R&B-Blues
tagStarted late 1940sPeak 1950–1961Last big hit early 1960s
R&B-Blues is blues pushed into postwar urban rhythm-and-blues form: punchier drums, stronger backbeat, horns or piano-led combos, more crossover-friendly hooks, and vocals that can move from shouters to crooners without leaving blues feeling behind. It is the hinge where juke-joint intensity meets jukebox ambition.
History
As postwar Black popular music urbanized, many artists built records that still rode blues structures but clearly belonged to the new rhythm-and-blues marketplace. Singers like Ruth Brown, Charles Brown, Little Willie John, Big Mama Thornton, Bobby Bland, and Ray Charles helped define the style’s range from ballad to stomper.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Britannica on rhythm and blues and key soul-blues figures
- NMAAHC on R&B and soul’s gospel-blues roots
- Blues Foundation definitions and soul-blues categories