The Timeline of African American Music explores the evolution of African American musical genres spanning the past 400 years.

Discover the Timeline

Learn more about the artists whose voices served as the musical backdrop for revolutionary Black music.

Featured performers

Louis Armstrong

Billie Holiday

Miles Davis

Marian Anderson

Fred Hammond & R.F.C.

The Staple Singers

Scott Joplin

Ruth Brown

Jimi Hendrix

Bessie Smith

James Brown

Learn more about the diverse musical expressions tied to Freedom Songs.

Featured genres

One of the most exhilarating, expressive and inspiring forms of African American music—beloved by people of all religious persuasions despite its exclusive lyrical adherence to the tenets of Christian belief and storytelling—is gospel, whose predecessor is the spiritual. The earliest form of African American religious music, the spiritual, also called Negro spiritual, comprises two forms—folk and concert. The folk spiritual is a form of improvised music, spontaneously created by individuals and groups. The concert spiritual, also known as arranged spirituals, evolved in schools created to educate the enslaved after emancipation. The spiritual draws from African music and European psalms and hymns, and from African-derived secular sources, including work songs, field calls and protest songs. It was sung in both religious and secular settings, including as the enslaved worked the plantation fields.

As Africans in America, the enslaved maintained their African way of life, including religious practices. Their religious rituals evolved around singing, dancing and other forms of bodily movement, which the European clergy criticized, describing them as “primitive,” “vulgar,” “pagan,” and contrary to the teachings of Christianity. To discourage and replace these “sinful” dances and “secular” musical events with sanctioned European religious activities in northern colonies, missionaries organized various proselytizing campaigns beginning in the 18th century. Despite the conversion of some enslaved and free Blacks, the clergy’s initial effort largely was unsuccessful. The Great Revival Movement mounted a century later in the South, however, led to the conversion of the enslaved masses, who were attracted to the emotional aspect of the camp meetings associated with this movement. As Christians, the majority of enslaved and free Blacks did not relinquish their African religious beliefs nor cultural traditions. They resisted European cultural conformity by transforming Christian worship services into an African-styled ritual, evolving the Protestant repertoire into an African American tradition, and reinterpreting Biblical teaching through an African world view and their experiences as slaves.

Methodist Minister

The spiritual began emerging in conjunction with camp meetings associated with the Second Awakening. This revival movement dominated religious life in the American frontier from the 1780s to the 1830s, attracting both Blacks (free and enslaved) and illiterate whites. Both groups revolted against the “dull” traditional hymns, favoring a livelier form of religious music created during the revival. At the end of daily meetings in their segregated tents, Blacks, according to a Methodist minister and other white observers, “continued the whole night, singing tune after tune,…scarce one which were in our hymn books.” He condemned this practice, noting it has “already visibly affected the religious manners of some whites.”

Teacher in the South in the 1860s

The conversion of the enslaved masses to Christianity in the early 19th century facilitated the development of the Negro spiritual as a distinct form of American religious music. Worshiping independently of whites in worship services led by Black preachers, the enslaved and freed Blacks spontaneously created songs using the African call-response and repetitive chorus structures. They also reinterpreted the European psalms and hymns in ways that had meaning to them as Africans in America. They, for example, improvised on the melodies, changed the rhythms, sped up the tempo, added repeated refrains and choruses, and replaced texts with new ones that often combined English and African words and phrases. The final product was an improvised African-styled song. A white observer of this change, commented that the white hymn composers “Watts and Newton would never recognize their productions through the transformations they have undergone at the hands of their colored admirers.”Unlike much of European religious music, the folk spirituals often were spirited, and they accompanied religious dancing (later known as “the shout”). These early folk spirituals melded the Christian belief system with native African culture and from it created something uniquely African American, and by extension, American. Initially passed down orally, spirituals of the enslaved have been central in the lives of African Americans for over three centuries, serving religious, cultural, social, political, and historical functions. By engaging in the singing of spirituals, the participant experienced a form of freedom. The folk spiritual later evolved into Concert Spirituals, Rural Gospel, Spiritual as Art Song, and Freedom Songs.

