Soul/R&B Music, LEG-YAR
soul" both initially described types of African-American popular music with origins in the 1940s and '50s. However, the terms' definitions have evolved significantly over time, as both categories saw the incorporation of elements of pop and electronic music, among other changes. Celebrated soul and R&B artists include Etta James, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Amy Winehouse, Usher, and Alicia Keys.
Soul/R&B Music Encyclopedia Articles By Title
John Legend is an American singer-songwriter and pianist who achieved success in the early 21st century with his......
Meade Lewis was an American musician, one of the leading exponents of boogie-woogie. Lewis’s first instrument was......
Little Anthony and the Imperials, American rhythm-and-blues vocal group whose career straddled the eras of doo-wop......
Little Walter was an American blues singer and harmonica virtuoso who was one of the most influential harmonica......
Alan Lomax was an American ethnomusicologist, one of the most dedicated and knowledgeable folk-music scholars of......
Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, American vocal group popular in the mid-1950s, prime exponents of the doo-wop......
Martha and the Vandellas, American soul-pop vocal group that challenged the Supremes as Motown Records’ premier......
Jessica Mauboy is an Australian rhythm-and-blues and pop-music singer-songwriter and actress whose 2016 album The......
Curtis Mayfield was a singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, and entrepreneur who was one of the principal architects......
Michael McDonald is an American singer-songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and keyboardist for the rock......
Brownie McGhee was an American blues singer, guitarist, pianist, songwriter, and longtime partner of the vocalist......
Clyde McPhatter was an American rhythm-and-blues singer popular in the 1950s whose emotional style anticipated......
Mississippi Delta blues, regional style of early 20th-century American folk music, centred in the Delta region......
Little Brother Montgomery was a major American blues artist who was also an outstanding jazz pianist and vocalist.......
Janelle Monáe is an American singer and actor best known for the albums The ArchAndroid (2010), The Electric Lady......
the Moody Blues, British rock band formed in Birmingham, West Midlands, England, in 1964 and credited as the pioneer......
the Moonglows, American doo-wop vocal group that was one of the pioneering acts of rock and roll. The principal......
Motown, recording company founded by Berry Gordy, Jr., in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., in January 1959 that became......
Odetta was an American folk singer who was noted especially for her versions of spirituals and who became for many......
the Orioles, American vocal group of the late 1940s and early ’50s. The members were Sonny Til (byname of Earlington......
Johnny Otis was an American bandleader, drummer, vibraphonist, singer, producer, and promoter of rhythm and blues......
the O’Jays, American vocal group that rose to the forefront of the Philadelphia soul movement of the 1970s. The......
Charley Patton was an American blues singer-guitarist who was among the earliest and most influential Mississippi......
Teddy Pendergrass was an American rhythm-and-blues singer who embodied the smooth, Philly soul sound of the 1970s......
The Sound of Philadelphia in the 1970s was the bridge between Memphis soul and international disco and between......
Wilson Pickett was an American singer-songwriter, whose explosive style helped define the soul music of the 1960s.......
the Platters, American vocal ensemble, one of the foremost singing groups of the early days of rock and roll and......
Lloyd Price was an American singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. Price made his mark in rock music history with......
Prince was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, producer, dancer, and performer on keyboards, drums, and......
Professor Longhair was an American singer and pianist who helped shape the sound of New Orleans rhythm and blues......
Ma Rainey was an American singer who was known as the “mother of the blues” and who was recognized as the first......
Bonnie Raitt is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose wide musical range encompassed blues, folk,......
the Rascals, American pop group who, along with the Righteous Brothers, were the preeminent practitioners in the......
Lou Rawls was an American singer whose smooth baritone adapted easily to jazz, soul, gospel, and rhythm and blues.......
Otis Redding was an American singer-songwriter, one of the great soul stylists of the 1960s. Redding was raised......
Jimmy Reed was an American singer, harmonica player, and guitarist who was one of the most popular blues musicians......
rhythm and blues, term used for several types of postwar African-American popular music, as well as for some white......
Lionel Richie is an American popular singer, songwriter, and producer most admired for his smooth and soulful love......
Rihanna is a Barbadian pop and rhythm-and-blues (R&B) singer who became a worldwide star in the early 21st century.......
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, American vocal group that helped define the Motown sound of the 1960s and was......
Diana Ross is an American pop singer and actress who achieved international stardom, first as leader of the vocal......
RuPaul is an American entertainer who carved out an idiosyncratic place in popular culture as perhaps the most......
Jimmy Rushing was an American blues and jazz singer who was best known for performing with the Count Basie Orchestra.......
Sam and Dave, American vocal duo who were among the most popular performers of soul music in the late 1960s and......
