Rhythm and blues
African American popular music of the 1940s and 50s combining blues, jazz and gospel.
What it means
Rhythm and blues (R&B) is the African American popular music of the 1940s and 1950s that combines elements of blues, jazz and gospel. Its hallmarks are a strong rhythm, often in shuffle time, a pronounced backbeat, saxophone, piano, electric guitar and expressive singing. The term was coined in 1949 by the journalist Jerry Wexler for Billboard magazine and replaced the derogatory label "race records".
Musical use
Famous artists include Ray Charles, Ruth Brown and Fats Domino. R&B was a root of rock 'n' roll, which it helped to bring forth in the mid-1950s, and later of soul. In the 1960s British bands such as the Rolling Stones took up R&B, and since the 1990s the term has also denoted a modern form of soul-pop.
Rhythm and blues should be distinguished from the blues, which is slower and more song-like, from jazz, which relies more on improvisation, and from rock 'n' roll, which emerged from it later.
Performance practice
When you play R&B, put weight on the rhythm: the backbeat on two and four carries the music. Keep the groove relaxed but secure and give soloists room for expression.