Folk spirituals are spontaneously created and performed in a repetitive, improvised style. The most common song structures are the call-and-response (<a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:146,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Blow, Gabriel&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;277145504&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Blow, Gabriel&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The McIntosh County Shouters&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Slave Shout Songs from the Coast of Georgia&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1984-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/b5\/d4\/47\/mzi.emefxfzx.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1425,&quot;height&quot;:1425,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;edebcd&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;0c0706&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;281c15&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;39352e&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;4f4539&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/26\/3d\/67\/263d672f-8de0-67e7-cf81-b449da13d247\/mzaf_16513879352677194064.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Blow, Gabriel”</a>) and repetitive choruses (<a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:160,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;He Rose from the Dead&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;219088218&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;He Rose from the Dead&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Wesley Methodist Church (John&#039;s Island, S.C.)&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;John&#039;s Island, South Carolina: Its People and Songs&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1973-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is3-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/f8\/e3\/05\/mzi.dqjcsgev.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1425,&quot;height&quot;:1425,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;d8ac65&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;0b0200&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;1f1b16&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;342414&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;443826&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/d0\/60\/81\/d060814a-4cd1-e2b9-bf22-aaa65f751541\/mzaf_4506909418320144418.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“He Rose from the Dead”</a>). The call-and-response is an alternating exchange between the soloist and the other singers. The soloist improvises a line to which the other singers respond, usually by repeating the same phrase. Group singing is performed with slight deviations from the melody line, rather than in unison or harmony. Song interpretation incorporates the interjections of moans, cries, hollers, etc., and changing vocal timbres. Singing is accompanied by handclapping and foot-stomping.

The texts of folk spirituals drew from various sources, which the enslaved interpreted though the lens of their daily experience. Mixing native African words and African American dialect, songs might touch on biblical themes, the daily experiences of the enslaved, the desire for freedom and deliverance, protest, suffering and other topics. Biblical stories from the Old Testament and the book of Revelations from the New Testament, for example, provide thematic material for the majority of folk spirituals. In their songs, the enslaved recreated stories about the oppressed Hebrew people, the cruel Egyptians, the Red Sea, and the land of Canaan to reflect their oppression, their treatment by whites, and their desire for freedom respectively. The stories about Daniel, Jacob, Moses, Gabriel, Jesus, Jonah, Paul and Silas, Mary and Martha, among others gave the enslaved courage, strength, and determination to endure worldly hardship with the promise of a better life in Heaven. Examples include:<blockquote><a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:161,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Didn\u2019t My Lord My Deliver Daniel?&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;712118588&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Didnt My Lord Deliver Daniel (Live)&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Paul Robeson&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Live At Carnegie Hall, 1958&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1958-05-09&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is1-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music115\/v4\/42\/0c\/94\/420c9498-ce5d-628a-af0a-c7cbac3c1dbf\/00015707202053.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1400,&quot;height&quot;:1400,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;e0957e&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;0f0d0d&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;151112&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;392823&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;3d2b27&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/98\/0a\/19\/980a191f-4d39-3c85-da83-a538c8571449\/mzaf_16089197282443123913.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel?</a></blockquote><blockquote>Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel, deliver Daniel, deliver Daniel?</blockquote><blockquote>Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel, and why not every man?</blockquote><blockquote>He delivered Daniel from the lion’s den, Jonah from the belly of the whale,</blockquote><blockquote>And the Hebrew children from the fiery furnace, and why not every man?</blockquote><blockquote> </blockquote><blockquote><a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:162,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Go Down Moses&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;711611778&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Go Down, Moses&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Paul Robeson&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Ballad For Americans&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1989-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is3-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/v4\/4c\/23\/1e\/4c231ef3-9951-f1f8-3181-89d059740307\/00015707011754.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1400,&quot;height&quot;:1400,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;ffe0de&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;2b211d&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;4c170e&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;554744&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;703f38&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/83\/2a\/06\/832a068b-591a-15c8-f39f-27f208d4c57c\/mzaf_16258319855643767833.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">Go Down Moses</a></blockquote><blockquote>When Israel was in Egypt’s land, let my people go.</blockquote><blockquote>Oppressed so hard they could not stand, let my people go.</blockquote><blockquote>Go down Moses, way down in Egypt land,</blockquote><blockquote>Tell ole Pharaoh, let my people go!</blockquote>Folk spirituals also provided a forum for slaves to protest their bondage and criticize their masters: Before I’d be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave, and go home to my Lord and be free. Some of the songs, such as “Steal Away,” “Deep River,” and “Go Down Moses,” used a double entendre to reference the desire for freedom. The coded text disguised the details for plans that assisted slaves in securing that freedom.<blockquote><a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:163,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Steal Away&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1116802545&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Steal Away&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The Georgia Spiritual Ensemble &amp; Rosalyn Floyd&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Steal Away&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;2016-06-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is2-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music116\/v4\/ad\/75\/41\/ad7541e4-3a8a-6f22-e4ae-1905987881cd\/34061163022.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:3000,&quot;height&quot;:3000,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;2f1900&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;dfb35d&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;d29327&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;bc944b&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;b17a1f&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview18\/v4\/be\/7d\/f5\/be7df5f0-5466-0ce2-5fd3-76f83e07d235\/mzaf_2756150339173686016.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">Steal Away</a></blockquote><blockquote>Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus!</blockquote><blockquote>Steal away, steal away home, I ain’t got long to stay here!</blockquote><blockquote>My Lord calls me, He calls me by the thunder;</blockquote><blockquote>The trumpet sounds within a my soul, I ain’t got long to stay here.</blockquote>The first line of text alerted slaves to the presence of the person who would lead them to freedom. The remaining texts warned that the journey would begin immediately upon receiving a signal that the path was clear. These and other texts were incomprehensible to whites who interpreted them as “unintelligible” and “meaningless.” For slaves, they held much meaning—a possible “ticket” to freedom. Therefore, coded songs provide further evidence that slaves resisted the control which the clergy and other whites sought to exercise over their lives.

