Rhythm and Blues has been a major staple in music, especially in shaping the history of Black artists and their sound.
R&B came from the blending of soul genres including blues, jazz, big band swing and more. Though the sound isn’t credited to a single artist, it was reported that producer and journalist Jerry Wexler coined the name in 1948 as a marketing term to replace the name “race music.”
Throughout the year, “rhythm and blues” has evolved into several subgenres such as neo-soul, doo-wop, quiet storm, new jack swing, funk and soul.
Though several Black artists are fundamental elements to the R&B sound, there are a few staple artists who are included in the growth of R&B and its ever-evolving sound we know and love today.
So, here is a list of some of the Black artists who help define and redefine the sound we know and love as R&B.
Ray Charles
Legendary artist Ray Charles is noted as one of the groundbreaking musicians who helped invent the soul sound. Nicknamed “The Genius,” Charles dismantled traditional genres by fusing together music genres, including spirituals with blues, country westerns with funk, and breaking barriers across audiences.
Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke is noted for breaking musical and institutional barriers in music, crossing over from gospel into the pop sound. His impact on the genre includes his smooth vocals that blend blues, pop and soul.
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With his music, Cooke reached massive mainstream success and is credited as an artist who helped fuel the Civil Rights Movement.
The late artist is still often credited as the King of Soul.
James Brown
“Godfather of Soul” James Brown is credited as being the pioneer of funk music, redefining showmanship and reconstructing the sound of rhythm and blues during its time.
In the mid-60s, Brown broke away from the norm of R&B at the time and created the funk sound that incorporated heavy musicianship from his band, including drum backbeats, and his powerhouse, undeniable vocals.
Aretha Franklin shattered the male-dominated music industry and created her own lane as an R&B artist. Infusing her background with jazz and gospel genres, she became a powerhouse in the genre and is noted as one of the biggest soul legends of our time.
Her vocal style became a blueprint for modern R&B, soul and pop.
Marvin Gaye dismantled R&B expectations for Black artists, showing that musicians could create all kinds of music from love songs, dance tracks or songs about social justice issues,
His album, What’s Going On is credited as being a turning point for the R&B sound, which experimented with classical and the psychedelic sound. The album featured strings, woodworks and was unlike any other R&B album at the time. He took a single-dominated music market and created albums with storytelling.
And let us not forget his soulful croons that has redefined soul musicians across generations.
Stevie Wonder
Nicknamed the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” Stevie Wonder has transformed R&B with experimental sounds from synthesizers and became the fundamental blueprint for electro-soul in the late 70s.
Wonder also plays a series of instruments, and his genre-blending, unique vocal range and songwriting have influenced many musicians after him. His music has remained timeless for generations.
Luther Vandross is noted as an artist who transformed modern R&B, elevating vocal precision, romantic ballads and vulnerability in the genre. He blended the sensuality of R&B pioneers with elegant backing in his music, along with strong background vocalists and producers.
Acclaimed as “The Voice,” Whitney Houston received major success in R&B and crossed over into the Pop Charts. Her vocals are undeniable, and her impact in the genre revolutionized R&B by establishing that vocal blueprint and blending genres like gospel and jazz seamlessly.
Houston shattered the mold when it came to vocal precision and intensity in music. Commercially, she broke barriers for Black female artists with her grand success.
Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds is considered a pioneer to the production of contemporary R&B. As a singer and songwriter, he has contributed to producing hits for powerhouses in the genre. He has shaped the genre through a combination of melodic structure and lyricism that has shaped some of our favorite contemporary ballads for generations.
Mariah Carey
Known for her rapid vocal technique, complex ballads, and legendary songwriting, Mariah Carey’s impact on R&B is undeniable. By blending complex genres, she’s broken barriers across genres and changed the structure of vocal stacking and vocal registers with her “whistle” notes.
Carey is also noted as revolutionizing R&B by fusing hip-hop beats and rap features into mainstream pop and R&B.
Brandy Norwood fundamentally reshaped R&B by pioneering multi-track vocal stacking and integrating harmonies and unique vocal runs in her sound.
She popularized the distinct, rapid, syncopated sounds in R&B blended with soulful harmonies that newer R&B artists still credit to her to this day. Her push against traditional R&B and this experimentation crowned her as the “Vocal Bible” in the industry.
Integrating live instrumentation, soul, swing and raw vocals, D’Angelo is noted as pioneering the neo-soul movement within R&B. He incorporated influences from soul, funk and hip-hop to create a soulful and jazzy sound that started a wave of artists incorporating similar sounds in their music.
Revolutionizing showmanship, powerhouse vocals and album experiences, Beyoncé is an architect of contemporary R&B. Though critics debate whether her sound fits in a single box, her contribution to R&B cannot be ignored.
She popularized the rapid-fire, syncopated vocal styles in R&B, which blurred the lines between singing and rapping. She also built dense vocal multi-stacking in her music and unique vocal runs that often can’t be replicated by other artists easily.
Beyoncé is often named an influence for older and newer generations of artists alike.
