Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within the Black American community in the 1940s.

Mar 2, 2025 · Rhythm and blues, term used for several types of postwar African-American popular music, as well as for some white rock music derived from it. Perhaps the most commonly understood meaning of the term is as a description of the sophisticated urban music that had been developing since the 1930s.

Rhythm and blues performers encompass hybrid jazz/blues combos, trios, and vocal harmony groups to blues shouters and gospel-inflected solo singers. Rhythm and Blues is a by-product of the World War II migration of southern Blacks to major urban centers in the North and on the East and West Coasts.

Historically speaking, though, "rhythm and blues" as we understand it today most often describes a style of music that developed after World War II that combines elements of pop, gospel, blues and jazz with a strong back beat.

Sep 20, 2016 · Rhythmically, R&B now encompasses a wide breadth from blues shuffles with a back beat to boogie-woogie, modified rumba rhythms, and syncopated variations of eight-beat rhythm patterns that are the hallmark of rock ’n’ roll, and more.

Jun 12, 2023 · R&B music is also known as rhythm and blues or, occasionally, R'n'B. R&B is a conglomerate of several early 20th-century Black American music art forms. R&B first evolved in post-World War II Black communities and contained elements …

First used by Billboard magazine in 1949, rhythm and blues was intended to describe blues and dance music produced by black musicians for black listeners, so that rhythm and blues — often abbreviated R&B — was more a marketing category than a well-defined musical style.

Blues is characterized by its soulful lyrics and melancholic melodies, often focusing on themes of heartbreak, struggle, and resilience. Rhythm and Blues, on the other hand, incorporates elements of jazz, gospel, and blues to create a more upbeat and danceable sound.

Aug 6, 2023 · What is rhythm and blues music? African-Americans created the musical genre of Rhythm and Blues, also known as R&B, in the 1940s, drawing inspiration from gospel, jazz, and traditional blues.

rhythm and blues (R&B), Any of several closely related musical styles developed by African American artists. The various styles were based on a mingling of European influences with jazz rhythms and tonal inflections, particularly syncopation and the flatted blues chords.