news|last=Sacks|first=Leo|date=August 29, 1993|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE7D7163BF93AA1575BC0A965958260|title=The Soul of Jerry Wexler|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 11, 2007|archive-date=October 12, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012182140/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE7D7163BF93AA1575BC0A965958260|url-status=live}}</ref> the term had been used in ''Billboard'' as early as 1943.<ref>Night Club Reviews Billboard February 27, 1943, p. 12</ref><ref>Vaudeville reviews Billboard March 4, 1944, p. 28</ref> However, the company's first list of songs popular among African Americans was named [[List of Harlem Hit Parade number ones of 1942|Harlem Hit Parade]]; created in 1942, it listed the "most popular records in [[Harlem]]," and is the predecessor to the ''Billboard'' [[R&B chart|RnB chart.]]<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/weekly-chart-notes-baauer-continues-the-harlem-hit-parade/|title=Weekly Chart Notes: Baauer Continues The 'Harlem' Hit Parade'|date=February 22, 2013|magazine=Billboard|access-date=September 4, 2023 |quote=based on sales reports from Rainbow Music Shop, Harvard Radio Shop, Lehman Music Company, Harlem De Luxe Music Store, Ray's Music Shop and Frank's Melody Music Shop, New York." Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy topped the inaugural tally with "Take It and Git."}}</ref> "Rhythm and Blues" replaced the common term "[[race music]]", a term coined by [[Okeh Records|Okeh]] producer [[Ralph Peer]] based on the common self description by the African American press as "people of race."<ref name="Cohn">{{cite book|last=Cohn|first=Lawrence|title=Nothing but the Blues: The Music and the Musicians|date=September 1993|author2=Aldin, Mary Katherine|author3=Bastin, Bruce|publisher=Abbeville Press|isbn=978-1-55859-271-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/nothingbutbluesm00cohn/page/314 314]|url=https://archive.org/details/nothingbutbluesm00cohn/page/314}}</ref><ref name="wexler">''Jerry Wexler, famed record producer, dies at 91'', [[Nekesa Mumbi Moody]], AP Music Writer, Dallas Morning News, August 15, 2008</ref> The term "rhythm and blues" was then used by ''Billboard'' in [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|its chart listings]] from June 1949 until August 1969, when its "Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles" chart was renamed as "Best Selling Soul Singles".<ref name="whitburnr&b">{{cite book |title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995 |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=1996 |publisher=Record Research |isbn=0-89820-115-2 |page=xii |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstopr00whit }}</ref> Before the term "rhythm and Blues" was popularized, various record companies had already begun replacing the term "race music" with the term "sepia series".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rye|first1=Howard|title=Rhythm and Blues|url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/J676400?q=rhythm+and+blues&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1|website=Oxford Music Online|access-date=July 20, 2014|archive-date=May 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511204557/https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-2000676400?_start=1&pos=1&q=rhythm%20and%20blues&search=quick#firsthit|url-status=live}}</ref> "Rhythm and blues" is often abbreviated as "R&B" or "R'n'B".<ref name="Randel1999">{{cite book|author=Don Michael Randel|title=The Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7iuZ6HaEMmoC&pg=PA560|year=1999|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-00084-1|page=560}}</ref> In subsequent decades, the abbreviation "R&B" evolved to encompass a broad range of popular music styles, including soul, funk, disco, and later contemporary R&B, reflecting shifts in production, audience, and industry marketing.<ref>{{cite book |last=Garofalo |first=Reebee |title=Rockin' Out: Popular Music in the USA |edition=4th |publisher=Pearson Prentice Hall |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-13-615435-2 |page=231}}</ref>

In the early 1950s, the term "rhythm & blues" was frequently applied to [[blues]] records.<ref>The new blue music: changes in rhythm & blues, 1950–1999, p. 8</ref> Writer and producer [[Robert Palmer (author/producer)|Robert Palmer]] defined rhythm & blues as "a catchall term referring to any music that was made by and for black Americans".{{sfn|Palmer|1995|p=8}} He has also used the term "R&B" as a synonym for [[jump blues]].<ref name="deep blues">{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Palmer (American writer)|title=Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta|date=May 21, 1981|publisher=Viking Adult|isbn=978-0-670-49511-5|url=https://archive.org/details/deepblues00palme}}</ref> However, [[AllMusic]] separates it from jump blues because of R&B's stronger gospel influences.<ref name=allmusic>{{AllMusic|class=genre|id=ma0000002809}}</ref> [[Lawrence Cohn]], author of ''Nothing but the Blues'', writes that "rhythm and blues" was an umbrella term invented for industry convenience. According to him, the term embraced all black music except [[classical music]] and [[religious music]], unless a gospel song sold enough to break into the charts.<ref name=Cohn/>  Well into the 21st century, the term R&B continues in use (in some contexts) to categorize music made by black musicians, as distinct from styles of music made by other musicians.

In the commercial rhythm and blues music typical of the 1950s through the 1970s, the bands usually consisted of piano, one or two guitars, bass, drums, and saxophone. Arrangements were rehearsed to the point of effortlessness and were sometimes accompanied by background vocalists. Simple repetitive parts mesh, creating momentum and rhythmic interplay producing mellow, lilting, and often hypnotic textures while calling attention to no individual sound. While singers are emotionally engaged with the lyrics, often intensely so, they remain cool, relaxed, and in control. The bands dressed in suits, and even uniforms, a practice associated with the modern popular music that rhythm and blues performers aspired to dominate. Lyrics often seemed fatalistic, and the music typically followed predictable patterns of chords and structure.<ref>Morrison, Craig (1952). "Go Cat Go!" University of Illinois Press. page 30. {{ISBN|0-252-06538-7}}</ref> R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy,<ref>{{cite book|last=Gilroy|first=Paul|title=The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness|location=Cambridge, MA|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1993|isbn=0674076052|pages=107, 122}}</ref> as well as triumphs and failures in terms of relationships, economics, and aspirations.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

One publication of the [[Smithsonian Institution]] provided this summary of the origins of the genre in 2016.<blockquote>"A distinctly [[African-American music]] drawing from the deep tributaries of African American expressive culture, it is an amalgam of jump blues, big band swing, gospel, boogie, and blues that was initially developed during a thirty-year period that bridges the era of legally sanctioned racial segregation, international conflicts, and the struggle for civil rights".<ref name= folklife>{{Cite magazine |url=https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/freedom-sounds-tell-it-like-it-is-a-history-of-rhythm-and-blues |title=Tell It Like It Is: A History of Rhythm and Blues |access-date= |archive-date=March 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309121903/https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/freedom-sounds-tell-it-like-it-is-a-history-of-rhythm-and-blues |magazine=Folklife Magazine |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |url-status=live |date = September 20, 2016 |first= Mark|last= Puryear}}</ref></blockquote>

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame defines some of the originators of R&B, including [[Big Joe Turner|Joe Turner]]'s big band, [[Louis Jordan]]'s [[Tympany Five]], [[James Brown]] and [[LaVern Baker]]. In fact, this source states that "Louis Jordan joined Turner in laying the foundation for R&B in the 1940s, cutting one swinging rhythm & blues masterpiece after another". Other artists who were "cornerstones of R&B and its transformation into rock & roll" include [[Etta James]], [[Fats Domino]], [[Roy Brown (blues musician)|Roy Brown]], [[Little Richard]] and [[Ruth Brown]]. The "doo wop" groups were also noteworthy, including [[the Orioles]], [[the Ravens]] and [[Billy Ward and his Dominoes|the Dominoes]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rockhall.com/funk-and-rb#:~:text=Other%20cornerstones%20of%20R%26B%20and,the%20Ravens%20and%20the%20Dominoes |title=Funk and R&B |date=June 15, 2020 |work=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame |access-date=December 25, 2020 |quote=Not the least of R&B's legacy was its perpetuation of the group-harmony tradition as heard in the vocal blend of "doo-wop" groups}}</ref>

The term "rock and roll" had a strong sexual connotation in jump blues and R&B, but when DJ [[Alan Freed]] referred to rock and roll on mainstream radio in the mid-1950s, "the sexual component had been dialed down enough that it simply became an acceptable term for dancing".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/dc64e24d-c4e7-4e34-b2f7-e34a00ea16ad |title=The unexpected origins of music's most well-used terms |date=October 12, 2018 |work=BBC |access-date=February 22, 2021 |quote=its meaning covering both sex and dancing |archive-date=January 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126010742/https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/dc64e24d-c4e7-4e34-b2f7-e34a00ea16ad |url-status=live }}</ref>

