Why do you love this genre of music? Here is why I love it so.
The power and richness that emanates from what has been categorized in music, as Rhythm & Blues, in my personal estimation, goes back beyond a time we can pinpoint.
You see for me, I think about our ancestors who in Africa, have always used song and dance as a most powerful meaning of the expression. Still to this day, you can see many rituals in the “motherland” that are accompanied by movement and sound, such that stirs the emotion and makes you want to join in before invitation.
For the context of my consideration of why R&B is such a powerful influence on what I do here at Ballads by LDK studios, I must frame the evolution from information and data that I’ve collected from various sources to tell the story. For that, I will only reference and give credit to one source for this writing. An article written by Mr. Marc Hopkins, provides an intriguing glance at the formation and evolution of this most influential form of expression, that we call R&B. However, there are a plethora of articles, books, and reference materials, from which you can also learn as deeply as you’d like to go, about the R&B evolution.
Please understand, that this post is really a personal reflection of why Rhythm and Blues are important in my musical journey, and not a total reference point on all things R&B. Just my personal perspective. Therefore, here is my brief synopses of Mr. Hopkins take on the rise and evolution of R&B. It was “Famed record producer Jerry Wexler, who is credited with coining the name “rhythm and blues, which began to be used as a marketing tool in the late 1940s”(1). During the 1960s, the engine of Motown, which is a renowned Detroit-based record label, conceived by songwriter/producer Berry Gordy Jr., many R&B legendary singers and songwriters sprung forth.
Artists such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, and the Supremes, the Jackson 5, and the extensive list goes on, started their claim to fame out of the annals of Motown history. The R&B genre of soul singers has been made ever more secure through legendary singers, which are too numerous to mention. Here is a brief listing of just some of those, and if you do not see your favorite on the list, you know who they are and they are probably one of mine as well. Again, this is not intended to be a comprehensive listing, just citing examples of R&B greatness:
- Aretha Franklin
- Anita Baker
- Ray Charles
- Sam Cooke
- The Mighty O’Jays
- Earth, Wind & Fire
- Luther Vandross
- Mariah Carey
- Jeffrey Osborne
- Peobo Bryson
- Regina Belle
- Johnny Gill
- Boyz II Men
- Alicia Keys
- John Legend
- Kem
- Toni Braxton
- Tamar Braxton
- Phyllis Hyman
- Angela Bofill
- Will Downing
- Natalie Cole
And the list goes on, and on, and on…
Here is my final point to make. I am going out on a limb to say that the R&B soul musical catalog is so extensive and rich with artists, that it would take many volumes of encyclopedic books to cover them all. If R&B is what you love, especially the soul-stirring ballads, for which “Ballads by LDK Studios” is known, please visit my site often. I will have numerous articles and fun information that I plan on posting, from a personal perspective out of my sheer love of this form of musical expression. Lamont ~ balladsbylamont.com
- Hopkins, M. (Jan 4, 2021). “The History of Musical Genres, Part 4: R&B And Soul”. https://hub.yamaha.com/brand/b-history/the-history-of-musical-genres-part-4-rb-and-soul/
