Evolution of R&B

R&B Music
Guide: The
Evolution of
Rhythm and
Blues

ART.M.III.6.1
ART.M.III.6.2
ART.M.III.7.2

Objective

• Be able to Analyze elements of music used in music of increasingly

diverse genres and styles.

• Identify and describe specific musical elements and events in a given

aural example, using appropriate terminology.

• Identify elements of music used in music of diverse genres and styles.

• For decades, the Billboard

Hot 100 and Top 40 charts
have been populated with
rhythm and blues, an
American musical genre
first developed by Black
artists in the mid-twentieth
century.

What Is R&B
Music?

•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.

•Contemporary R&B is often driven by
keyboards, synthesizers, strong bass
lines, and looped drum beats. In this
sense, it has more in common with hip
hop than rock music. Contemporary R&B
songs regularly top charts, making R&B
one of the most commercially successful
genres in the modern music industry.

How many of these songs do you know?

A Brief History of
R&B Music

• In the 1940s, R&B music exploded in urban

centers like New York, Chicago, Detroit,
Philadelphia, and Los Angeles—all of which had
seen increased Black American presence due to
the Great Migration.

• The Great Migration was the relocation of more

than 6 million Black Americans from the rural
South to the cities of the North, Midwest and
West from about 1916 to 1970

Great migration

• The Great Migration was one of the largest movements

of people in United States history. Approximately six
million Black people moved from the American South
to Northern, Midwestern, and Western states roughly
from the 1910s until the 1970s.

Roots in southern church music

• Many musicians steeped in blues and Black American church

music brought new songs from the south, and eventually
secured recording contracts in northern cities. Their music
emphasized electric guitars, double bass, piano, and drum sets.

R&B meets rock ‘n’
roll:

• The genre’s early stars were

simultaneously categorized as R&B
and rock ‘n' roll. These included James
Brown, Fats Domino, and Little Richard.

Hardest working
man in show
business

R&B deviated from
rock in the 1960s

• In Detroit, soul label Motown Records

produced a commercially polished sound
centered around glamorous singers and
propulsive rhythm sections. In Memphis,
Stax Records merged southern blues with
soulful singing from the likes of Otis
Redding and Carla Thomas.

MARVIN

Gaye

Motown

Otis Redding Stax

R&B evolved
further in the
’70s:

• R&B musicians began

experimenting with
syncopated rhythms and more
Afrocentric lyrical content in
the 1970s. Artists such as
Isaac Hayes and the
Reverend Al Green mixed
church music, African
rhythms, and expanded
instrumentation into R&B,
leading to the development
of funk and disco.

Smooth R&B

• R&B music pushed away from guitars and

toward a smooth sound geared toward
dance clubs and urban radio. R&B
vocalists like Toni Braxton, Mariah Carey,
Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Boyz II
Men, TLC, Usher and Lauryn Hill racked
up hits and Grammys by emphasizing
melismatic, soulful singing and catchy
melodies. Beyoncé, Drake, and Mary J.
Blige have pushed the rhythmic
boundaries of R&B by collaborating with
rappers and electronic producers.

Brief intermission

3 Characteristics of
Classic R&B

•Strong overlap with rock music: Many of the best
R&B acts of this early era were co-categorized as
rock ‘n' roll. These predominantly Black artists in turn
inspired many white rock bands, including the Beatles
and the Rolling Stones.

•Guitar-based instrumentation: The electric guitar
was the central instrument in early R&B. It was
backed by drums, a double bass (later an electric
bass guitar), and piano. Melodies were performed by
lead vocalists or the occasional saxophone.
Inspiration from blues and church music: Many
early R&B artists were steeped in blues and gospel
traditions. Some R&B albums from this era contain
openly Christian themes, while others reworked blues
standards for contemporary audiences.

Beyoncé played Etta James in Cadillac records

Little Richard

Aretha
Franklin

3 Characteristics of
Contemporary R&B

•1. Keyboard-based instrumentation: While early R&B was
driven by guitars, most contemporary R&B is based around
keyboards, synthesizers, and drum machines. Some R&B
singers, like Alicia Keys, favor acoustic piano, but many others
embrace electronic keyboards and software loops.

•2. Incorporation of hip hop: In recent years, the line between
hip hop and R&B has blurred. Bryson Tiller's debut
album Trapsoul and Drake's debut Thank Me Later feature
equal parts singing and rapping. The trend dates back to the
1980s, when producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle
introduced the "new jack swing" style of production.

•3. Smooth, melismatic vocals: R&B singers like Luther
Vandross, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey made vocal
virtuosity an integral part of the genre upheld by artists like
Jazmine Sullivan, Alicia Keys, and Erykah Badu.

Jimmy jam and
Terry Lewis are
famous R&B
producers

Luther!!!

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