Rhythm and Blues

Rhythm and blues (abbr. R&B or RnB) a term originally used in the 1940's by record companies to categorize recordings targeted for urban African Americans. These works incorporated rocking, jazz based music with a heavy pounding beat, expressing African-American experiences of pain in the struggle for freedom and joy.

A typical commercial rhythm and blues music lineup from the 1950s through the 1970s usually consisted of piano, one or two guitars, bass, drums, saxophone, and sometimes background vocalists. R&B lyrics focused heavily on the themes of freedom, poverty, aspirations, and sex.

In the 1970s, RnB was used as a catchall term for soul and funk. In the 80s, a newer styles of R&B emerged. Termed "Contemporary R&B", it combined elements of rhythm and blues, soul, funk, pop, hip hop and dance. Contemporary R&B vocalists include Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.