Rhythm and Blues

I

Introduction

Rhythm and Blues, variety of different, but related, types of popular music produced and supported primarily by black Americans, beginning in the early 1940s (see African-American Music). Rhythm-and-blues music, also known simply as rhythm and blues, or R&B, embraces such genres as jump blues, club blues, black rock and roll, doo-wop, soul, Motown, funk, disco, and rap. First coined in 1949 by Jerry Wexler, who later became prominent with Atlantic Records, the term “rhythm and blues” was used as a synonym for black rock and roll (rock-and-roll music of black musicians) in the early and mid-1950s. Until white rock-and-roll performers such as Bill Haley and Elvis Presley achieved mass popularity in the mid-1950s, what was commonly referred to as rock and roll by white disc jockeys and fans was referred to as the latest style of R&B by black disc jockeys and fans.

As a tradition, R&B has provided the single greatest influence on popular music worldwide for much of the 20th century. This influence can be traced in forms of rock music, country and western, gospel music, and jazz as well as in a variety of non-Western forms of music (commonly grouped together as World Music), including Nigerian juju, a style of popular dance music, and Algerian rai, another popular style distinguished by its rebellious lyrics. As the influence of various styles of R&B has grown, black urban values have also permeated a wide variety of other cultures, most notably that of contemporary Euro-American youth. Although outside the United States the different genres of R&B are usually regarded as being part of the overarching mainstream of rock music, considering them as a separate tradition does serve to clarify the history of musical developments in contemporary popular music.

II

Common Musical Elements

Despite vast differences between genres, encompassing such different styles as rap and jump blues, there are common musical and social elements that link the many styles of R&B. Musical rhythm is the most important distinguishing characteristic of R&B music and its sub-styles. While all genres of R&B typically depend upon a four-beat metre and employ a backbeat (accenting each bar on beats two and four, which are usually unaccented), the specific approach to the expression of musical time (the so-called groove—the characteristic rhythms employed within the basic metre) is one of the primary means of differentiating one genre from another, and even one player or band from another.

Timbre (the tone-quality of a sound) is another important distinguishing characteristic of R&B. Most styles of R&B rely extensively on timbre variation over the course of a performance to achieve interest. R&B singers and instrumentalists often alternate between gentle, smooth timbres and harsh, raspy ones, giving the music a wide range of emotional expression.

In addition to rhythm and timbre, other common elements of R&B music include the use of: (1) the twelve-bar form, using a three-line lyric, originating in earlier styles of blues; (2) call and response, whereby a singer or instrumentalist will sing or play a phrase and another vocalist or instrumentalist will answer with another phrase; (3) incessant repetition of musical notes, rhythms, phrases, or verses; (4) the use of blue notes (notes that bridge the musical relationship between the minor and major modes); and (5) a tightly integrated and complex blending of instruments, in which it is often difficult to differentiate the separate sounds or instruments being played at a given moment.

Finally, with the exception of rap, most R&B performances share a common instrumentation, with the performing ensemble divided into a rhythm section and a horn section. Typically, the rhythm section consists of a drum kit, bass (electric or acoustic), piano (sometimes organ instead of or in addition to piano), and guitar, while the horn section features saxophones, trumpets, and occasionally trombones (though confusingly almost never, despite its name, horns). The emphasis on the horn section in most styles of R&B has been one of the ways in which the music has historically been differentiated from white rock music, which has tended to be guitar-dominated.

III

History

A

Origins

Rhythm and blues originated from the sociological, industrial, and technological changes that took place in the United States just before and during World War II. Foremost among these changes was a widespread population shift. Attracted by relatively high-paying wartime employment, hundreds of thousands of black Americans migrated from the rural South to Midwestern, north-eastern, and West Coast cities. In popular music, new styles were created to meet the changing tastes of this demographic group, leading to the development of the urban sounds of R&B. Big band jazz figures such as Count Basie and Lionel Hampton successfully brought more vibrant rhythms into their repertoires, prompting a more energetic style of audience participation.

The profound sociological changes of the war period were accompanied by two significant technological developments: the invention of the electric guitar in the late 1930s and the discovery of the German-invented tape recorder by the music industry at the end of the war. With the new, relatively affordable technology of magnetic tape, which simplified the sound recording process, enterprising individuals were able to start independent record companies. Since the major record companies in the United States, with the exception of Decca Records, had little interest in R&B, newly formed independent companies, such as Atlantic, Chess, Specialty, and Modern, were crucial for the production and distribution of R&B recordings.

Another important industrial change resulted from the rise of television broadcasting in the United States in the late 1940s. Radio-station owners who thought that television would soon make radio obsolete sold their stations at bargain prices. New radio-station owners, seeking a niche in the marketplace, often turned to newly urbanized American blacks. Beginning with the Memphis radio station WDIA in 1948, these emergent black-oriented radio stations allowed the new independent record companies to air the sounds of R&B to a black urban audience.

B

Early R&B Styles

Although the sounds of early black urban music were being heard throughout the United States, the recording of R&B began on the two coasts. Former big-band jazz musician Louis Jordan formed a small ensemble in 1938, which he eventually named the Tympany Five. Signed to Decca Records (based in New York), Jordan recorded primarily in the up-tempo, horn-driven style known as jump blues. His compositions tended to be based on traditional 12-bar blues and featured appealing riffs (repeated phrases commonly played by the horn section), simplified rhythmic solos, and humorous lyrics. Many of Jordan’s biggest hits, including “G.I. Jive” (1944), “Caldonia” (1945), and “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie” (1946), were exceedingly popular with both black and white audiences. The jump-blues style he originated rapidly spread among black musicians, with distinctive regional variants emerging in cities such as New Orleans and Memphis. Jordan influenced many R&B artists in the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s, including James Brown, B. B. King, and Chuck Berry.

At the same time, a number of pianists, including Nat King Cole and Charles Brown, pioneered a much quieter, subdued style known as club blues. These artists were often called “sepia Sinatras” (after Frank Sinatra), a moniker that reflected the crooning vocal style that characterized this genre. By playing ballads with a highly rhythmic piano style, Cole, like Jordan, was able to sell his music to both black and white audiences.

Two other styles of R&B were popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s: an instrumental strain largely modelled on jump blues and featuring a coarse, honking tenor saxophone sound; and the vocal-group genre. The most important musicians who promoted the instrumental style were the tenor saxophonist Big Jay McNeely, the alto and baritone saxophonist Paul Williams, and the tenor saxophonist Joe Houston. The guitarist T-Bone Walker was another influential player, pioneering an electric, blues-based style. The most important vocal groups of the time included the Ink Spots, the Mills Brothers, and the Ravens.