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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Fischer in 2023

Lisa Melonie Fischer (born December 1, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She found success with her 1991 debut album So Intense, which produced the Grammy Award–winning hit single "How Can I Ease the Pain". She has been a back-up singer for a number of artists, including Sting, Luther Vandross, and Tina Turner, and she toured with The Rolling Stones from 1989 to 2015. (Full article...)

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

Image 1The instruments of the skiffle group the Quarrymen, who would become the Beatles (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 2The Jimi Hendrix Experience performing on Dutch television in 1967 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 3Janet Jackson's Control, released in 1986, was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 1980s. (from New jack swing)
Image 4The Jam in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1982 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 5Herman Santiago, original lead singer of the Teenagers (from Doo-wop)
Image 6Lead 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 7Led Zeppelin performing at Chicago Stadium in January 1975
Image 8John Lee Hooker, whose visit to England was the anticipated R&B event of 1964, shown in 1978 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 9Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings at Middelburg in 2009 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 10The original line up of the Kinks, 1965 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 11Alicia 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 12Alternative R&B artist Frank Ocean performing at the Coachella Festival in 2012 (from Alternative R&B)
Image 13Beyoncé was named by Billboard the most successful female act of the 2000s. (from Contemporary R&B)
Image 14Georgie Fame, leader of one of the most widely influenced R&B groups, in 1968 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 15Alexis Korner in Hamburg in 1972 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 16Kathy 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 17Usher 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 18Muddy Waters, a major influence on the movement, pictured in 1971 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 19The Moonglows, 1956 (from Doo-wop)
Image 20The Animals in 1964 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 21The Ramones in Toronto (1976) (from Doo-wop)
Image 22Chris 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 23The Cleftones during their participation in the doo-wop festival celebrated in May 2010 at the Benedum Center. (from Doo-wop)
Image 24Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac onstage in 1970 (from British rhythm and blues)