In the 1960s, R&B music continued its relationship with blues and jazz while carving its own path. Trailblazing pioneers like Louis Jordan (jump blues saxophonist) and Amos Milburn (boogie-woogie pianist) laid down the groundwork for classic R&B. Piano trios with vocal harmonies in doo-wop styles became prevalent.
Urban African American communities with increasing economic resources created an increased need for social interaction through music and entertainment, spurring the birth of black-owned record labels like Sam Cooke’s Sar and Berry Gordy’s Motown.
Rhythm and blues
R&B music emerged between World War II and early 1960s in Africa by African Americans as an outgrowth of blues, jazz and swing genres converged to form R&B music. This genre captured African Americans’ experience regarding relationships, freedom, economics, aspirations and sexuality at this period. Lyrical themes often addressed these topics through R&B tunes like these.
At its inception, rhythm and blues was primarily targeted toward African American audiences. Famed producer Jerry Wexler is credited with coining this musical genre as a marketing device in the late 1940s; subsequent artists including Little Richard, Ray Charles, James Brown and others popularized its sound; it had an attractive sound which appealed particularly to urban African American youth audiences.
By the early 1960s, R&B music had expanded beyond African Americans to appeal to a wider white audience. Hits from this era such as Sam Cooke’s “Chain Gang” and Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” became favorites among white teenagers thanks to Motown and Stax records that emerged in Detroit and Memphis respectively; both owned by African American entrepreneurs with music that featured strong vocals, electric guitars and backbeat.
R&B in this era took inspiration from traditional blues and church music. Many artists of this era were deeply religious and integrated spiritual themes into their music; songs like Marv Johnson’s “You Got What It Takes,” with its catchy upbeat rhythm reflecting its flirtatious lyrics, are an example. Furthermore, its skilled backing band featuring famous drummer Benny Benjamin and bassist James Jamerson added depth and energy. All these factors combined resulted in creating soulful yet enjoyable R&B.
Soul
Soul music emerged during the 1950s and 1960s. Inspired by gospel and rhythm and blues music, its hallmark is deep emotions and spirituality – qualities which continue to define this genre today. Soul has had a lasting effect on many other forms of popular music like hip-hop, disco and smooth jazz.
Soul music’s roots lie in the changing demographics of urban African-American communities after World War II, when blacks migrated from rural Southern areas to North American cities with elements of traditional southern gospel music brought with them. New communities then created rhythm and blues music as an expression of their culture and experiences – this combination gave rise to soul music.
In the early 1950s, Herb Abramson’s Atlantic Records and Ahmet Ertegun’s Motown were influential independent record labels that produced R&B recordings with soul elements. At that time, Wilson Pickett, one of soul music’s premier singers, described it as “nothing but a feeling.” Additionally, female soul artists like Aretha Franklin and Percy Sledge contributed gospel-influenced voices that brought soul songs a female touch.
At Stax Records during this era, artists such as Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, and The Miracles created soul hits with more pop and dance influences. At the same time, Stax Records created its signature soul sound by placing vocals further back than contemporary R&B records, using vibrant horn parts, and emphasizing low frequencies in its soundscape. Their house band Booker T and the MG’s was at its core – comprised of Booker T Jones, Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn as founding members.
As well as Stax and Motown, numerous smaller label artists produced soul music. Philadelpia-based producer Lee Dorse was responsible for recording hits for Philadelphia-based labels Josie and Amy during the late 50s/early 60s; other soul artists like Garnet Mimms and Lou Rawls recorded at New York-based RCA Records as well as Los Angeles-based Reprise Records.
Funk
In the 1960s, funk music made its debut. Drawing inspiration from rhythm and blues, African American soul music, and jazz at that time, James Brown (the “Godfather of Soul”) has long been recognized for having helped establish or even creating this new form of R&B music known as funk. Characterized by a slower rhythm with prominent basslines and syncopation (emphasizing weak beats over stronger ones to create an upbeat groove that gets your body moving), funk has its roots in rhythm and blues music as it’s predecessors, while jazz had its beginnings in jazz music at that time as well.
Sly and the Family Stone was one of the pioneering bands that pioneered funk. Under their leadership, many early bands embraced James Brown’s African influences and rhythmic grunts while adding Gospel-contrived call and response, bluesy organ, rock and psychedelia-influenced guitar riffs and individualistic lyrics while remaining integrated during times when race relations still existed.
By the end of the decade, funk had evolved into an international music movement, taking hold across various R&B subgenres such as disco and rock. Funk was considered to be an earthier form of R&B than Southern R&B; furthermore, its impact was being felt among top chart artists such as Brook Benton and Dinah Washington.
Funk was also the first R&B genre dominated by younger black artists. Notably, this group included up-and-coming superstars of Motown like The Supremes and The Temptations as well as lesser known groups such as The Ohio Players, Jimmy Castor Bunch, Earth Wind & Fire etc. These young groups added a more rowdy edge to Funk music that promoted drug use as well as sexuality.
The 1960s also witnessed the establishment of black-owned record labels that would come to dominate the industry, such as Berry Gordy’s Motown and Sam Cooke’s Sar Records. These black-owned labels played an instrumental role in shaping music’s evolution and helped launch many talented musicians’ careers.
Disco
Disco music emerged out of dance club music of the late 1960s and was heavily influenced by artists like the Bee Gees, ABBA, Boney M and Earth Wind & Fire as well as DJs such as David Mancuso, Nicky Siano Shep Pettibone and Larry Levan who helped develop an extended mix on 12-inch records that allowed songs to run beyond three minutes in length.
DJs also played an instrumental role in popularizing disco through hosting parties at their homes and drawing large crowds to them. A key demographic that gravitated towards disco was gay men from clubs like The Sanctury. These new dance floor attendees helped give disco its unique sense of freedom while further spreading its popularity.
Many performers from minority groups found refuge in disco, such as African Americans, Latino Americans and women. Disco provided them with an outlet to express themselves without facing discrimination; giving them voice and power within the music industry.
Disco was also an era of sexual liberation, evidenced by women’s fashion trends of short skirts and heels paired with bright colors and patterns such as those popularly worn during Grace Jones, Gloria Gaynor, and Donna Summer songs. Additionally, disco was an experimentation time when it comes to lyrics of songs; these experiments could be found both lyrically as well as through experimentation in lyrics of songs by Grace Jones, Gloria Gaynor, and Donna Summer songs.
Although disco was one of the shortest-lived fads in popular culture, its legacy still endures today. It helped unify diverse groups previously excluded from mainstream artistic expression by encouraging them to enjoy each other instead of fearing each other – thus encouraging acceptance and unity that should be celebrated today – making dancing such an enjoyable pastime! No wonder so many of us love music enough to dance along!