R&B music reached its commercial peak during the ’90s, when artists such as Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and Luther Vandross dominated chart positions. By mixing electronic production with hip-hop and funk elements to form new styles like Neo Soul music was born.
Classic R&B was birthed from jazz, gospel music and blues – its unique sound captivating listeners with soulful melodies and stunning vocal performances.
The Great Migration
R&B music’s development can be traced to several historical processes, including the Great Migration and civil rights movements. Beginning in 1916 and continuing through 1930, African Americans relocated from rural and Southern areas to urban centers in response to declining cotton agriculture and increasing factory worker demands in northern cities – driving urban African American communities that later inspired R&B music.
Early R&B from the 1920s and 30s was heavily influenced by jazz and blues music, featuring artists like jump blues pianist Louis Jordan, boogie-woogie pianist Amos Milburn, gospel groups, and organist Amos Milburn as foundational artists in R&B. However, its early roots remained closely intertwined with jazz and blues until 1950 when pioneers like Ray Charles and Ruth Brown began carving out its own identity by adding gospel group influences along with electric guitar.
By the 1970s, soul music had become the soundtrack for civil rights activism and ethnic awareness campaigns; artists like Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, and Bill Withers spearheading social change through soulful performances like Aretha’s or Otis Redding’s soulful performances promoted social change through soul music performances. After World War II it quickly gained in popularity as younger listeners took notice of its infectious rhythms and emotive melodies.
In the 1980s and 90s, R&B experienced another major expansion, led by artists such as New Edition, Keith Sweat, Boddy Brown and Heavy D who propelled R&B forward to new heights. Neo-soul became popular during this era combining R&B with soulful pop and hip-hop styles; today artists such as H.E.R, Snoh Aalegra and GIVEON continue this tradition by mixing contemporary R&B with various genres for dynamic musical fusions.
Contemporary R&B artists continue to push boundaries and influence other genres, such as rock and hip-hop. Female vocal harmony groups such as VanJess and The Shindellas have proven how R&B can evolve while remaining true to its roots; many artists have also added elements of rap into their R&B songs, creating innovative tracks that showcase its diversity and ability to speak to a broader audience.
Jazz
Origins of R&B can be traced back to the Great Migration, an extensive migration of African Americans from rural Southern areas to urban centers during World War II. This movement had an enormous influence on African American culture – including music. R&B emerged during this era as a genre that combined elements from jazz, gospel, and blues; its soulful melodies and infectious rhythms have captured audiences for decades; its music remains deeply rooted in African-American history and culture, but has inspired other genres as well.
One of the defining styles of early R&B was jump blues, ushered in by musicians such as Fats Domino and Clarence Carter. Characterized by syncopated beats, shuffle rhythms, and bluesy guitar leads; jazz elements including chord progressions for bluesy piano chords were often added; its lyrics often depicted African American experiences of pain, desire for freedom, joy aspirations or triumph/failure relationships, economics or aspirations goals.
Motown Records of Detroit was an influential record label that pioneered R&B in the 1960s. Started by songwriter/producer Berry Gordy and home to legendary performers like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and more; many hits by Motown were written by Holland-Dozier-Holland which produced some of R&B’s most timeless and memorable tunes ever heard on Motown records.
As African-Americans moved from rural areas into cities, R&B enjoyed increasing popularity during this era. Funk and disco genres began developing during this period when R&B artists experimented with more Afrocentric rhythms and expanded instrumentation which eventually resulted in these new musical genres.
Today’s R&B continues to evolve and adapt with technology’s advancement, taking full advantage of digital music projects to craft innovative and groundbreaking projects. Artists such as H.E.R, Snoh Aalegra and GIVEON are pushing the boundaries of what can be considered R&B by mixing genres such as rap, soul, Afrobeat hip hop rock jazz together into their unique sounds; refusing to be limited within any particular category and inspiring future generations of R&B musicians.