Rural/Folk Blues

Work Song, Field/Street Call, Satirical & Protest Songs

Blow, Gabriel

Freedom Songs

Rural Gospel

Concert Spiritual

Spiritual as Art Song

Voice

Hymns

Body Percussion

Call and Response

Repetition

Vocals

Improvisation

Melody

Phrasing

Folk Spiritual

Sweet Honey in the Rock

Linda Tillery & the Cultural Heritage Choir

The McIntosh County Shouters

Janie Hunter

Moving Star Hall Singers

He Rose from the Dead

Didnt My Lord Deliver Daniel (Live)

Didn’t My Lord My Deliver Daniel?

Go Down, Moses

Go Down Moses

Steal Away

Cultural Influences

Daily Life

Freedom

Political Issues/Activism

Religion/Faith

Social Consciousness

Slavery

Community

Sacred

Lead Singer, Dixie Hummingbirds

The gospel quartet sound began evolving in the1940s when jubilee quartets incorporated songs by pioneering gospel songwriters, such as Thomas Dorsey and Lucie Campbell, in their repertoire. The Dixie Hummingbirds, Golden Gate Quartet and the Soul Stirrers, among others, helped to introduce and popularize this new musical style, initially rejected by ministers of denominational churches, to the Black masses through their live performances and regular broadcasts on local radio. In the 1950s some jubilee quartets had begun slowly transforming into gospel quartets. This transformation included a repertoire of nearly as many gospels as jubilee songs, and the addition of instruments, particularly the guitar. Influenced by the bluesy melodies of Thomas A. Dorsey’s gospel songs and the sanctified singing style of Holiness-Pentecostal churches, gospel quartets emerged as a distinct tradition. By the 1960s, several quartets had also added piano, Hammond organ and drums.

The Soul Stirrers is believed to have been the first jubilee quartet to shift completely to gospel music. They moved away from a collective group singing style to one that featured a lead tenor supported by refrain lines repeated throughout the song (“Glory, Glory, Halleluiah” and <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:183,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;He\u2019s So Wonderful&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1516009167&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;He&#039;s So Wonderful&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Sam Cooke &amp; The Soul Stirrers&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Sam Cooke And The Soul Stirrers&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1965-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is2-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music114\/v4\/da\/d1\/89\/dad1892a-2d22-28a3-054a-4b62acecbcc1\/20UMGIM45570.rgb.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:3000,&quot;height&quot;:3000,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;cac583&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;0b0b03&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;1e200e&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;31301d&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;404126&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/4f\/4e\/b6\/4f4eb62e-8b52-ba2d-ce70-5cb94169e0a1\/mzaf_777071862328492742.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Wonderful”</a>). After World War II, from about 1945 to 1960, gospel quartets reigned supreme. Many semi-professional groups toured the country, and some made performing their full-time profession. They sang at special gospel programs held in auditoriums and other large venues. By the 1960s, the gospel quartet sound had acquired shouts, screams and growls, and other non-verbal utterances. Rhythmic thigh slapping and other bodily movements further intensified the style, represented best by the Five Blind Boys of Alabama led by Clarence Fountain (“Alone and Motherless”). New trends eclipsed the popularity of gospel quartets, but their sound resurfaced in rhythm and blues vocal groups, many of whose members began in gospel quartets, such as Billy Ward and the Dominoes and the Isley Brothers.

Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls were lead singers in gospel groups before turning to rhythm and blues. A new generation of singers is currently reviving the gospel quartet, such as Keith “Wonderboy” Johnson &amp; The Spiritual Voices (“Be Right” and <a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/more/genres/9/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:184,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Send a Revival&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;308179013&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Send a Revival&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Keith \&quot;Wonderboy\&quot; Johnson &amp; The Spiritual Voices&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Send a Revival&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1990-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is2-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/5b\/d0\/30\/mzi.crpvvxrj.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:607,&quot;height&quot;:600,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;514c49&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;f3ceae&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;e9c3c2&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;d2b499&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;cbabaa&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/Music\/a6\/9d\/eb\/mzm.yizywnlf.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Send A Revival”</a>) and Nu Beginning featuring Damon Little (<a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/more/genres/9/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:185,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Do Right&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;75679815&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Do Right&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Nu Beginning featuring Damon Little&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Do Right (feat. Damon Little)&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;2004-12-27&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/y2005\/m07\/d19\/h17\/mzi.pgtgkqpv.tif\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:600,&quot;height&quot;:600,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;ffffff&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;2a1815&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;43271f&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;544644&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;69524c&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/93\/9f\/a6\/939fa695-a7d5-20e1-c4b8-98348bfd02e3\/mzaf_13195796675576136729.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Do Right”</a> and “You Can’t Straddle the Fence”).

Most gospel groups moved back and forth between two traditions: the jubilee and gospel. They sang jubilee songs in close harmony, using a call-and-response format in which the soloist introduced a phrase of text that is answered and completed by the group. The highly syncopated performance style emphasized an even blend of voices in which falsetto voices and changing leads were common. By comparison, the gospel quartet style featured a soloist who freely improvised, interjecting moans, screams, etc., over short repetitive lines or doo-wop syllables sung by the group members.

The gospel music repertoire reinterprets folk spirituals and hymns and adds original compositions. Texts are often based on stories and themes from the New and Old Testaments as filtered through the lens of African American experiences.

Rhythm & Blues

Alone and Motherless

Jubilee Quartet

Bass

Drums

Guitar

Organ

Piano

Syncopation

Vocal Sounds

Solo

Instrumentals

Harmony

Ensemble

Gospel Quartet

The Soul Stirrers (feat. Sam Cooke)

The Dixie Hummingbirds

Five Blind Boys of Alabama

Keith “Wonderboy” Johnson

The Sensational Nightingales

He's So Wonderful

He’s So Wonderful

Send a Revival

Do Right

Travel

Rhythm and blues is a form of Black dance music that has its origins in the post-World War II era (1939–1945); the term itself is attributed to Jerry Wexler, a writer for Billboard, who coined it in 1949 for the magazine’s Black music chart to replace the term “Race Music” (a term in use since 1920). Rhythm and blues performers encompass hybrid jazz/blues combos, trios, and vocal harmony groups to blues shouters and gospel-inflected solo singers.

Rhythm and Blues is a by-product of the World War II migration of southern Blacks to major urban centers in the North and on the East and West Coasts. An estimated five million African Americans abandoned their jobs as sharecroppers, tenant farmers, domestics, and general laborers, anticipating better economic and educational opportunities and an escape from racial oppression. They found high-paying jobs in wartime industries, but discriminatory housing practices led to the growth of segregated urban communities. African Americans established a dynamic entertainment district in every major city where they settled, transforming rural traditions into urban forms of expression. These vibrant styles captured the spirit, pulse, and tempo of the city, and often incorporated new technologies such as electric instruments and amplification.CombosWorking together in cities, blues singers and jazz musicians created a new musical genre–rhythm and blues. Former swing band members reduced the 12–16-member ensemble to a seven- or eight-piece group consisting of rhythm section, alto and tenor sax, and trumpet. Jazz musician Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five (that featured Jordan on vocals) provided the model for this rhythm and blues combo style heard in <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:271,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Caldonia&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1434911575&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Caldonia (Single Version)&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Louis Jordan &amp; His Tympany Five&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Let the Good Times Roll: The Anthology 1938 - 1953&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1999-02-23&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music118\/v4\/cd\/4f\/0e\/cd4f0e81-87f2-3b39-a71b-53a568577d12\/00602567847946.rgb.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1500,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;004f63&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;e1e3e0&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;ccd9d7&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;b4c6c7&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;a3bdc0&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/41\/27\/4b\/41274b73-6b92-6753-d0e1-a9279d7a31f2\/mzaf_10982418095020677915.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Caldonia”</a> (1945). These combos, popular from the1940s through the early-1950s, retained the boogie-woogie foundation, the shuffle beat, and the riffing horn patterns from swing. Notable instrumental combos include those led by saxophonists Paul Williams, Big Jay McNeely, Harold Singer, and Wild Bill Moore. The rockin’ style of instrumental combos, heard in “The Deacon’s Hop” (1948) by Big Jay McNeely and “We’re Gonna Rock, We’re Gonna Roll” (1948) by Wild Bill Moore established the foundation for “rock ‘n’ roll.” Rhythm and blues combos often featured blues singers such as Wynonie Harris, Mabel Scott, Amos Milburn, and Big Joe Turner, who moaned and shouted the blues in ways that reflected a range of feelings and emotions. The vocals of Etta James, Dinah Washington, Ruth Brown (<a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:281,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;42031919&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Ruth Brown&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;The Essentials: Ruth Brown&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1953-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is3-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music124\/v4\/7b\/7f\/9d\/7b7f9d67-3706-387a-fc7b-c33e62f15c49\/s06.nudzdsdj.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1421,&quot;height&quot;:1405,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;ffffff&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;000000&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;39312a&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;333333&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;605a55&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/be\/1c\/e7\/be1ce776-8c7f-e8a3-b076-a6c844a39bbc\/mzaf_6373269600425482702.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean,”</a> 1953) and LaVern Baker often conveyed a gospel flavor.

