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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House of Music is the fourth studio album by American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, released November 19, 1996, on Mercury Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at various recording studios during 1995 to 1996, with production handled primarily by the group members. Following the success of their 1993 album Sons of Soul and their hiatus as a group, Tony! Toni! Toné! members Raphael Saadiq, D'wayne Wiggins, and Timothy Christian Riley worked on songs for the album independently before putting together their finished recordings. House of Music expands on their previous work's classicist R&B influences with live instrumentation and balladry. Music writers have noted the album for its incorporation of traditional and contemporary musical styles, themes of love and romance, and witty, sensitive lyrics.

The album reached number 32 on the US Billboard 200 chart, on which it spent 31 weeks. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) within its first year of release, having shipped one million copies in the United States. Two singles were released in promotion of the album, "Let's Get Down" and "Thinking of You". Upon its release, House of Music received general acclaim from music critics, who praised its musical style, classicist influences, and the group's musicianship and songwriting. An expected international tour in support of the album did not materialize and it proved to be the group's last album together, as they subsequently disbanded due to creative differences and pursued separate music careers.

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Joyce Melissa Morgan (usually spelled Meli'sa; born December 6, 1964) is an American R&B/Soul singer–songwriter. Morgan had a string of urban contemporary hits from the mid–1980s to the mid–1990s. Most notable include her cover version of Prince's "Do Me, Baby" (1985), "Do You Still Love Me" (1986) and "Still in Love with You" (1992). (Full article...)

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

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