==History==
===Precursors===
[[File:Louis Jordan, New York, N.Y., ca. July 1946 (William P. Gottlieb 04721).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Louis Jordan]] in New York City, {{circa}} July 1946]]

The [[Great migration (African American)|great migration]] of Black Americans to the urban industrial centers of Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and elsewhere in the 1920s and 1930s created a new market for jazz, blues, and related genres of music. The migration of African Americans to urban centers in the 1920s and 1930s helped shape rhythm and blues by blending jazz, blues, and urban influences.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lorre |first=Sean |date=2019-09-03 |title=Rhythm and Bluebeat"Jamaican R&B," Live and on Record, in Early-1960s' London |url=https://online.ucpress.edu/jpms/article-abstract/31/3/95/105965/Rhythm-and-Bluebeat-Jamaican-R-amp-B-Live-and-on?redirectedFrom=fulltext |journal=Journal of Popular Music Studies |language=en |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=95–118 |doi=10.1525/jpms.2019.313010|url-access=subscription }}</ref> These genres of music were often performed by full-time musicians, either working alone or in small groups. The precursors of rhythm and blues came from jazz and blues, which overlapped in the late-1920s and 30s through the work of musicians such as the [[Harlem Hamfats]], with their 1936 hit "Oh Red", as well as [[Lonnie Johnson (musician)|Lonnie Johnson]], [[Leroy Carr]], [[Cab Calloway]], [[Count Basie]], and [[T-Bone Walker]]. There was also increasing emphasis on the [[electric guitar]] as a lead instrument, as well as the [[piano]] and [[saxophone]].<ref name=richards>{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419101026/?tag=content;col1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091207042839/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419101026/?tag=content;col1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 7, 2009 |title=Tad Richards, "Rhythm and Blues", St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture |website=Findarticles.com |date=January 29, 2002 |access-date=April 20, 2012}}</ref>

===Late 1940s===
[[File:Big Joe Turner Rock and Roll Revue Apollo Theater 1955.jpg|thumb|upright=.85|left|[[Big Joe Turner]] was a key figure in early R&B, blending blues and rock.]]

R&B originated in [[African-American]] communities in the 1940s.<ref>The new blue music: changes in rhythm & blues, 1950–1999, p. 172.</ref> In 1948, [[RCA Victor]] was marketing black music under the name "Blues and Rhythm". In that year, [[Louis Jordan]] dominated the top five listings of the [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|R&B charts]] with three songs, and two of the top five songs were based on the [[Boogie-woogie (music)|boogie-woogie]] rhythms that had come to prominence during the 1940s.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R%26B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1947 |title=Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1947 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=December 23, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211063603/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R&B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1947 |archive-date=December 11, 2007 }}</ref> Jordan's band, the [[Tympany Five]] (formed in 1938), consisted of him on saxophone and vocals, along with musicians on trumpet, tenor saxophone, piano, bass and drums.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldstatehouse.org/educational_programs/classroom/arkansas_news/detail.asp?id%3D939%26issue_id%3D12%26page%3D8 |title=Brinkley's Louis Jordan Is a Big Time Bandleader |access-date=January 5, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090528084520/http://www.oldstatehouse.org/educational_programs/classroom/arkansas_news/detail.asp?id=939&issue_id=12&page=8 |archive-date=May 28, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/louis-jordan |title=Louis Jordan at All About Jazz |website=Allaboutjazz.com |access-date=January 7, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513002915/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=8211 |archive-date=May 13, 2009 }}</ref> Lawrence Cohn described the music as "grittier than his boogie-era jazz-tinged blues".<ref name=Cohn/>{{rp|173}} Robert Palmer described it as "urbane, rocking, jazz-based music&nbsp;... [with a] heavy, insistent beat".<ref name="palmer146">{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Palmer (American writer)|title=Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta|date=July 29, 1982|publisher=Penguin|edition=paperback|isbn=978-0-14-006223-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/deepblues00palm/page/146 146]|url=https://archive.org/details/deepblues00palm/page/146}}</ref> Jordan's music, along with that of [[Big Joe Turner]], [[Roy Brown (blues musician)|Roy Brown]], [[Billy Wright (musician)|Billy Wright]], and [[Wynonie Harris]], before 1949, was referred to as [[jump blues]]. Then, [[Paul Gayten]], Roy Brown, and others had had hits in the style now referred to as rhythm and blues. In 1948, Wynonie Harris's remake of Brown's 1947 recording "[[Good Rockin' Tonight]]" reached number two on the charts, following [[band leader]] [[Sonny Thompson]]'s "Long Gone" at number one.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vocalgroupharmony.com/Swinging.htm |title=The Vocal Group Harmony Web Site |website=Vocalgroupharmony.com |access-date=April 20, 2012 |archive-date=March 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309211200/http://www.vocalgroupharmony.com/Swinging.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R%26B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1948 |title=Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1948 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=December 23, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211063608/http://billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R&B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1948 |archive-date=December 11, 2007 }}</ref>

In 1949, the term "Rhythm and Blues" (R&B) replaced the Billboard category ''Harlem Hit Parade''.<ref name=Cohn/> Also in that year, "[[The Huckle-Buck]]", recorded by band leader and saxophonist [[Paul Williams (saxophonist)|Paul Williams]], was the number one R&B tune, remaining on top of the charts for nearly the entire year. Written by musician and arranger [[Andy Gibson (trumpeter)|Andy Gibson]], the song was described as a "dirty boogie" because it was risque and raunchy.<ref>{{IMDb name|1444711|Andy Gibson|section=bio}}</ref> Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers' concerts were sweaty riotous affairs that got shut down on more than one occasion. Their lyrics, by [[Roy Alfred]] (who later co-wrote the 1955 hit "[[(The) Rock and Roll Waltz]]"), were mildly sexually suggestive, and one teenager from Philadelphia said "That Hucklebuck was a very nasty dance".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wfmu.org/LCD/26/huck1.html |title=Hucklebuck! |website=WFMU |access-date=April 20, 2012 |archive-date=May 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507041459/http://wfmu.org/LCD/26/huck1.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wfmu.org/LCD/26/huck2.html |title=Hucklebuck! |website=WFMU |access-date=April 20, 2012 |archive-date=April 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404093050/http://wfmu.org/LCD/26/huck2.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Also in 1949, a new version of a 1920s blues song, "[[Ain't Nobody's Business]]" was a number four hit for [[Jimmy Witherspoon]], and Louis Jordan and the Tympany Five once again made the top five with "[[Saturday Night Fish Fry]]".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R%26B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1949 |title=– Year End Charts&nbsp;– Year-end Singles&nbsp;– Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs |magazine=Billboard |access-date=April 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605093520/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R&B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1949 |archive-date=June 5, 2011}}</ref> Many of these hit records were issued on new independent record labels, such as [[Savoy Records|Savoy]] (founded 1942), [[King Records (USA)|King]] (founded 1943), [[Imperial Records|Imperial]] (founded 1945), [[Specialty Records|Specialty]] (founded 1946), [[Chess Records|Chess]] (founded 1947), and [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] (founded 1948).<ref name=richards/>

===Afro-Cuban rhythmic influence===
[[African American music]] began incorporating Afro-Cuban rhythmic motifs in the 1800s with the popularity of the Cuban [[contradanza]] (known outside of Cuba as the [[habanera (music)|habanera]]).<ref>"[Afro]-Latin rhythms have been absorbed into black American styles far more consistently than into white popular music, despite Latin music's popularity among whites" (Roberts ''The Latin Tinge'' 1979: 41).</ref> The ''habanera rhythm'' can be thought of as a combination of [[tresillo (rhythm)|tresillo]] and the [[backbeat]].

