Rhythm and Blues

Umbrella Phrase:
Lawrence Cohn, who wrote the book, Nothing but the Blues, said that R & B is an umbrella phrase invented more for industry convenience than to define a specific musical genre.  Cohn says the term embraces all of black music with the possible exceptions of classical and some religious music (although some religious music does, in fact, qualify as R & B).

Those who have documented the history of R & B usually trace it back to the Greek-American music producer Johnny Otis.  Otis had with Savoy Records and produced many hits in the early 1950s--songs such as "Mistrustin' Blues," "Double Crossing Blues," and "Cupid's Boogie."  All three of those songs eventually hit number one. And in fact, Otis had 10 number one hits in 1951 alone.

50s and Fats Domino:
Perhaps the man who defined R & B in the 1950s more than any other man was Fats Domino.  This singer made the top-thirty on the pop charts in '52 and '53, and then broke into the top ten with his song, "Ain't That a Shame?"  Shortly afterward, Ray Charles burst onto the scene with 1955's "I Got a Woman."  What set this song apart was it used a style reminiscent of Gospel music, but using R & B content.

By this time, the R & B flood-gates were opened. And through them also came Chuck Berry.  After being persuaded by Chess Records' Leonard Chess, Berry fine-tuned his song "Ida Red" to have an R & B sound to it. He renamed it "Maybellene," and as a result, the song hit number three on the R & B charts and actually broke into pop scene's top-30 list.

And then came a small-time performer named Elvis Presley.  In 1957, both "Jailhouse Rock" and "All Shook Up" made the R & B top five, at number one and number five, respectively.  Presley was followed by Nat King Cole shortly after.

Ever since the '70s, R & B has described anything under the category of soul and funk music.  Today's new releases in the genre are usually tagged as "contemporary R & B," to distinguish it from the classical R & B style.  No matter how it evolves though, it maintains its popularity as a style that reaches people both physically and emotionally.