Gospel
Rhythm and blues music originated among African Americans but had widespread cultural impact across race lines. Its cross-cultural popularity reflected social and cultural changes occurring post World War II America while amplifying messages about civil rights activism and ethnic consciousness among young people.
R&B music’s roots in gospel provide it with its spiritual foundation for its soulful melodies and powerful vocal performances, while blues added its raw emotions and expressive style for depth and authenticity in the genre.
The Great Migration brought African Americans from rural communities into urban settings, where they combined cultural influences with popular music of their day – which soon included elements from jazz, blues, as well as more traditional church songs. Over time, their music developed to include elements from both styles.
As such, early R&B artists were multi-genre performers, crossing over from gospel into R&B and vice versa. A prime example was Sam Cooke who recorded gospel songs at Apollo in New York and later used them as R&B records at Motown Records in Detroit. For instance, The Five Royales hit record “Let’s Talk About Jesus” retained many gospel elements such as its lyrics proclaiming that Jesus walked with them; “Let’s Talk About Jesus” even achieved hit status while keeping its gospel elements such as lyrics such as “Jesus Walks With Me”.
At the tail-end of the 1950s, rock and soul music increasingly shared more in common with r&b than blues or jazz music. Singers such as Etta James, Sam Cooke and Sister Rosetta Tharpe helped demonstrate this trend through their commercially successful recordings. Additionally, Detroit-based soul label Motown fused southern blues with propulsive rhythm sections and glamorous singers, while Memphis’ Stax Records combined blues with gospel crooning.
R&B laid the groundwork for the creation of funk music, an emerging genre combining jazz and African rhythms with gospel influences. Artists such as Sly & the Family Stone and James Brown used these elements in their music for an inimitable blend that combined funky elements with soulful ones to produce something truly original and soulful. Recently rap and hip hop has started adopting gospel influences too; Kanye West and Jay Z both employ gospel samples in their tracks.
Blues
Blues was an essential ingredient in the development of R&B music, providing its lively rhythms with its combination of improvisation and syncopated meter. Gospel’s soulful melodies brought an air of spirituality and passion while its raw emotion and expressive style gave r&b its authenticity and depth. Furthermore, blues served as an entryway into other genres like rock n roll.
In the 1940s, producer Jerry Wexler came up with the term “rhythm and blues” as a way of marketing his artists’ records and concerts. The name referred to music that utilized four-beat measures or bars with rhythmic components; lyrics typically addressed social issues that affected African Americans while blues was its mood or emotion.
In its initial decade of classic Rhythm and Blues music, lyrics captured African American experiences of pain, longing for freedom and trials of love. Blues music typically featured piano, one or more guitars and basses, drums and one or more saxophones; often, its lyrics would express themselves honestly without embellishment or false promises of poetic imagery.
Jazz and gospel also had an enormous effect on Rhythm and Blues, contributing to its upbeat and energetic sound. Jazz provided its trademark scat singing and rhythmic elements while gospel’s rich melodies added soulful quality. Blues was also influential on rock and roll which developed its electric sound from its roots.
In the 1960s, Rhythm and Blues started evolving into contemporary R&B. Artists like Aretha Franklin from Motown as well as artists such as Marvin Gaye and The Supremes helped elevate its sophistication while adding socially conscious lyrics that made its impactful sounds all the more relevant for mainstream listeners. Additionally, contemporary R&B incorporated elements such as funk, disco, hip-hop to create its own distinct sound.
Neo-Soul was a distinctive form of rhythm and blues music popular during the 1990s. This genre combined elements from traditional blues, R&B, soul music, jazz and other genres into a smoother sound targeted toward dance clubs and urban radio, popularised by artists like Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey who included vocal virtuosity into this style. Neo-Soul continued its development into 2000s with artists like Usher, LL Cool J and Toni Braxton creating modern R&B that incorporates multiple genres and styles into one genre-dominated genre-influenced sound.