[[File:Habanera cut-time.jpg|thumb|center|upright=1.15|The habanera rhythm shown as tresillo (lower notes) with the backbeat (upper note)]]

For the more than a quarter-century in which the [[cakewalk]], [[ragtime music|ragtime]] and proto-jazz were forming and developing, the Cuban genre ''habanera'' exerted a constant presence in African American popular music.<ref>Roberts, John Storm (1999: 16) ''Latin Jazz''. New York: Schirmer Books.</ref> Jazz pioneer [[Jelly Roll Morton]] considered the tresillo/habanera rhythm (which he called the [[Spanish tinge]]) to be an essential ingredient of jazz.<ref>Morton, "Jelly Roll" (1938: Library of Congress Recording): "Now in one of my earliest tunes, 'New Orleans Blues', you can notice the Spanish tinge. In fact, if you can't manage to put tinges of Spanish in your tunes, you will never be able to get the right seasoning, I call it, for jazz." ''The Complete Recordings By Alan Lomax''.</ref> There are examples of tresillo-like rhythms in some African American folk music such as the hand-clapping and foot-stomping patterns in [[ring shout]], post-Civil War drum and fife music, and [[New Orleans]] [[second line (parades)|second line]] music.<ref>Kubik, Gerhard (1999: 52). ''Africa and the Blues''. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi.</ref> [[Wynton Marsalis]] considers tresillo to be the New Orleans "clave" (although technically, the pattern is only half a [[clave (rhythm)|clave]]).<ref>"Wynton Marsalis part 2." ''60 Minutes''. CBS News (June 26, 2011).</ref> Tresillo is the most basic duple-pulse rhythmic [[cell (music)|cell]] in [[Sub-Saharan African music traditions]], and its use in African American music is one of the clearest examples of African rhythmic retention in the United States.<ref>Schuller, Gunther (1968: 19) "It is probably safe to say that by and large the simpler African rhythmic patterns survived in jazz{{nbsp}}... because they could be adapted more readily to European rhythmic conceptions. Some survived, others were discarded as the Europeanization progressed. It may also account for the fact that patterns such as [tresillo have]{{nbsp}}... remained one of the most useful and common syncopated patterns in jazz." ''Early Jazz; Its Roots and Musical Development''. New York: Oxford Press.</ref> The use of tresillo was continuously reinforced by the consecutive waves of Cuban music, which were adopted into North American popular culture. In 1940 Bob Zurke released "Rhumboogie", a boogie-woogie with a tresillo bass line, and lyrics proudly declaring the adoption of Cuban rhythm:

[[File:Dizzy Gillespie01.JPG|thumb|[[Dizzy Gillespie]] was instrumental in blending Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz.]]

{{Blockquote|Harlem's got a new rhythm, man it's burning up the dance floors because it's so hot! They took a little rhumba rhythm and added boogie-woogie and now look what they got! Rhumboogie, it's Harlem's new creation with the Cuban syncopation, it's the killer! Just plant your both feet on each side. Let both your hips and shoulder glide. Then throw your body back and ride. There's nothing like rhumbaoogie, rhumboogie, boogie-woogie. In Harlem or Havana, you can kiss the old Savannah. It's a killer!<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/r/rhumboogie.html|title=RHUMBOOGIE – Lyrics – International Lyrics Playground|website=Lyricsplayground.com|access-date=February 12, 2018|archive-date=February 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212142052/http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/r/rhumboogie.html|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Although originating in the metropolis at the mouth of the Mississippi River, New Orleans blues, with its Afro-Caribbean rhythmic traits, is distinct from the sound of the Mississippi Delta blues.<ref>Palmer, Robert (1981: 247). ''Deep Blues''. New York: Penguin Books.</ref> In the late 1940s, New Orleans musicians were especially receptive to Cuban influences precisely at the time when R&B was first forming.<ref>"Rhythm and blues-influenced by Afro-Cuban music first surfaced in New Orleans." Campbell, Michael, and James Brody (2007: 83). ''Rock and Roll: An Introduction''. Schirmer. {{ISBN|0534642950}}</ref> The first use of tresillo in R&B occurred in New Orleans. [[Robert Palmer]], who sampled R&B on his album [[Don't Explain (Robert Palmer album)|''Don't Explain'']], recalls:

[[File:Fats Domino 1956.png|thumb|left|[[Fats Domino]] in 1956]]
{{Blockquote|New Orleans producer-bandleader [[Dave Bartholomew]] first employed this figure (as a saxophone-section riff) on his own 1949 disc "Country Boy" and subsequently helped make it the most over-used rhythmic pattern in 1950s rock 'n' roll. On numerous recordings by [[Fats Domino]], [[Little Richard]] and others, Bartholomew assigned this repeating three-note pattern not just to the string bass, but also to electric guitars and even baritone sax, making for a very heavy bottom. He recalls first hearing the figure&nbsp;– as a bass pattern on a Cuban disc.{{sfn|Palmer|1995|p=60}}}}

In a 1988 interview, Bartholomew (who had the first R&B studio band),{{sfn|Sublette|2007|p=82}} revealed how he initially superimposed tresillo over swing rhythm:
{{Blockquote|I heard the bass playing that part on a 'rumba' record. On 'Country Boy' I had my bass and drums playing a straight swing rhythm and wrote out that 'rumba' bass part for the saxes to play on top of the swing rhythm. Later, especially after rock 'n' roll came along, I made the 'rumba' bass part heavier and heavier. I'd have the string bass, an electric guitar and a baritone all in unison.<ref>Dave Bartholomew quoted by Palmer, Robert (1988: 27) "The Cuban Connection" ''Spin Magazine'' Nov.</ref>}}

Bartholomew referred to the Cuban [[son music|son]] by the misnomer ''rumba'', a common practice of that time. Fats Domino's "[[Blue Monday (1954 song)|Blue Monday]]", produced by Bartholomew, is another example of this now classic use of tresillo in R&B. Bartholomew's 1949 tresillo-based "Oh Cubanas" is an attempt to blend African American and Afro-Cuban music. The word ''mambo'', larger than any of the other text, is placed prominently on the record label. In his composition "Misery", New Orleans pianist [[Professor Longhair]] plays a habanera-like figure in his left hand.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Riggle |first=Emma |date=2022-07-15 |title=Dances with Style! - Habanera |url=https://icanradio.org/blog/dances-with-style-habanera/ |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=ICAN {{!}} International Children's Arts Network |language=en-US}}</ref> The deft use of triplets is a characteristic of Longhair's style.

{{block indent|<score sound="1" override_midi="Misery piano part professor longhair.mid">
    {
      \new PianoStaff <<
        \new Staff <<
            \relative c'' {
                \clef treble \key f \major \time 4/4
                \tuplet 3/2 { r8 f f } \tuplet 3/2 { f f f } \tuplet 3/2 { f f f } \tuplet 3/2 { f f f }
                r4 r8 <e g> <d f>4 \acciaccatura { c16 d } <c e>8 <bes d>
                \tuplet 3/2 { r8 f' f } \tuplet 3/2 { f f f } \tuplet 3/2 { f d bes } \tuplet 3/2 { f g gis }
                a
                }
            >>
        \new Staff <<
            \relative c, {
                \clef bass \key f \major \time 4/4
                f4 d'8 a c4 d8 a
                bes4. d8 f4 d8 a
                bes4. d8 f4 d8 e,
                f4
                }
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</score>}}

[[Gerhard Kubik]] notes that with the exception of New Orleans, early blues lacked complex polyrhythms, and there was a "very specific absence of asymmetric time-line patterns ([[bell pattern|key patterns]]) in virtually all early-twentieth-century [[African-American music]]{{nbs}}... only in some New Orleans genres does a hint of simple time line patterns occasionally appear in the form of transient so-called 'stomp' patterns or stop-time chorus. These do not function in the same way as African timelines."<ref>Kubik (1999 p. 51).</ref> In the late 1940s, this changed somewhat when the two-celled timeline structure was brought into the blues. New Orleans musicians such as Bartholomew and Longhair incorporated Cuban instruments, as well as the clave pattern and related two-celled figures in songs such as "Carnival Day", (Bartholomew 1949) and "Mardi Gras In New Orleans" (Longhair 1949). While some of these early experiments were awkward fusions, the Afro-Cuban elements were eventually integrated fully into the New Orleans sound.

