Portal:Rhythm and blues

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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 the African-American community 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. 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...)

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"Baby Boy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé featuring Jamaican deejay Sean Paul, from her debut solo studio album, Dangerously in Love (2003). It was also included on the reissue of Paul's second studio album, Dutty Rock (2002). Both Beyoncé and Paul co-wrote the song with Robert Waller, Jay-Z and Scott Storch, who produced it with Beyoncé. Containing a lyrical interpolation of "No Fear" by hip-hop group O.G.C., "Baby Boy" is a dancehall and R&B song with Caribbean and Asian influences; its lyrics detail a woman's fantasies.

The song was released as the second single from Dangerously in Love on August 3, 2003, by Columbia Records and Music World Entertainment. "Baby Boy" topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks and was Beyoncé's longest-running number-one single until 2007, when it was surpassed by "Irreplaceable". It reached the top-ten in many countries and was certified two-times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Baby Boy" also reached the top-ten in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The accompanying music video for "Baby Boy" was directed by Jake Nava and mostly shows Beyoncé dancing in various locations. The song has remained a staple of Beyoncé's concert setlists. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) recognized it as one of the most played songs of 2004. The next year, American singer-songwriter Jennifer Armour filed a copyright infringement lawsuit claiming that "Baby Boy" had used the primary musical hook from her song "Got a Little Bit of Love for You". The case was later dismissed. (Full article...)

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Boyz II Men performing in 2011

Boyz II Men (pronounced boys to men) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris alongside tenors Wanyá Morris (no relation) and Shawn Stockman since 2003. During the 1990s, Boyz II Men was a quartet with bass singer, Michael McCary, who left the group in 2003 due to health issues that were diagnosed as multiple sclerosis.

The group first saw commercial success in 1991 with the release of their singles "Motownphilly" and "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday," both of which peaked within the top five of the Billboard Hot 100. Their 1992 single, "End of the Road" peaked atop the chart and set a then-record for spending 13 weeks at the position. Boyz II Men later broke this record twice more with the singles "I'll Make Love to You" and "One Sweet Day" (with Mariah Carey) which, at 14 and 16 weeks respectively, set records for most weeks at number one. When "On Bended Knee" took the number one spot away from "I'll Make Love to You," Boyz II Men became the third musical act, after the Beatles and Elvis Presley, to replace themselves atop the Billboard Hot 100. These achievements gave Boyz II Men recognition as Billboard magazine's biggest boy band from 1987 to 2012. (Full article...)

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

Image 1Chris 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 2Alicia 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 3Lead 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 4The Animals in 1964 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 5Muddy Waters, a major influence on the movement, pictured in 1971 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 6The Cleftones during their participation in the doo-wop festival celebrated in May 2010 at the Benedum Center. (from Doo-wop)
Image 7Alexis Korner in Hamburg in 1972 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 8Kathy 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 9Led Zeppelin performing at Chicago Stadium in January 1975
Image 10The Ramones in Toronto (1976) (from Doo-wop)
Image 11The Jam in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1982 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 12Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings at Middelburg in 2009 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 13Alternative R&B artist Frank Ocean performing at the Coachella Festival in 2012 (from Alternative R&B)
Image 14Beyoncé was named by Billboard the most successful female act of the 2000s. (from Contemporary R&B)
Image 15The Jimi Hendrix Experience performing on Dutch television in 1967 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 16The instruments of the skiffle group the Quarrymen, who would become the Beatles (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 17Georgie Fame, leader of one of the most widely influenced R&B groups, in 1968 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 18Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac onstage in 1970 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 19Usher 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 20The Moonglows, 1956 (from Doo-wop)
Image 21Herman Santiago, original lead singer of the Teenagers (from Doo-wop)
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 23The original line up of the Kinks, 1965 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 24Janet Jackson's Control, released in 1986, was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 1980s. (from New jack swing)