Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues
Big Joe Turner in 1955
Stylistic origins	Jazz[1] blues[1][2] spirituals[1] gospel[1][2] boogie-woogie[2] jump blues[2] swing[2]
Cultural origins	1940s–1950s, United States, from the Deep South.
Typical instruments	Double bass drum kit electric guitar electric organ horns piano saxophone
Derivative forms	Beat music Brill Building disco funk hard bop hip hop mod revival rock and roll reggae ska smooth jazz soul zydeco
Subgenres
Alternative R&B Christian R&B contemporary R&B doo-wop quiet storm
Fusion genres
Jazz fusion Latin R&B new jack swing raï'n'B rhythm & grime various hip hop fusions
Local scenes
Detroit New Orleans United Kingdom
Other topics
Black gospel music blue-eyed soul brown-eyed soul rare groove slow jam urban contemporary music

Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within the African-American community 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. By the 1970s, the term "rhythm and blues" had changed once again and was used as a blanket term for soul and funk.

In the late 1980s, a newer style of R&B developed, becoming known as "contemporary R&B". This contemporary form combines rhythm and blues with various elements of pop, soul, funk, disco, hip hop, and electronic music.