In the 1940s, Professor Longhair listened to and played with musicians from the islands and "fell under the spell of Perez Prado's [[mambo (music)|mambo]] records."<ref>Palmer, Robert (1979: 14). ''A Tale of Two Cities: Memphis Rock and New Orleans Roll''. Brooklyn.</ref> He was especially enamored with Afro-Cuban music. Michael Campbell states: "Professor Longhair's influence was{{nbsp}}... far-reaching. In several of his early recordings, Professor Longhair blended Afro-Cuban rhythms with rhythm and blues. The most explicit is 'Longhair's Blues Rhumba,' where he overlays a straightforward blues with a clave rhythm."<ref>Campbell, Michael, and James Brody (2007: 83). ''Rock and Roll: An Introduction''. Schirmer. {{ISBN|0534642950}}</ref> Longhair's particular style was known locally as ''rumba-boogie''.<ref>Stewart, Alexander (2000: 298). "Funky Drummer: New Orleans, James Brown and the Rhythmic Transformation of American Popular Music." ''Popular Music'', v. 19, n. 3. October 2000, p. 293-318.</ref> In his "Mardi Gras in New Orleans", the pianist employs the 2–3 clave onbeat/offbeat motif in a rumba boogie "[[guajeo]]".<ref>Kevin Moore: "There are two common ways that the three-side [of clave] is expressed in Cuban popular music. The first to come into regular use, which David Peñalosa calls 'clave motif,' is based on the decorated version of the three-side of the clave rhythm. By the 1940s [there was] a trend toward the use of what Peñalosa calls the 'offbeat/onbeat motif.' Today, the offbeat/onbeat motif method is much more common." Moore (2011). ''Understanding Clave and Clave Changes'' p. 32. Santa Cruz, CA: Moore Music/Timba.com. {{ISBN|1466462302}}</ref>

[[File:Mardi gras in new orleans.tif|thumb|center|upright=1.9|Piano excerpt from the rumba boogie "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" (1949) by Professor Longhair. 2–3 claves are written above for rhythmic reference.]]

The syncopated, but straight subdivision feel of Cuban music (as opposed to swung subdivisions) took root in New Orleans R&B during this time. Alexander Stewart states that the popular feel was passed along from "New Orleans—through James Brown's music, to the popular music of the 1970s," adding: "The singular style of rhythm & blues that emerged from New Orleans in the years after World War II played an important role in the development of funk. In a related development, the underlying rhythms of American popular music underwent a basic, yet generally unacknowledged transition from a triplet or shuffle feel to even or straight eighth notes.<ref>Stewart (2000 p. 293).</ref> Concerning the various funk motifs, Stewart states that this model "is different from a [[bell pattern|time line]] (such as clave and tresillo) in that it is not an exact pattern, but more of a loose organizing principle."<ref>Stewart (2000 p. 306).</ref>

[[Johnny Otis]] released the R&B mambo "Mambo Boogie" in January 1951, featuring congas, maracas, claves, and mambo saxophone [[guajeo]]s in a blues progression.<ref>Boggs, Vernon (1993 pp. 30–31). "Johnny Otis R&B/Mambo Pioneer" ''Latin Beat Magazine.'' v. 3 n. 9. Nov.</ref> [[Ike Turner]] recorded "Cubano Jump" (1954) an electric guitar instrumental, which is built around several 2–3 clave figures, adopted from the mambo. [[The Hawketts]], in "[[Mardi Gras Mambo]]" (1955) (featuring the vocals of a young Art Neville), make a clear reference to Perez Prado in their use of his trademark "Unhh!" in the break after the introduction.<ref>Stewart, Alexander (2000 p. 307). "Funky Drummer: New Orleans, James Brown and the Rhythmic Transformation of American Popular Music." ''Popular Music'', v. 19, n. 3. October 2000, pp. 293–318.</ref>

[[Ned Sublette]] states: "The electric blues cats were very well aware of Latin music, and there was definitely such a thing as ''rhumba blues''; you can hear Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf playing it."<ref name="Sublette, Ned 2007 p. 83">{{harvnb|Sublette|2007|p=83}}</ref> He also cites [[Otis Rush]], [[Ike Turner]] and [[Ray Charles]], as R&B artists who employed this feel.<ref name="Sublette, Ned 2007 p. 83"/>

The use of clave in R&B coincided with the growing dominance of the [[Back beat (music)|backbeat]], and the rising popularity of Cuban music in the U.S. In a sense, clave can be distilled down to tresillo (three-side) answered by the backbeat (two-side).<ref>Peñalosa, David (2010 p. 174). ''The Clave Matrix; Afro-Cuban Rhythm: Its Principles and African Origins''. Redway, California: Bembe Inc. {{ISBN|1-886502-80-3}}.</ref>

[[File:Clave in cut-time.tiff|thumb|center|upright=1.8|3–2 clave written in two measures in cut-time]]
[[File:Tresillo and backbeat.tiff|thumb|center|upright=1.8|Tresillo answered by the backbeat, the essence of clave in African American music]]

The "[[Bo Diddley beat]]" (1955) is perhaps the first true fusion of [[clave (rhythm)|3–2 clave]] and R&B/rock 'n' roll. [[Bo Diddley]] has given different accounts of the riff's origins. Sublette asserts: "In the context of the time, and especially those maracas [heard on the record], 'Bo Diddley' has to be understood as a Latin-tinged record. A rejected cut recorded at the same session was titled only 'Rhumba' on the track sheets."<ref name="Sublette, Ned 2007 p. 83" /> [[Johnny Otis]]'s "Willie and the Hand Jive" (1958) is another example of this successful blend of 3–2 claves and R&B. Otis used the Cuban instruments claves and maracas on the song.

[[File:Bo-Diddley.jpg|thumb|[[Bo Diddley]]'s "[[Bo Diddley beat]]" is a clave-based motif.]]

Afro-Cuban music was the conduit by which African American music was "re-Africanized", through the adoption of two-celled figures like clave and Afro-Cuban instruments like the [[conga drum]], [[bongos]], [[maracas]] and [[claves]]. According to [[John Storm Roberts]], R&B became the vehicle for the return of Cuban elements into mass popular music.<ref>Roberts, John Storm (1999 p. 136).''The Latin Tinge''. Oxford University Press.</ref> [[Ahmet Ertegun]], producer for [[Atlantic Records]], is reported to have said that "Afro-Cuban rhythms added color and excitement to the basic drive of R&B."<ref>Roberts (1999: 137).</ref> As [[Ned Sublette]] points out though: "By the 1960s, with Cuba the object of a United States embargo that still remains in effect today, the island nation had been forgotten as a source of music. By the time people began to talk about rock and roll as having a history, Cuban music had vanished from North American consciousness."{{sfn|Sublette|2007|p=69}}

===Early to mid-1950s===
[[File:Little Richard (1967).png|thumb|left|upright|[[Little Richard]] in 1967]]
At first, only African Americans were buying R&B discs. According to [[Jerry Wexler]] of Atlantic Records, sales were localized in African-American markets; there were no white sales or white radio play. During the early 1950s, more white teenagers started to become aware of R&B and began purchasing the music. For example, 40% of 1952 sales at [[John Dolphin (music producer)|Dolphin's of Hollywood]] record shop, located in an African-American area of Los Angeles, were to whites. Eventually, white teens across the country turned their musical taste toward rhythm and blues.<ref>{{Cite book|title = [[Rockin' in Time]]|last = Szatmary|first = David P.|publisher = Pearson|year = 2014|location = New Jersey|page = 16}}</ref>

