Portal:Rhythm and blues

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

Wikipedia's Rhythm and Blues Portal

Introduction

Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to African Americans, at a time when "rocking, jazz based music ... [with a] heavy, insistent beat" was becoming more popular. In the commercial rhythm and blues music typical of the 1950s through the 1970s, the bands usually consisted of a piano, one or two guitars, bass, drums, one or more saxophones, and sometimes background vocalists. R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American history and experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy, as well as triumphs and failures in terms of societal racism, oppression, relationships, economics, and aspirations.

The term "rhythm and blues" has undergone a number of shifts in meaning. In the early 1950s, it was frequently applied to blues records. Starting in the mid-1950s, after this style of music had contributed to the development of rock and roll, the term "R&B" became used in a wider context. It referred to music styles that developed from and incorporated electric blues, as well as gospel and soul music. From 1960s to 70s, some British groups were referred to and promoted as being R&B bands. By the 1970s, the term "rhythm and blues" had changed once again and was used as a blanket term for soul and funk. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

edit

Selected article

Sons of Soul is the third album by American R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, released on June 22, 1993, by Wing Records and Mercury Records. It follows the success of their 1990 album The Revival, which had extended their popularity beyond R&B audiences and into the mainstream.

The band originally held recording sessions for Sons of Soul at several studios in California, including Westlake Recording Studios in Hollywood and Paradise Recording Studio in Sacramento. When they became jaded with the various people frequenting those studios, Tony! Toni! Toné! moved their sessions to Caribbean Sound Basin in Trinidad, where they ultimately wrote and recorded most of the album. It was produced entirely by the group, who worked with various session musicians and utilized both vintage and contemporary recording equipment.

Sons of Soul was recorded as an homage to Tony! Toni! Toné!'s musical influences—classic soul artists of the 1960s and 1970s. Its music incorporated live instrumentation, funk, and hip hop elements such as samples and scratches. Lead singer and bassist Raphael Wiggins handled most of the songwriting, which was characterized by quirky, flirtatious lyrics and reverent ballads. (Full article...)

Read more...

More articles

edit

Topics

edit

Featured Articles

Featured articles: "Baby Boy" · "Déjà Vu" · "Halo" · "Irreplaceable" · Janet Jackson · Michael Jackson · Mariah Carey · Sly & the Family Stone · Sons of Soul · The Supremes · Thriller · The Way I See It

Good articles: Afrodisiac · "Burn" · "Caught Up" · Christina Milian · Confessions · "Forgive Me" · FutureSex/LoveSounds · "Get Me Bodied" · "Green Light" · House of Music ·I Want You · LeToya Luckett · Let's Get It On · "Lose My Breath" · Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite · Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music · "My Boo" · My World · "Naughty Girl" · Nina Simone · Off the Wall · "Ring the Alarm" · Soul Food Taqueria · There's a Riot Goin' On · "Untitled (How Does It Feel)"· Voodoo · "We Belong Together" · "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around" · Winter in America · "Yeah!"

edit

WikiProjects

WikiProject R&B and Soul Music

Parentage

WikiProject Music
- WikiProject Music/Music genres task force

Selected biography - show another

Cox during an interview in February 2020

Deborah Cox (born July 13, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before becoming a professional backing vocalist for Celine Dion. In 1994, Cox relocated to the United States and was signed to Arista Records by Clive Davis, releasing her self-titled debut album the following year. Her second studio album, One Wish (1998), was certified platinum in the United States. It was marked by the commercial success of the pop crossover single "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here", which would become her most successful entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number two and remaining there for eight consecutive weeks. Cox signed with J Records for her third studio album The Morning After (2002), which saw moderate commercial success.

Cox ventured into acting in the 2000s, making her film debut in the Canadian drama film Love Come Down (2000) and her stage debut in 2004, in the title role in the Broadway musical Aida. She has since appeared in smaller films and several musical productions, including the horror-drama Jekyll & Hyde, the biographical musical Josephine, the musical adaptation of The Bodyguard, and the 2023 revival of The Wiz. Cox's most recent studio albums, Destination Moon (2007) and The Promise (2008), have been released through her own independent record label, Deco Recording Group. In 2017, her single "Let the World Be Ours Tonight" became her 13th number-one hit on Billboard's Dance Club Songs over the span of three consecutive decades. In 2016, Billboard listed Cox at 23rd on its list of the Greatest of All Time Top Dance Club Artists. An eight-time Juno Award nominee, she has won four awards and is often cited as Canada's top R&B artist. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

More biographical articles

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various rhythm and blues-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Jam in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1982 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 2Usher was cited by Billboard as the no. 1 Hot 100 artist of the 2000s decade, with 7 number-one singles that accumulated 42 weeks at the top. (from Contemporary R&B)
Image 3The instruments of the skiffle group the Quarrymen, who would become the Beatles (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 4The Ramones in Toronto (1976) (from Doo-wop)
Image 5Janet Jackson's Control, released in 1986, was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 1980s. (from New jack swing)
Image 6Alternative R&B artist Frank Ocean performing at the Coachella Festival in 2012 (from Alternative R&B)
Image 7The original line up of the Kinks, 1965 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 8Muddy Waters, a major influence on the movement, pictured in 1971 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 9Beyoncé was named by Billboard the most successful female act of the 2000s. (from Contemporary R&B)
Image 10The Jimi Hendrix Experience performing on Dutch television in 1967 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 11Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac onstage in 1970 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 12Chris Barber, one of the major figures in the early popularisation of the blues in Britain, playing at the Musikhalle, Hamburg, 1972 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 13The Moonglows, 1956 (from Doo-wop)
Image 14Led Zeppelin performing at Chicago Stadium in January 1975
Image 15Lead Belly's recordings would be a major part of British R&B repertoires, although he never performed in the UK (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 16Alicia Keys ranked fifth on Billboard Artist of the Decade list. "No One" ranks No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs of the decade. (from Contemporary R&B)
Image 17The Animals in 1964 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 18Herman Santiago, original lead singer of the Teenagers (from Doo-wop)
Image 19Michael Jackson holds the record for the best-selling new jack swing album with his 1991 release, Dangerous. (from New jack swing)
Image 20Kathy Young with the Earth Angels performing Kathy's hit "A Thousand Stars" during the festival of this genre celebrated at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in May 2010 (from Doo-wop)
Image 21Alexis Korner in Hamburg in 1972 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 22John Lee Hooker, whose visit to England was the anticipated R&B event of 1964, shown in 1978 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 23Georgie Fame, leader of one of the most widely influenced R&B groups, in 1968 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 24Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings at Middelburg in 2009 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 25The Cleftones during their participation in the doo-wop festival celebrated in May 2010 at the Benedum Center. (from Doo-wop)