Search results
May 24, 2023 · Rhythm and blues, commonly known as R&B, is a musical genre developed by Black Americans in the 1940s that’s been continuously refined through the present day. R&B derived from gospel, jazz, folk, and traditional blues music and emerged in tandem with rock ‘n’ roll. R&B notably diverged from rock music in later decades.
Jan 30, 2024 · R&B originated in the early 1940s among Black Americans. In previous decades, many Black Americans left the southern United States as part of the Great Migration for cities such as Chicago, Detroit, New York City, and Los Angeles. This migration created new creators and audiences for jazz and blues. This new sound emerged as a style of boogie ...
- Musicnotes
People also ask
What was R&B like in the 1980s?
Why is R&B a popular genre?
What is rhythm & blues (R&B)?
How did disco influence R&B music?
- New Edition
- The Gap Band
- Debarge
- Cameo
- Atlantic Starr
- Mary Jane Girls
- The Time
- Full Force/Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis/Babyface
- Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
- Kool & The Gang
When, in 1978, it set out to be a modern version of The Jackson 5, New Edition couldn’t have known the indelible mark it would leave on pop culture. The boy band from Boston with the bubblegum beats burst onto the scene with their 1983 single “Candy Girl,” and hits like “Count Me Out” and “Mr. Telephone Man” soon followed. The groups’s influence wa...
If Earth, Wind & Fire formed a biker band, the result would be The Gap Band. In the early 80s, the group produced a string of hits with merciless beats like “You Dropped a Bomb on Me,” “Outstanding” and “Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)”. The leather cowboys’ backslap-hard funk impressed artists from Robert Palmer, who covered “Early in the Morn...
In 1980, an all-in-the-family group from Detroit caught the ear of Berry Gordy. Following the floundering release of The DeBarges in 1981, the group added more family members and lost a few letters in its name. It struck gold the second time around with All This Love (1982) producing the hits “I Like It” and “All This Love”. Led by singer El’s slee...
Cameo was one of the most eclectic R&B groups of the 80s. Its’ fundamental funk sound included elements of disco, pop and jazz. The video for “Shake Your Pants”(1980)–a celebration of outlandish outfits, serpentine dance moves, and a horn section that doubles as a choir–gives an idea of its phenomenal musicianship. By the time its’ first number-one...
Atlantic Starr’s band member roster reads like a frenzied game of musical chairs (it went through three lead female singersin the 80s alone). Yet, amidst all this chaos, it maintained a consistent vibe, delighting audiences with its polished harmonies, cloying lyrics and hygienic soul arrangements with just a touch of funk. The group won the hearts...
In the world of the Prince/Rick James rivalry, the question of “Who had the idea to create a girl group first?” still provides for lively debate. However, in addition to spawning more hits than Prince’s Vanity 6, the Mary Jane Girls were an innovative template for group composition. James’s vision to cast singers as characters (a ruffian, a model, ...
The litany of disputes between mad scientist Prince and his Frankenstein outfit The Time reads like a list of charges incurred by an extra on an episode of “Night Court”. The drama was surpassed only by the brilliance of its output. Driven by irresistible synth-funk beats and bass lines, and led by singer Morris Day’s colossal personality, the band...
I would be remiss in not mentioning the groups behind some of the biggest triumphs of the decade. New York’s Full Force is widely believed to have created new jack swing with its 1985 single “Alice, I Want You Just for Me!” The group also wrote and produced for artists like Samantha Fox, James Brown and Patti Labelle. Following their departure from...
A product of the Full Force hit factory, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam was one of the few R&B groups–that wasn’t a girl group–led by a woman. Singer Lisa Velez’s ability to shape shift from ingénue to vocal vixen lent an intriguing personality to the singular syncopation of the rhythm. The debut single from its’ 1985 self-titled album, “I Wonder If I Take Y...
Jersey City’s Kool & The Gang formed in 1964 as an instrumental funk jazz venture. The group first saw success in 1973 with the singles “Jungle Boogie” and “Hollywood Swinging” but its subsequent attempt to dabble in disco left fans and critics cold. It would take another four years, the addition of a lead singer, and the help of Brazilian producer...
Seamlessly bringing R&B and Soul together, Motown artists like The Supremes, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye dominated the charts. Their music became wildly popular and helped bring black music and R&B into the mainstream. Motown was known for its slick, rich production and catchy hooks, and its influence can still be heard in ...
May 15, 2024 · Here are the greatest '80s R&B songs, ranked by fans everywhere. The 1980s were a transformative decade for R&B. The genre of rhythm and blues used to be its own genre, but in the '80s, it began to incorporate elements of hip hop into the music. The genre gradually became more homogenized, and a...
R&B, short for "rhythm and blues," was born in African American communities in the 1940s. R&B's stylistic origins include jazz, blues, spirituals, gospel, boogie-woogie, jump blues, and swing. In 2017, rap and R&B became the biggest music genre in the U.S., in terms of total consumption, surpassing rock for the first time ever.
Jul 25, 2021 · The Ultimate Guide to R&B. Discover how the masters write, produce, and mix one of the most diverse genres in the contemporary music industry. JULY 25TH, 2021. Read this article and you will understand what makes R&B so special and differs this genre from others: The genre originated in the 1940s, though its meaning and influences have changed ...