[[Johnny Otis]], who had signed with the Newark, New Jersey–based Savoy Records, produced many R&B hits in 1951, including "[[Double Crossing Blues]]", "Mistrustin' Blues" and "[[Cupid's Boogie]]", all of which hit number one that year. Otis scored ten top ten hits that year. Other hits include "[[Gee Baby]]", "Mambo Boogie" and "All Nite Long".<ref name="billboard.com">{{cite magazine|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=johnny otis|bio=true}} |title=– Biography: Johnny Otis |magazine=Billboard |access-date=April 20, 2012}}</ref> [[The Clovers]], a quintet consisting of a vocal quartet with accompanying guitarist, sang a distinctive-sounding combination of blues and gospel.{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 3, track 2}} They had the number five hit of the year with "[[Don't You Know I Love You]]" on Atlantic.<ref name="billboard.com" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history-of-rock.com/vocal_groups.htm |title=The Vocal Groups |website=History-of-rock.com |access-date=April 20, 2012 |archive-date=June 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612042733/http://www.history-of-rock.com/vocal_groups.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6730003/a/Don't+You+Know+I+Love+You+&+Other+Favorites.htm|title=Clovers Don't You Know I Love You & Other Favorites CD|website=Cduniverse.com|date=May 11, 2004|access-date=April 20, 2012|archive-date=August 31, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831000642/http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6730003/a/Don%27t+You+Know+I+Love+You+%26+Other+Favorites.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Also in July 1951, Cleveland, Ohio DJ [[Alan Freed]] started a late-night radio show called "The Moondog Rock Roll House Party" on [[WKNR|WJW]] (850 AM).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.case.edu/digitalcase/SearchResults.aspx?q=mintz|title=Kevin Smith Library : Case Western Reserve University : Search Results : Mintz|website=Library.case.ueu|access-date=May 21, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203100439/http://library.case.edu/digitalcase/SearchResults.aspx?q=mintz|archive-date=February 3, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://buzzardbook.wordpress.com/category/buzzard-audio/page/4/|title=Buzzard Audio – The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio — A Memoir – Page 4|website=buzzardbook.wordpress.com|access-date=February 12, 2018|archive-date=February 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212201539/https://buzzardbook.wordpress.com/category/buzzard-audio/page/4/|url-status=live}}</ref> Freed's show was sponsored by Fred Mintz, whose R&B record store had a primarily African-American clientele. Freed began referring to the rhythm and blues music he played as "rock and roll".

In 1951 [[Little Richard]] Penniman began recording for [[RCA Records]] in the jump blues style of late 1940s stars [[Roy Brown (blues musician)|Roy Brown]] and [[Billy Wright (musician)|Billy Wright]]. However, it was not until he recorded a demo in 1954 that caught the attention of Specialty Records that the world would start to hear his new uptempo funky rhythm and blues that would catapult him to fame in 1955 and help define the sound of rock 'n' roll. A rapid succession of rhythm and blues hits followed, beginning with "[[Tutti Frutti (song)|Tutti Frutti]]"{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 6, track 2}} and "[[Long Tall Sally]]", which would influence performers such as [[James Brown]],{{sfn|White|2003|p=231}} [[Elvis Presley]],{{sfn|White|2003|p=227}} and [[Otis Redding]].{{sfn|White|2003|p=231}}

Also in 1951, the song [[Rocket 88]] was recorded by [[Ike Turner]] and his Kings of Rhythm at a studio owned by [[Sam Phillips]] with the vocal by [[Jackie Brenston]]. This song is often cited as a precursor to [[rock and roll]] or as one of the first records in that genre.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/apr/16/popandrock |title=Will the creator of modern music please stand up? |date=April 16, 2004 |work=The Guardian |access-date=December 26, 2022 |quote=}}</ref> In a later interview, however, Ike Turner offered this comment: "I don't think that 'Rocket 88' is rock 'n' roll. I think that 'Rocket 88' is R&B, but I think 'Rocket 88' is the ''cause'' of rock and roll existing".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-first-ever-rock-and-roll-song/|title=Listen to the first rock and roll song ever recorded|website=Faroutmagazine.com|author=Lee Thomas-Mason|date=November 13, 2021|access-date=December 26, 2022}}</ref>

[[Ruth Brown]], performing on the Atlantic label, placed hits in the top five every year from 1951 through 1954: "[[Teardrops from My Eyes]]", "Five, Ten, Fifteen Hours", "[[(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean]]" and "[[What a Dream]]".{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 3, track 2}} [[Faye Adams]]'s "[[Shake a Hand]]" made it to number two in 1952. In 1953, the R&B record-buying public made [[Big Mama Thornton]]'s original recording of [[Leiber and Stoller]]'s "[[Hound Dog (song)|Hound Dog]]"{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 7, track 4}} the year's number three hit. Ruth Brown was very prominent among female R&B stars; her popularity most likely came from "her deeply rooted vocal delivery in African American tradition".<ref name="Floyd177">{{cite book|last=Floyd|first=Samuel Jr. |title=The Power of Black Music|year=1995|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|page=177}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R%26B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1953 |title=Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1953 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=December 23, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211063633/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R&B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1953 |archive-date=December 11, 2007 }}</ref> That same year [[The Orioles]], a [[doo-wop]] group, had the number four hit of the year with "[[Crying in the Chapel]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colorradio.com/orioles.htm|title=The Orioles Record Label Shots|access-date=December 23, 2007|archive-date=July 8, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708212629/http://www.colorradio.com/orioles.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Fats Domino]] made the top 30 of the pop charts in 1952 and 1953, then the top 10 with "[[Ain't That a Shame]]".{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 6, track 3}}<ref>Go, Cat, Go! by Carl Perkins and David McGee 1996 pages 111 Hyperion Press {{ISBN|0-7868-6073-1}}</ref> [[Ray Charles]] came to national prominence in 1955 with "[[I Got a Woman]]".{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 15}} [[Big Bill Broonzy]] said of Charles's music: "He's mixing the blues with the spirituals{{nbsp}}... I know that's wrong."<ref name=Cohn/>{{rp|173}}

In 1954 [[The Chords (US band)|the Chords]]' "[[Sh-Boom]]"{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 4, track 5}} became the first hit to cross over from the R&B chart to hit the top 10 early in the year. Late in the year, and into 1955, "[[Hearts of Stone]]" by the Charms made the top 20.<ref>Go, Cat, Go! by Carl Perkins and David McGee 1996 page 111 Hyperion Press {{ISBN|0-7868-6073-1}}</ref>

At [[Chess Records]] in the spring of 1955, [[Bo Diddley]]'s debut record "[[Bo Diddley (Bo Diddley song)|Bo Diddley]]"/"[[I'm a Man (Bo Diddley song)|I'm a Man]]" climbed to number two on the R&B charts and popularized Bo Diddley's own original rhythm and blues clave-based vamp that would become a mainstay in rock and roll.{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 3, track 5}}

[[File:Etta_James04.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Etta James]] blended blues, R&B, and gospel influences.]]

At the urging of [[Leonard Chess]] at Chess Records, [[Chuck Berry]] reworked a [[country music|country]] fiddle tune with a long history, entitled "[[Ida Red (song)|Ida Red]]".{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 5, track 5}} The resulting "[[Maybellene]]" was not only a number three hit on the R&B charts in 1955, but also reached into the top 30 on the pop charts. [[Alan Freed]], who had moved to the much larger market of New York City in 1954, helped the record become popular with white teenagers. Freed had been given part of the writing credit by Chess in return for his promotional activities, a common practice at the time.<ref>{{cite magazine|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=chuck berry|bio=true}} |title=– Biography – Chuck Berry |magazine=Billboard |access-date=April 20, 2012}}</ref>

