In its early years, the rhythm and blues means, as its name suggests, a form of rhythmic blues, performed exclusively by black musicians. Born in the aftermath of the Second World War, this style is heavily influenced by the jazz bands of the black era of swing, boogie-woogie rhythm, harmonic structures of the blues, especially the gospel. He distinguished himself by his blues themes more gays, a faster tempo, and the emphasis on drums and brass. The saxophone is the instrument king of this genre, which is also marked by singers to the powerful voice: blues shouter. Also known jump music, the rhythm & blues foreshadows the rock 'n' roll, which already contains all the elements.
At the end of 1950, the term refers specifically to musicians rock 'n' roll black (sometimes described as Black Rock), and groups of Doo-wop.
The term rhythm and blues passes fashion in the 1960's from its original African-American public, to be replaced by soul music, Motown and James Brown, but the genre will be one of the major influences many young British musicians who will form groups renouvèleront rock, the Rolling Stones the Who.
The rhythm and blues, including his version of New Orleans, is also a major influence in Jamaica, where local musicians (who appèlent shuffle) are the basis for what became ska.
The rhythm & blues is again adopted by a British public in the 1970's with the pub rock scene.
Still used in the United States since, and synonymous with black music (whether soul, funk, disco or urban during the years 1970 and 1980), the term R & B (or R'n'B) reappeared in France mid-1990's, this time designating the new black American popular music strongly influenced by hip-hop. This new R'n'B music / hip-hop has sometimes a very distant relation with the original rhythm & blues, apart from some artists the same way after singing gospel.