Joni Sledge was an American singer who was a member, with her sisters Debbie, Kim, and Kathy, of the R&B group......
Bessie Smith was an American singer and one of the greatest blues vocalists. Smith grew up in poverty and obscurity.......
Sam Smith is a British soul singer with a mellifluous voice noted for lyrics that subvert the notions of romantic......
soul music, term adopted to describe African American popular music in the United States as it evolved from the......
Soul Train, American music variety television show, the first to prominently feature African American musical acts......
Art Rupe, a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, started out by recording local black artists......
The Spinners are an American rhythm and blues (R&B) vocal group that became one of the greatest soul groups of......
Mavis Staples is an American gospel and soul singer who was an integral part of the Staple Singers as well as a......
Founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1960 by country music fiddle player Jim Stewart and his sister Estelle Axton,......
Rod Stewart is a British singer and songwriter whose soulful, raspy voice graced rock and pop hits beginning in......
Former radio engineer Sam Phillips opened the Memphis Recording Service at 706 Union Avenue in 1950. Among his......
the Supremes, American pop-soul vocal group whose tremendous popularity with a broad audience made its members......
SZA is an American singer-songwriter whose musical style combines elements of rhythm and blues, hip-hop, and soul.......
Koko Taylor was an American blues singer who forged a musical career that spanned nearly half a century and earned......
the Temptations, American vocal group noted for their smooth harmonies and intricate choreography. Recording primarily......
Sonny Terry was an American blues singer and harmonica player who became the touring and recording partner of guitarist......
In the early 1960s Liverpool, England, was unique among British cities in having more than 200 active pop groups.......
Big Mama Thornton was an influential American singer and songwriter whose gritty vocals and instrumental style......
Thriller, studio album by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, released on November 30, 1982. The album......
Timbaland is an influential American producer and hip-hop and rhythm-and-blues performer who contributed to the......
Big Joe Turner was an American blues singer, or “shouter,” whose music included jazz, rhythm and blues, and boogie-woogie.......
Ike Turner was an American rhythm-and-blues and soul performer and producer who was best known for his work with......
Tina Turner was an American-born singer who found success in the rhythm-and-blues, soul, and rock genres in a career......
Usher is an American musician whose smooth vocals and sensual ballads helped establish him as a rhythm-and-blues......
Luther Vandross was an American soul and pop singer, songwriter, and producer whose widespread popularity and reputation......
Stevie Ray Vaughan was an American blues guitarist and vocalist best known for his boisterous, sometimes frenetic,......
Record store owners Vivian Carter (“Vee”) and James Bracken (“Jay”), later husband and wife, formed Vee Jay Records......
T-Bone Walker was an American musician and songwriter who was a major figure in modern blues. He was the first......
Dionne Warwick is an American pop and rhythm and blues (R&B) singer whose soulful sound earned her widespread appeal.......
Dinah Washington was an American jazz and blues singer noted for her excellent voice control and unique gospel-influenced......
Ethel Waters was an American blues and jazz singer and dramatic actress whose singing, based in the blues tradition,......
Muddy Waters was a dynamic American blues guitarist and singer who played a major role in creating the post-World......
When WDIA went on the air in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1948, its white owners, Bert Ferguson and John R. Pepper, were......
The Weeknd is a Canadian rhythm-and-blues singer and songwriter best known for his explicit songs about sex and......
Junior Wells was an American blues singer and harmonica player and one of the musicians who introduced electric......
Jack White is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who first gained fame with the White Stripes and later......
Joe Williams was an American singer known for his mastery of jazz, blues, and ballads and for his association with......
Lucinda Williams is an American singer and songwriter who received critical acclaim for her label-defying music,......
Pharrell Williams is an American musician who was involved in a number of pop hits as part of the producing team......
Sonny Boy Williamson was an American blues vocalist and the first influential harmonica virtuoso, a self-taught......
Cassandra Wilson is an American musician whose recordings combined such musical genres as jazz, rap, and hip-hop.......
Jackie Wilson was an American singer who was a pioneering exponent of the fusion of 1950s doo-wop, rock, and blues......
Steve Winwood is a British singer and songwriter, considered one of Britain’s foremost rhythm and blues vocalists.......
For many lovers of rock and roll, the station of choice was neither a local outlet nor a national network. It was......
Possessed of one of the most distinctive voices and styles in radio, Wolfman Jack played rhythm and blues and partied......
Bobby Womack was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose soulful compositions and accomplished musicianship......
Stevie Wonder is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, a child prodigy who developed into......
Jimmy Yancey was an American blues pianist who established the boogie-woogie style with slow, steady, simple left-hand......
the Yardbirds, 1960s British musical group best known for their inventive conversion of rhythm and blues into rock.......