TriosJazz pianist Nat “King” Cole pioneered the trio style, consisting of piano/organ, bass, and guitar. Performed in small clubs and hotel lounges, this music provided a background for conversations, although patrons in African American clubs danced as well. Trios later added drums and other percussion. In addition to Cole, the trio style was popularized by Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers, pianists Charles Brown, Ivory Joe Hunter McDuff, Shirley Scott, Jimmy McGriff, and Richard “Groove” Holmes. Individual trios had signature styles that mirrored their training in jazz, pop and/or blues, as heard in <a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/more/genres/21/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:272,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Straighten Up and Fly Right&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;724184735&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Straighten Up and Fly Right&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Nat \&quot;King\&quot; Cole&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;The World of Nat King Cole&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1943-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is4-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music114\/v4\/24\/93\/4a\/24934ade-1983-eeb6-2b80-665ab0ced37c\/00724356343450.rgb.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1500,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;000000&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;aec68f&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;ccb787&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;8b9e72&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;a3926c&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/51\/fa\/80\/51fa804f-1821-359c-5422-c43fb690fd10\/mzaf_16745284718070793998.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Straighten Up and Fly Right”</a> (1943) by Nat “King” Cole and <a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/more/genres/21/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:273,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Drifting Blues&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;435326385&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Drifting Blues (Digitally Remastered)&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Johnny Moore&#039;s Three Blazers&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Drifting Blues (Digitally Remastered) - Single&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1992-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is4-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/cb\/21\/17\/mzi.mrdvhmoq.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;height&quot;:800,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;fbfbfb&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;000000&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;411140&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;323232&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;664065&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview62\/v4\/73\/32\/23\/733223a4-c72b-3612-f5b9-bb26f41c20df\/mzaf_8747343989254722008.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Drifting Blues”</a> (1946) by Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers featuring Charles Brown.

