Portal:Rhythm and blues

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Wikipedia's Rhythm and Blues Portal

Introduction

Ruth Brown was known as the "Queen of R&B".^[1]

Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African-American communities 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. From 1960s to 70s, some British groups were referred to and promoted as being R&B bands. 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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"My Boo" is a duet between Usher and Alicia Keys, written by Jermaine Dupri, Keys, Usher, Manuel Seal and Adonis Shropshire. Set over a hip hop-style track, the song was produced by Dupri. It was included in the re-release of Usher's fourth album Confessions. The song received mixed reviews from critics, and garnered awards.

The song was released as the fourth single from the album in 2004. The single stayed on the top of Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks, but failed to equal the success of the album's first two releases, "Yeah!" and "Burn".

Usher and American R&B-soul singer Alicia Keys had previously collaborated with the remix of Keys' 2004 single "If I Ain't Got You", which was released in the United Kingdom. During the production of Usher's fourth studio album, Confessions, they thought for various female singers to pair him with the song. However, Jermaine Dupri, who co-wrote the song including Usher's number-one hits "Yeah!", "Burn" and "Confessions Part II", felt that he had established good relationship with Keys since she had worked with him and Usher.

Dupri based the concept of the song from the perspective of Keys and Usher had relationship in the past.For him, Usher and Keys "talk about how they used to be in love and how those feelings are still lingering despite the two not being involved anymore."^[2] For Keys, "The song is talking about the first person you ever really had feelings for. I think we all know what that feels like. Even though you move on and meet new people, you always remember that first person."

"My Boo" is an R&B-hip hop song with a mid-tempo melody. It is composed in the key of F major, in common time. The lyrics are constructed in verse-chorus-chorus form. Usher starts the intro, and Keys followed her rap-intro, with background vocals from Usher. He proceeds to the first verse and chorus, leading to Keys singing another chorus, altering some of the lyrics of the original chorus to create a dialogue. Keys sings the second verse and Usher for the chorus, with background vocals from Keys. Keys repeats her version for the chorus. The song breaks with Usher and Keys singing "My oh, My oh, My oh, My oh, My Boo", one after the other. Usher repeats the chorus again, and they sing the intro of Keys.

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Warwick in 2021

Marie Dionne Warwick (/diˈɒn ˈwɔːrwɪk/ dee-ON WOR-wik; born Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host.

Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on Billboard's Hot 100 pop singles chart. She is the second-most charted female vocalist during the rock era (1955–1999). She is also one of the most-charted vocalists of all time, with 56 of her singles making the Hot 100 between 1962 and 1998 (12 of them Top Ten), and 80 singles in total – either solo or collaboratively – making the Hot 100, R&B, or adult contemporary charts. Warwick ranks number 74 on the Billboard Hot 100's "Greatest Artists of all time". (Full article...)

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

Image 1John Lee Hooker, whose visit to England was the anticipated R&B event of 1964, shown in 1978 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 2The Animals in 1964 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 3The Jimi Hendrix Experience performing on Dutch television in 1967 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 4Led Zeppelin performing at Chicago Stadium in January 1975
Image 5Michael Jackson holds the record for the best-selling new jack swing album with his 1991 release, Dangerous. (from New jack swing)
Image 6Alicia 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 7Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac onstage in 1970 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 8The original line up of the Kinks, 1965 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 9Chris 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 10Herman Santiago, original lead singer of the Teenagers (from Doo-wop)
Image 11The Cleftones during their participation in the doo-wop festival celebrated in May 2010 at the Benedum Center. (from Doo-wop)
Image 12Alexis Korner in Hamburg in 1972 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 13The Jam in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1982 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 14Lead 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 15Janet Jackson's Control, released in 1986, was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 1980s. (from New jack swing)
Image 16Alternative R&B artist Frank Ocean performing at the Coachella Festival in 2012 (from Alternative R&B)
Image 17Kathy 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 18Georgie Fame, leader of one of the most widely influenced R&B groups, in 1968 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 19Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings at Middelburg in 2009 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 20Beyoncé was named by Billboard the most successful female act of the 2000s. (from Contemporary R&B)
Image 21Muddy Waters, a major influence on the movement, pictured in 1971 (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 22The Moonglows, 1956 (from Doo-wop)
Image 23The instruments of the skiffle group the Quarrymen, who would become the Beatles (from British rhythm and blues)
Image 24The Ramones in Toronto (1976) (from Doo-wop)
Image 25Usher 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)