R&B was also a strong influence on [[rock and roll]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rockhall.com/roots-of-rock |title=Roots of Rock |date=June 15, 2020 |work=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame |access-date=December 25, 2020 |quote=rock and roll's roots: Gospel, Blues, Country/Folk/Bluegrass and R&B}}</ref> A 1985 article in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', titled, "Rock! It's Still Rhythm and Blues"{{Full citation needed|date=December 2022}} reported that the "two terms were used interchangeably" until about 1957. The other sources quoted in the article said that rock and roll combined R&B with pop and country music.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1214792 |title=The Black Perspective in Music |date=March 1, 1985 |journal=The Wall Street Journal |jstor=1214792 |access-date=March 15, 2021 |quote=by Lawrence N. Redd |last1=Redd |first1=Lawrence N. |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=31–47 |doi=10.2307/1214792 |archive-date=May 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525225022/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1214792 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Fats Domino was not convinced that there was any new genre. In 1957, he said, "What they call rock 'n' roll now is rhythm and blues. I've been playing it for 15 years in New Orleans".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/paul-mccartney-remembers-truly-magnificent-fats-domino-128449/|title=Paul McCartney Remembers 'Truly Magnificent' Fats Domino|first=Elias|last=Leight|website=Rollingstone.com|date=October 26, 2017|access-date=March 15, 2021|archive-date=November 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125142548/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/paul-mccartney-remembers-truly-magnificent-fats-domino-128449/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]'', "this is a valid statement ... all Fifties rockers, black and white, country born and city bred, were fundamentally influenced by R&B, the black popular music of the late Forties and early Fifties".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/the-50s-a-decade-of-music-that-changed-the-world-229924/|title=The 50s: A Decade of Music That Changed the World|first=Robert|last=Palmer|website=Rollingstone.com|date=April 19, 1990|access-date=March 15, 2021|archive-date=February 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222202919/https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/the-50s-a-decade-of-music-that-changed-the-world-229924/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Late 1950s===
[[File:Della Reese Jubilee Records.jpg|thumb|upright=0.5|[[Della Reese]]]]
In 1956, an R&B "Top Stars of '56" tour took place, with headliners [[Al Hibbler]], [[Frankie Lymon]] and the Teenagers, and [[Carl Perkins]], whose "[[Blue Suede Shoes]]" was very popular with R&B music buyers.<ref>[[Joel Whitburn|Whitburn, Joel]], ''The Billboard Book of TOP 40 R&B and Hip Hop Hits'', Billboard Books, New York 2006 p. 451</ref> Some of the performers completing the bill were Chuck Berry, [[Cathy Carr (singer)|Cathy Carr]], [[Shirley & Lee]], [[Della Reese]], Sam "T-Bird" Jensen, [[the Cleftones]], and [[the Spaniels]] with [[Illinois Jacquet]]'s Big Rockin' Rhythm Band.<ref>{{Cite web|title=BLUES|url=https://www.radiovintage.net/p/rhythm-n-blues.html|access-date=January 18, 2021|archive-date=October 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023025127/https://www.radiovintage.net/p/rhythm-n-blues.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Cities visited by the tour included Columbia, South Carolina; Annapolis, Maryland; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo, New York; and other cities.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} In Columbia, the concert ended with a near riot as Perkins began his first song as the closing act. Perkins is quoted as saying, "It was dangerous. Lot of kids got hurt". In Annapolis, 50,000 to 70,000 people tried to attend a sold-out performance with 8,000 seats. Roads were clogged for seven hours.<ref>Go, Cat, Go! by Carl Perkins and David McGee 1996 pp. 188, 210, 212–214 Hyperion Press {{ISBN|0-7868-6073-1}}</ref>
Filmmakers took advantage of the popularity of "rhythm and blues" musicians as "rock n roll" musicians beginning in 1956. Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Big Joe Turner, [[the Treniers]], [[the Platters]], and [[the Flamingos]] all made it onto the big screen.<ref>''[[Don't Knock the Rock]]'' (1956), ''[[Rock Around the Clock (film)|Rock Around the Clock]]'' (1956), ''[[Rock, Rock, Rock (film)|Rock, Rock, Rock]]'' (1956), ''[[Rumble on the Docks]]'' (1956), ''[[Shake, Rattle & Rock! (1956 film)|Shake, Rattle & Rock]]'' (1956), ''[[The Girl Can't Help It]]'' (1956), ''Rock Baby, Rock It'' (1957), ''[[Untamed Youth]]'' (1957), ''[[Go, Johnny, Go!]]'' (1959)</ref>

Two Elvis Presley records made the R&B top five in 1957: "[[Jailhouse Rock (song)|Jailhouse Rock]]"/"[[Treat Me Nice]]" at number one, and "[[All Shook Up]]" at number five, an unprecedented acceptance of a non-African American artist into a music category known for being created by blacks.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R%26B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1957 |title=Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1957 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=December 23, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211063653/http://billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R&B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1957 |archive-date=December 11, 2007 }}</ref> [[Nat King Cole]], also a [[jazz]] pianist who had two hits on the pop charts in the early 1950s ("[[Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole song)|Mona Lisa]]" at number two in 1950 and "[[Too Young (1951 song)|Too Young]]" at number one in 1951), had a record in the top five in the R&B charts in 1958, "[[Looking Back (Nat King Cole song)|Looking Back]]"/"Do I Like It".{{sfn |Gilliland |1969|loc=show 22, tracks 3–4}}

[[File:Sam_Cooke_2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.5|[[Sam Cooke]]]]

In 1959, two black-owned record labels, one of which would become hugely successful, made their debut: [[Sam Cooke]]'s Sar and [[Berry Gordy]]'s [[Motown Records]].{{sfn|Palmer|1995|p=82}} [[Brook Benton]] was at the top of the R&B charts in 1959 and 1960 with one number one and two number two hits.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Brook Benton|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/brook-benton/chart-history/hsi/|access-date=June 8, 2020|magazine=Billboard|archive-date=December 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225144708/https://www.billboard.com/music/brook-benton/chart-history/HSI|url-status=live}}</ref> Benton had a certain warmth in his voice that attracted a wide variety of listeners, and his ballads led to comparisons with performers such as
[[Nat King Cole]], [[Frank Sinatra]] and [[Tony Bennett]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shewins.com/bio.htm|last=Simon|first=Tom|title=Brook Benton Biography|access-date=December 23, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205201544/http://www.shewins.com/bio.htm|archive-date=February 5, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Lloyd Price]], who in 1952 had a number one hit with "[[Lawdy Miss Clawdy]]", regained predominance with a version of "[[Stagger Lee (song)|Stagger Lee]]" at number one and "[[Personality (Lloyd Price song)|Personality]]" at number five in 1959.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R&B/Hip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1952|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618164949/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R&B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1952|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 18, 2009|title=Billboard – Year End Charts – Year-end Singles – Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs|magazine = [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=June 18, 2009|access-date=December 9, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Hot songs 1959"/>

The white bandleader of the Bill Black Combo, [[Bill Black]], who had helped start Elvis Presley's career and was Elvis's bassist in the 1950s, had a hit among black listeners with "[[Smokie, Part 2]]". The single reached number 17 on the U.S. pop charts and number 1 on the R&B charts, selling over one million copies, and was awarded a [[music recording sales certification|gold disc]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]].<ref>{{cite book| first= Joseph| last= Murrells| year= 1978| title= The Book of Golden Discs| edition= 2nd| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd| location= London| page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/111 111]| isbn= 0-214-20512-6| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/111}}</ref> [[Hi Records]] did not feature pictures of the Combo on early records.<ref>''The Blue Moon Boys—The Story of Elvis Presley's Band. Ken Burke and Dan Griffin''. 2006. Chicago Review Press. pp. 138, 139. {{ISBN|1-55652-614-8}}
</ref>

===1960s–1970s===
[[File:Marvin_Gaye_(1973).png|thumb|upright|[[Marvin Gaye]] is a R&B artist known for his smooth voice.]]

[[Sam Cooke]]'s number five hit "[[Chain Gang (Sam Cooke song)|Chain Gang]]" is indicative of R&B in 1960, as is pop rocker [[Chubby Checker]]'s number five hit "[[The Twist (song)|The Twist]]".<ref name="Hot songs 1959">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R%26B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1959 |title=Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1959 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=December 23, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618164303/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R&B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1959 |archive-date=June 18, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R%26B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1960 |title=Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1960 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=December 23, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211040735/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R&B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1960 |archive-date=December 11, 2007}}</ref> By the early 1960s, the music industry category previously known as rhythm and blues was being called [[soul music]], and similar music by white artists was labeled [[blue-eyed soul]].{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 52}}{{sfn|Palmer|1995|p=82}} Motown Records had its first million-selling single in 1960 with [[the Miracles]]' "[[Shop Around]]",{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 25}} and in 1961, [[Stax Records]] had its first hit with [[Carla Thomas]]'s "[[Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)]]".{{sfn|Palmer|1995|p=83–84}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/mediaplayer.asp?ean=610583191929&disc=2&track=14|title=Sample of "Gee Whiz"|website=Music.barnesandnoble.com|access-date=May 21, 2014|archive-date=December 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230001335/http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/mediaplayer.asp?ean=610583191929&disc=2&track=14|url-status=live}}</ref> Stax's next major hit, [[the Mar-Keys]]' instrumental "[[Last Night (Mar-Keys composition)|Last Night]]" (also released in 1961), introduced the rawer [[Memphis soul]] sound for which Stax became known.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mp3fiesta.com/mar_keys_last_night_song1014658/|title=Mar-Keys – Last Night – Billboard Top 100 – 1961 – Top Billboard – mp3 song hits download full albums in mp3|website=Mp3fiesta.com|access-date=February 1, 2018|archive-date=July 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708035300/https://mp3fiesta.com/mar_keys_last_night_song1014658/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In Jamaica, R&B influenced the development of [[ska]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.potentbrew.com/skaregdu.html |title=The Origins of Ska, Reggae and Dub Music |website=Potentbrew.com |date=August 3, 1999 |access-date=January 7, 2010 |archive-date=January 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116083151/http://www.potentbrew.com/skaregdu.html |url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.fccj.edu/~ivanhoof/ska/TheBeginning.html |title=The Beginning |website=Web.fccj.edu |access-date=January 7, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512005004/http://web.fccj.edu/~ivanhoof/ska/TheBeginning.html |archive-date=May 12, 2008}}</ref> In 1969, black culture and rhythm and blues reached another great achievement when [[the Grammys]] added the Rhythm and Blues category, giving academic recognition to the category.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}

By the 1970s, the term "rhythm and blues" was being used as a blanket term for [[soul music|soul]], [[funk]], and [[disco]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/rhythm-and-blues-music-overview |title=Rhythm and Blues Music: Overview |last=Cahoon |first=Brad |date=December 11, 2014 |encyclopedia=[[New Georgia Encyclopedia]] |access-date=February 13, 2017 |archive-date=February 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201161041/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/rhythm-and-blues-music-overview |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Since the 1980s===
{{Main|Contemporary R&B}}
[[File:Mary_J._Blige_jul2007.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Mary J. Blige]] blended R&B with hip-hop influences, helping to shape the sound of the '90s.]]