Member of the Orioles

Vocal Harmony GroupsVocal harmony groups performed in the 1930s and ’40s with jazz bands and as independent groups. Pioneers like the Mills Brothers (<a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/genres/21/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:274,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Paper Doll&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1443999594&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Paper Doll&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The Mills Brothers&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Mills Brothers&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1942-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is2-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music128\/v4\/f5\/f8\/17\/f5f817b5-2d15-fde2-7169-a23b5e4dfbfc\/00602517233188.rgb.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1008,&quot;height&quot;:900,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;e2d6c6&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;000002&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;3c2b1e&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;2d2b29&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;5d4d40&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/92\/d8\/c0\/92d8c04d-09e2-b1ec-c0d8-67e27129ace7\/mzaf_11834956812990038224.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Paper Doll,”</a> 1942), Delta Rhythm Boys (“Certainly Lord,” 1953), Ink Spots, and the Charioteers featured smooth harmonies based on barbershop, jazz, and sacred music. These groups, as well as the Ravens (“Old Man River,” 1947), established the model for the 1950s teenage a cappella groups that popularized the vocal harmony style on inner city street corners and the stoops of crowded apartment buildings as well as in parks and school gyms. Many of these “bird” groups (e.g., Swallows, Penguins, etc.), sang in a romantic style emulating the Orioles (“It’s Too Soon to Know,” 1948), who began recording in the late 1940s. Although they primarily sang a cappella, producers added sparse instrumentation, including guitar and drums played with brushes, to their commercial recordings. The Spaniels and the Moonglows added a rhythmic foundation to the “romantic” vocal group style. The bass voice imitated the string bass, singing nonsense phrases like “doo-doo-wop.” “Sincerely” (1954) by the Moonglows illustrates this “doo-wop” style—a style later defined as rock ‘n’ roll.Rhythm and Blues in the Mainstream: Uptown R&amp;BIn the mid-1950s, record labels began producing rhythm and blues music for consumption beyond African American communities (referred to as Uptown R&amp;B). Targeting mainstream audiences, producers applied crossover formulas to the productions of vocal harmony groups. They, for example, replaced rhythm and blues elements with familiar pop production formulas: sing-along refrains replaced call-and-response structures; “pop” vocal harmonies substituted for those associated with the blues and gospel traditions; orchestral arrangements (strings, marimba, tympani, and percussion) replaced rhythm and blues combos; and Latin-flavored rhythms, especially the “cha-cha” beat, substituted for swing rhythms and heavy backbeats on 2 and 4. Examples include “Only You” (1955) by the Platters and <a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/genres/21/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:275,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;There Goes My Baby&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;340891830&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;There Goes My Baby&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The Drifters&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;The Essentials: The Drifters&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1956-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is3-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/91\/a2\/b1\/mzi.lnmqvltg.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1421,&quot;height&quot;:1401,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;000000&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;e1e1e1&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;ef7188&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;b4b4b4&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;bf5b6d&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview122\/v4\/d9\/5a\/d9\/d95ad919-a53f-1216-80a8-6956c1db57fc\/mzaf_14150469700751742409.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“There Goes My Baby”</a> (1959) by the Drifters. Artists also recorded pop standards known as Tin Pan Alley songs written by professional songwriters hired by music publishers beginning in the early 20th century. They wrote ballads, novelty songs, vaudeville and dance songs, among other styles. Some of the most frequently recorded pop standards include “Over the Rainbow,” “Stormy Weather,” “Summertime,” “Georgia On My Mind,” and “At Last.”

Even though rhythm and blues acquired musical elements from pop for mainstream acceptance and marketed under the rock ‘n’ roll label, record labels continued to produce the jazz-blues combo styled rhythm and blues for African American communities. Songs such as Ray Charles’s “Hit the Road Jack” (1962) and “You Don’t Know Me By Now” (1962), Rufus Thomas’s <a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/genres/21/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:51,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Walking the Dog&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;41098241&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Walking the Dog&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Rufus Thomas&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Walking the Dog&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1963-09-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music115\/v4\/20\/00\/7f\/20007fff-5e52-e6c3-dfdc-46754887a4a4\/s06.syhipcee.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1500,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;f8f6f7&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;40201e&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;182c47&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;654b49&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;45546a&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview112\/v4\/66\/f8\/50\/66f850b9-d93f-23e7-5c8b-eaeb07bb69b6\/mzaf_8266131897473787196.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Walking the Dog”</a> (1963), Ike and Tina Turner’s “You Can’t Miss Nothing That You Never Had” (1964), Etta James’s “Something’s Got a Hold of Me” (1962) and James Brown’s “Prisoner of Love” (1963), remained popular among African Americans, especially in the South. They also continued producing hits that made the Billboard rhythm and blues charts. In the mid-1960s, the combo style transformed into a new sound labeled “soul.”

