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 an African-American 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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Sons of Soul is the third album by American R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, released on June 22, 1993, by Wing Records and Mercury Records. It follows the success of their 1990 album The Revival, which had extended their popularity beyond R&B audiences and into the mainstream.

The band originally held recording sessions for Sons of Soul at several studios in California, including Westlake Recording Studios in Hollywood and Paradise Recording Studio in Sacramento. When they became jaded with the various people frequenting those studios, Tony! Toni! Toné! moved their sessions to Caribbean Sound Basin in Trinidad, where they ultimately wrote and recorded most of the album. It was produced entirely by the group, who worked with various session musicians and utilized both vintage and contemporary recording equipment.

Sons of Soul was recorded as an homage to Tony! Toni! Toné!'s musical influences—classic soul artists of the 1960s and 1970s. Its music incorporated live instrumentation, funk, and hip hop elements such as samples and scratches. Lead singer and bassist Raphael Wiggins handled most of the songwriting, which was characterized by quirky, flirtatious lyrics and reverent ballads. (Full article...)

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Ocean performing at the State Theatre in Sydney, Australia, 2012

Leslie Sebastian Charles MBE (born 21 January 1950), known professionally as Billy Ocean, is a Trinidadian-born British singer and songwriter. Between 1976 and 1988, he had a series of hit songs in the UK and internationally.

After releasing several recordings under other stage names, he achieved breakthrough success with the 1976 single "Love Really Hurts Without You". It was the second single released under the stage name Billy Ocean and peaked at no. 2 in the UK and no. 3 in Australia. Later that year, he achieved two additional top 20 singles in the UK. In 1977, his single "Red Light Spells Danger" also peaked at no. 2. After a period of limited chart success, he released the single "Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)" in 1984. In the UK, the song peaked at no. 6. In the U.S., it entered the Billboard Hot 100 at no. 85 but peaked at no. 1 10 weeks later. Ocean won the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for the song. It also charted in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and across Europe under three different titles. Across the next three years, Ocean accumulated a series of international hit singles. Released in 1985, "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" peaked at no. 1 in the UK and no. 2 in the U.S. the following year. In the same year, he achieved an American no. 1 with the single "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)". In 1988, his single "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" reached no. 1 in the U.S. and no. 3 in the UK. (Full article...)

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

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