Research (Generic)- History of R&B/Soul

The History of R&B/Soul

Rhythm and blues (also known as R&B or RnB) is a music genre combining jazz, gospel, and blues influences, first performed by African American artists. The term 'rhythm and blues' entered the American vernacular in 1949, but was first used by Jerry Wexler in 1947 when editing the charts in Billboard Magazine. Lawrence Cohn, author of Nothing but the Blues, writes that rhythm and blues was an umbrella term invented for industry convenience. According to him, the term embraced all black music except classical music and religious music, unless a gospel song sold enough to break into the charts.

Soul music is a music genre that combines rhythm and blues and gospel music, also originating in the United States. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, non-religious testifying."

More on the history of R&B soul can be found here.