Motown Songwriter-Producer

The New Sounds of Young AmericaBy the mid-1950s, songwriters in their late-teens and early twenties were writing hit songs that mirrored their youthful experiences and fantasies. All female groups (“girl groups”) joined their male counterparts recording these songs. The Chantels’ <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:276,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Maybe&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;118152023&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Maybe (LP Version)&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The Chantels&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;The Best of the Chantels&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1957-11-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is4-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music124\/v4\/13\/79\/4d\/13794d1a-cea2-f97c-a0d6-719e5ab3f8ec\/mzi.tekjmlje.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1500,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;faefd1&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;0d0907&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;5b1f1d&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;3c372f&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;7b4941&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview122\/v4\/22\/73\/10\/227310fe-d5d5-d29f-f761-0a0aa3ad80a1\/mzaf_16170655102409895879.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Maybe”</a> (1957), The Shirelles’ “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” (1960), The Crystals’ “He’s a Rebel ” (1962), and The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” (1963) were among the popular girl groups that inspired the formation of teenage girl groups who later signed with Motown Records. The Miracles’ “Shop Around” (1960), The Marvelettes’ “Please Mr. Postman” (1961), Martha and the Vandellas’ <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:277,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Heatwave&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1444017336&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Martha Reeves &amp; The Vandellas&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Heat Wave&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1963-07-09&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is2-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music128\/v4\/af\/c8\/b4\/afc8b4fe-794e-8870-3b32-b5f932cab872\/00602537424818.rgb.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1500,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;680c1f&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;f6f7f9&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;f5f1dd&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;dac8cd&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;d8c4b7&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/4e\/fd\/be\/4efdbe47-cabb-2cd3-1b35-4327917d8719\/mzaf_16906231279477484072.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Heatwave”</a> (1963), The Supremes’ <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:278,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Where Did Our Love Go&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1443150931&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Where Did Our Love Go&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The Supremes&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Where Did Our Love Go&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1964-08-31&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is3-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music124\/v4\/3e\/bc\/60\/3ebc6057-595e-fb88-e6d6-7a45937070f0\/14UMGIM62198.rgb.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:2984,&quot;height&quot;:2984,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;1a4227&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;d3e692&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;c7e373&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;aec57c&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;a5c364&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview112\/v4\/3b\/33\/c7\/3b33c7ef-ff4a-0e6e-72b6-af7216103b63\/mzaf_743833856003739218.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Where Did Our Love Go”</a> (1964), and their male counterparts, The Temptations’ “The Way You Do the Things You Do” (1964) became the next generation of teenaged groups. They represented Motown’s “Sound of Young America.”

The rhythm and blues combo style is rooted in the blues and jazz traditions. The up-tempo style known as “jump blues” is characterized by a 12-bar blues structure, boogie-woogie bass line, shuffle rhythms (triplet quarter note followed by a triplet eighth note), syncopated horn riffs, solo alto saxophone, and group singing on refrain lines. The lead singers of the first rhythm and blues vocal harmony groups, known as “romantic” groups, sang in a lyrical and smooth style that employed phrasing, shading, and timing techniques closely aligned with those of jubilee quartets. Doo-wop groups added rhythmic movements when the bass voice began imitating the “walking” string bass associated with jazz. The addition of orchestral arrangements, sing-along choruses, and Latin rhythms to rhythm and blues made this sound more compatible with the musical tastes of mainstream American adults. The producers for Motown added these pop production elements over a rhythm and blues foundation and incorporated the lyrics of young professional songwriters to produce the crossover Motown’s “Sound of Young America.”

One branch of rhythm and blues lyrics derive from everyday experiences and relationships of adults; they often satirized daily life, illustrated in song titles such as “What’s the Use of Getting’ Sober (When You Gonna Get Drunk Again)” (1942), “R.M. Blues (1946),” “Old Maid Boogie (1947),” <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:280,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Good Rockin\u2019 Tonight&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;203701480&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Good Rockin\u2019 Tonight&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Wynonie Harris&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;More Greatest Hits: Good Rockin&#039; Tonight&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;2004-09-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/0c\/6b\/4d\/mzi.vbroajka.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:722,&quot;height&quot;:727,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;005999&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;fbfeff&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;f2d4be&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;c8ddea&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;c1bcb6&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/69\/09\/3c\/69093cd8-3073-ebd1-2cda-d2916a099f47\/mzaf_10314354140527362819.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Good Rockin’ Tonight”</a> (1948), and “Elevator Boogie” (1948). Many of these songs employ double entendre, a linguistic device that masked sexual innuendo. Novelty lyrics are common in rhythm and blues and provided humorous commentaries on everyday events in Black life, as found in “Beans and Cornbread” (1949), “Ain’t Nobody Here but Us Chickens (1946)” and “Saturday Night Fish Fry” (1949). Relationship songs, especially about romance, are common, for example <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:275,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;There Goes My Baby&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;340891830&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;There Goes My Baby&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The Drifters&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;The Essentials: The Drifters&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1956-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is3-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/91\/a2\/b1\/mzi.lnmqvltg.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1421,&quot;height&quot;:1401,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;000000&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;e1e1e1&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;ef7188&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;b4b4b4&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;bf5b6d&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview122\/v4\/d9\/5a\/d9\/d95ad919-a53f-1216-80a8-6956c1db57fc\/mzaf_14150469700751742409.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“There Goes My Baby”</a> (1959), “This Magic Moment” (1960), and “All I Could Do Was Cry” (1960).The other branch of lyrics mirrors the worldviews, experiences, relationships, and fantasies of teenagers. Songs like “Searching” (1957), “Dedicated to the One I Love” (1961), “Do You Love Me” (1963) and “Dancing in the Streets” (1964).