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, [[hip-hop]] started to capture the imagination of America's youth. R&B started to become homogenized, with a group of high-profile producers responsible for most R&B hits. It was hard for R&B artists of the era to sell their music or even have their music heard because of the rise of hip-hop, but some adopted a "hip-hop" image, were marketed as such, and often featured rappers on their songs. [[Teddy Riley]], Guy, [[Keith Sweat]] and Today gained [[new jack swing]] hits.<ref>{{cite web|first=Jason|last=Heller|title= New jack swing|website=The A.V. Club| access-date=26 March 2025 |url=https://www.avclub.com/new-jack-swing-1798222079}}</ref> In 1990, ''Billboard'' reintroduced R&B to categorize all of Black popular music other than hip-hop.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of R&B Music |url=https://timeline.carnegiehall.org/genres/rb |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=Timeline of African American Music |language=en}}</ref> Newer artists such as [[Usher (singer)|Usher]], [[R. Kelly]], [[Janet Jackson]], [[TLC (group)|TLC]], [[Aaliyah]], [[Brandy Norwood|Brandy]], [[Destiny's Child]], [[Tevin Campbell]] and [[Mary J. Blige]] enjoyed success. [[L.A. Reid]], the CEO of [[LaFace Records]], was responsible for some of R&B's greatest successes in the 1990s in the form of [[Usher (musician)|Usher]], [[TLC (group)|TLC]] and [[Toni Braxton]]. Later, Reid successfully marketed [[Boyz II Men]].<ref name="THE CHANGING FACE OF R&B">{{cite web|title = The changing face of R&B|url = http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/206/the_changing_face_of_randb/|website = Blues & Soul|access-date = November 3, 2015|archive-date = December 23, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151223081549/http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/206/the_changing_face_of_randb/|url-status = dead}}</ref> In 2004, 80% of the songs that topped the R&B charts were also at the top of the Hot 100. That period was the all-time peak for R&B and hip hop on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] and on Top 40 Radio.<ref>{{cite web|title = 100 & Single: The R&B/Hip-Hop Factor In The Music Business's Endless Slump|url = http://www.villagevoice.com/music/100-and-single-the-randb-hip-hop-factor-in-the-music-businesss-endless-slump-6646587#page-2|website = Village Voice|date = July 16, 2012|access-date = November 3, 2015|archive-date = October 30, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151030135211/http://www.villagevoice.com/music/100-and-single-the-randb-hip-hop-factor-in-the-music-businesss-endless-slump-6646587#page-2|url-status = dead}}</ref>  From about 2005 to 2013, R&B sales declined.<ref>{{cite web|title = The Sacrifice of R&B|url = http://soultrain.com/2013/05/02/the-sacrifice-of-rb/|website = Soul Train|access-date = November 3, 2015|first = ChgoSista|last = says|archive-date = October 19, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151019121121/http://soultrain.com/2013/05/02/the-sacrifice-of-rb/|url-status = dead}}</ref> However, since 2010, hip-hop has started to take cues from the R&B sound, choosing to adopt a softer, smoother sound that incorporates traditional R&B with rappers such as [[Drake (musician)|Drake]], who has opened an entire new door for the genre. This sound has gained in popularity and created great controversy for both hip-hop and R&B as to how to identify it.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = A preliminary review of competitive reactions in the hip-hop music industry: Black American entrepreneurs in a new industry|journal = Management Research News|date = July 18, 2008|issn = 0140-9174|pages = 637–649|volume = 31|issue = 9|doi = 10.1108/01409170810898536|last = Vickie Cox Edmondson}}</ref> In 2010, the [[National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame]] was founded by [[LaMont "ShowBoat" Robinson]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rbhalloffamemarksms.com/about-us/|title=About Us &#124; R&B HOF|website=Rbhalloffamemarksms.com|date=July 24, 2022|access-date=August 30, 2023}}</ref>

==Jewish influence in the business end of rhythm and blues==
{{Main|Jewish influence in rhythm and blues}}
According to the Jewish writer, music publishing executive, and songwriter [[Arnold Shaw (writer)|Arnold Shaw]], during the 1940s in the US, there was generally little opportunity for Jews in the [[WASP]]-controlled realm of [[mass media|mass communications]], but the music business was "wide open for Jews as it was for blacks".<ref name="Shaw1978">{{cite book|author=Arnold Shaw|title=Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PYSfAAAAMAAJ&q=%22wide%20open%20for%20Jews%22|year=1978|publisher=Collier Books|isbn=978-0-02-061760-0|page=343|access-date=March 20, 2021|archive-date=March 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329042743/https://books.google.com/books?id=PYSfAAAAMAAJ&q=%22wide+open+for+Jews%22|url-status=live}}</ref> Jews played a key role in developing and popularizing African American music, including rhythm and blues, and the independent record business was dominated by young Jewish men who promoted the sounds of black music.<ref name="Muchin1994">{{cite magazine |last1=Muchin |first1=Andrew |title=How a Bunch of Upstart Jewish Independent Record Producers Helped Turn African American Music into a National Treasure |url=http://www.momentmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Jewish-Producers-African-American-Music.pdf |access-date=March 20, 2021 |magazine=Moment Magazine |date=August 1994 |pages=53–54 |archive-date=March 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329042758/http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3AttyGC3Hh5aoJ%3Awww.momentmag.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F02%2FJewish-Producers-African-American-Music.pdf+&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us |url-status=live }}</ref>

For example, Milt Gabler was born to Jewish immigrants and grew up in Harlem. In the late 1930s, he created his own record label, [[Commodore Records]], primarily recording, producing and promoting black singers and groups. Gabler recorded many of the leading jazz artists of the day.<ref>[[Milt Gabler#cite note-LarkinGE-9]]</ref> In 1939, he released the [[Billie Holiday]] hit song "[[Strange Fruit]]" on Commodore, boosting her career with what [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']] magazine 60 years later named 'Best Song of the Century’. Based on the success of Commodore, the major label [[Decca Records]] recruited and hired Gabler in 1941.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2001-07-25 |title=Milton Gabler, Storekeeper of the Jazz World, Dies at 90 (Published 2001) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/25/arts/milton-gabler-storekeeper-of-the-jazz-world-dies-at-90.html |access-date=2025-11-18 |language=en}}</ref> His Jewish brother-in-law, Jack Crystal, (father of [[Billy Crystal]]), took over Commodore. 

At Decca, Gabler worked with many of the biggest stars of the 1940s, producing a series of hits, as well as being the first to bring [[Louis Armstrong]] and [[Ella Fitzgerald]] together on record. Decca then placed him in charge of their subsidiary label [[Coral Records|Coral]], where he continued to advance the careers of black musicians including [[the Ink Spots]], [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] and [[Louis Jordan]].  

Gabler was responsible for many innovations in the recording industry of the 20th century. These included being the first person to deal in record reissues, the first to sell records by mail order, and the first to credit all the musicians on the recordings. In 1991, Gabler received the [[Grammy Trustees Award]] from [[The Recording Academy]], for his significant contributions to the field of recording.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trustees Award |url=https://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/trustee-awards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002091150/https://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/trustee-awards |archive-date=2015-10-02 |access-date=2025-11-18 |website=The GRAMMYs |language=en}}</ref> In 1993, he was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] by his nephew Billy Crystal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Milt Gabler {{!}} Rock & Roll Hall of Fame |url=https://rockhall.com/inductees/milt-gabler/ |access-date=2025-11-18 |website=rockhall.com |language=en}}</ref>

==British rhythm and blues==
{{Main|British rhythm and blues}}

[[File:Eric Burdon & the Animals.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Eric Burdon]] & [[the Animals]] (1964)]]
British rhythm and blues and blues rock developed in the early 1960s, largely as a response to the recordings of American artists, often brought over by African American servicemen stationed in Britain or seamen visiting ports such as London, Liverpool, Newcastle and Belfast.<ref>R. F. Schwartz, ''How Britain Got the Blues: the Transmission and Reception of American Blues Style in the United Kingdom'' (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007), {{ISBN|0-7546-5580-6}}, p. 28.</ref>{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 27}} Many bands, particularly in the developing London club scene, tried to emulate black rhythm and blues performers, resulting in a "rawer" or "grittier" sound than the more popular "[[beat music|beat groups]]".<ref name=Bogdanov2002BritishR&B>V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 1315–1316.</ref> During the 1960s, [[Geno Washington]], [[the Foundations]], and [[the Equals]] gained pop hits.<ref>{{cite web|author=John Bush |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-equals-mn0000056833/biography |title=The Equals &#124; Biography |website=[[AllMusic]] | access-date=November 11, 2021}}</ref> Many British black musicians helped form the British R&B scene. These included [[Geno Washington]], an American singer stationed in England with the Air Force. He was invited to join what became [[Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band]] by guitarist [[Pete Gage (guitarist)|Pete Gage]] in 1965 and enjoyed top 40 hit singles and two top 10 albums before the band split up in 1969.<ref>J. Bush, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p21332|pure_url=yes}} "Geno Washington"], ''Allmusic''. Retrieved July 29, 2020.</ref> Another American [[G.I. (military)|GI]], [[Jimmy James (singer)|Jimmy James]], born in Jamaica, moved to London after two local number one hits in 1960 with The Vagabonds, who built a strong reputation as a live act. They released a live album and their studio debut, ''The New Religion,'' in 1966 and achieved moderate success with a few singles before the original Vagabonds broke up in 1970.<ref>A. Hamilton, [{{AllMusic |class=artist |id=p18483 |pure_url=yes}} "Jimmy James"], ''Allmusic''. Retrieved July 29, 2020.</ref> White [[blues rock]] musician [[Alexis Korner]] formed new jazz rock band CCS in 1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alexis-korner-mn0000001020|title=Alexis Korner – Biography, Albums, Streaming Links|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=June 29, 2019|archive-date=February 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207124329/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alexis-korner-mn0000001020|url-status=live}}</ref> Interest in the blues would influence major British rock musicians, including [[Eric Clapton]], [[Mick Taylor]], [[Peter Green (musician)|Peter Green]], and [[John Mayall]], the groups Free and [[Cream (band)|Cream]] adopted an interest in a wider range of rhythm and blues styles.<ref name=Bogdanov2002BritishR&B/>

[[File:Steve Windwood toy2, Hangout Music Festival 2012.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Steve Winwood]] is known for his influential R&B work with the [[Spencer Davis Group]] and [[Traffic (band)|Traffic]].]]

The Rolling Stones became the second most popular UK band (after [[the Beatles]]){{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 30}} and led the "[[British Invasion]]" of the US pop charts.<ref name=Bogdanov2002BritishR&B/> The Rolling Stones covered [[Bobby Womack]] & the Valentinos'<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-valentinos-mn0000572313|title=The Valentinos – Biography, Albums, Streaming Links|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=June 29, 2019|archive-date=February 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226044032/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-valentinos-mn0000572313|url-status=live}}</ref> song "[[It's All Over Now]]", giving them their first UK number one in 1964.<ref name="rollingwithp137">Bill Wyman, ''Rolling With the Stones'' (DK Publishing, 2002), {{ISBN|0-7894-9998-3}}, p. 137</ref> Under the influence of blues and R&B, bands such as the Rolling Stones, the [[The Yardbirds|Yardbirds]], and the Animals, and more jazz-influenced bands like the Graham Bond Organisation and [[Zoot Money]], had blue-eyed soul albums.<ref name=Bogdanov2002BritishR&B/> White R&B musicians popular in the UK included [[Steve Winwood]], Frankie Miller, Scott Walker & [[the Walker Brothers]], the Animals from Newcastle,{{Sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 29, track 3}} the [[Spencer Davis Group]], and [[Van Morrison]] & [[Them (band)|Them]] from Belfast.<ref name=Bogdanov2002BritishR&B/> None of these bands exclusively played rhythm and blues, but it remained at the core of their early albums.<ref name=Bogdanov2002BritishR&B/>

[[Champion Jack Dupree]] was a [[New Orleans blues]] and [[boogie woogie]] pianist who toured Europe and settled there from 1960, living in Switzerland and Denmark, then in [[Halifax, West Yorkshire|Halifax]], England, in the 1970s and 1980s, before finally settling in Germany.<ref>T. Russell, ''The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray'' (London: Carlton, 1997), {{ISBN|1-85868-255-X}}</ref> [[Average White Band]] and [[Ian Dury]] released funky singles. From the 1970s to 1980s, [[Carl Douglas]], [[Hot Chocolate]], Delegation, Junior, Central Line, Princess, Jaki Graham, [[Loose Ends (band)|Loose Ends]], the Pasadenas [[Ruby Turner]], and [[Soul II Soul]] gained hits on the pop or R&B charts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/25085/soul-ii-soul/|title=UK Charts » Soul II Soul|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]| access-date=November 11, 2021}}</ref> UK R&B acts who gained success during the 1990s include [[Mark Morrison]], [[Eternal (group)|Eternal]], the Chimes, [[Carleen Anderson]], [[D'Influence]], Nu Colourz, Omar, and Bryan Powell.<ref>[https://soundbetter.com/profiles/137647-bryan-j-powell Bryan J. Powell] soundbetter.com Retrieved 26 March 2025</ref> The music of the British [[Mod (subculture)|mod subculture]] grew out of rhythm and blues and later soul performed by artists who were not available to the small London clubs where the scene originated.<ref name=Bogdanov2002Mod>V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 1321–1322.</ref> In the late 1960s, [[the Who]] performed American R&B songs such as the Motown hit "[[Heat Wave (1963 song)|Heat Wave]]", a song which reflected the young mod lifestyle.<ref name=Bogdanov2002Mod/> Many of these bands enjoyed national success in the UK, but found it difficult to break into the American music market.<ref name=Bogdanov2002Mod/> The British white R&B bands produced music which was very different in tone from that of African-American artists.<ref name=Bogdanov2002BritishR&B/>

==See also==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Portal|Rhythm and blues}}
* [[African-American music]]
* [[List of R&B musicians]]
* [[List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart|List of artists who reached number one on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart]]
* [[Lists of Billboard number-one rhythm and blues hits|Lists of ''Billboard'' number-one rhythm and blues hits]]
* [[Music of the United States]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{Gilliland}}
* {{cite book|last=Palmer|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Palmer (author/producer)|title=Rock & Roll: An Unruly History|date=September 19, 1995|publisher=Harmony|isbn=978-0-517-70050-1|url=https://archive.org/details/rockrollunrulyh00palm}}
* {{cite book|last=Sublette|first=Ned|author-link=Ned Sublette|year=2007|chapter=The Kingsmen and the Cha-cha-chá|editor=[[Eric Weisbard]]|title=Listen Again: A Momentary History of Pop Music|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0822340416}}
* {{cite book|last=White|first=Charles|year=2003|title=The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography|publisher=Omnibus Press}}

==Further reading==
* [[Peter Guralnick|Guralnick, Peter]]. ''Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom''. First ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. x, 438 p., ill., chiefly with b&w photos. {{ISBN|0-06-096049-3}}

{{Rhythm and blues|state=expanded}}
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{{Blues}}
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[[Category:Rhythm and blues| ]]
[[Category:African-American cultural history]]
[[Category:African-American music]]
[[Category:American styles of music]]
[[Category:1940s]]