Hard Bop

Swing Bands

The Way You Do the Things You Do

Rock ‘n’ Roll

Soul

Disco

Saxophone

Strings

Trombone

Trumpet

Arrangement

Blues Form

Verse/Refrain

Rhythms

Louis Jordan

Johnny Otis

Wynonie Harris

Etta James

Nat “King” Cole

Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers

The Mills Brothers

The Delta Rhythm Boys

The Ravens

The Platters

The Drifters

The Chantels

The Shirelles

The Supremes

The Temptations

Caldonia (Single Version)

Caldonia

Straighten Up and Fly Right

Drifting Blues (Digitally Remastered)

Drifting Blues

Paper Doll

There Goes My Baby

Maybe (LP Version)

Maybe

(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave

Heatwave

Where Did Our Love Go

Only You (And You Alone)

Only You

Good Rockin’ Tonight

Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean

Racism/Discrimination

Dance

Love/Relationships

Migration

Entertainment

Secular

Soul is a gospel-influenced African American popular music style that evolved out of rhythm and blues in urban areas beginning in the late 1950s. Its passionate vocalizing, powerful rhythms, and honest lyrics spoke directly to a generation of young African Americans, and soul music became synonymous with the social and political developments affecting them. Soul became popular as a distinctive style during the 1960s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1970s. Its rise paralleled that of <a href="/stories/revolutionary-concepts-in-african-american-music" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Civil Rights and the Black Power movements</a>, acting as the “soundtrack” for the ascension of Black pride during these years—the music can’t be separated from the prevailing mood at the time, and vice versa.

As the momentum of the 1950s Civil Rights movement continued to build in the 1960s, Black college students rejected the nonviolent and integrationist approach advocated by civil rights leaders. In 1966 as an alternative, they embraced the Black nationalist ideology of Malcolm X. Under the rubric of Black Power and led by Kwame Ture (A.K.A. Stokley Carmichael) proponents of this ideology promoted national Black unity, Black pride, and self-determination. Their activism grew into a political movement to which Black people assigned social and cultural meanings described as “soul.” The term became associated with a range of Black cultural productions such as music, dance, visual art, foodways, fashion, natural hairstyles, a nonverbal communication style, and a unique language style of inner-city street talk and slang. With its roots in gospel music and the broader Black church culture, soul music captured the spirit, emotions, and chaos of the 1960s civil unrest that continued into the early 1970s.The soul sound began to take shape during the 1950s, the beginning of the modern Civil Rights movement. Pioneers Ray Charles and James Brown, followed by Brown, Sam Cooke, and Curtis Mayfield in the 1960s, tapped into the gospel music tradition to give a new voice to a people struggling for their rights as first-class citizens. They borrowed the rhythms, musical structures, vocal and instrumental style, and emotional delivery of gospel music and transformed rhythm and blues into soul. Ray Charles took this a step further by turning the spiritual song “This Little Light of Mine” into a soul song “This Little Girl of Mine” (1955). His reinterpretation of the 1952 rhythm and blues hit “Drown in My Own Tears”(1956), written as “I’ll Drown in My Tears” by Sonny Thompson and Lula Reed, introduced the gospel rhythms of the 12/8 meter, call-and-response structures, gospel harmonic progression, vocal phrasings, and improvisatory style.James Brown favored an intense, percussive, and gospel-inflected vocal sound similar to that of Black preachers he had observed in his youth. Brown’s dynamic persona lent a tension and excitement to his music, evident in the midtempo ballad “Please, Please, Please” (1956) with its repetitive, drawn-out choruses.

In the mid-1960s, Sam Cooke introduced the silky smooth, laid-back, melismatic vocal style associated with the gospel quartet the Soul Stirrers. Cooke was featured as lead singer and grafted that style onto rhythm and blues when he left the group for a secular solo career. His early recording of “You Send Me” (1957) was a precursor of the soul sound. By the mid-1960s, Brown evolved a distinctive soul sound that earned him the title “The Godfather of Soul.” He increased the intensity of his performance by adding a polyrhythmic foundation and incorporating vocal screams and hollers into his singing. His album Live at the Apollo, recorded in 1962, gave listeners a taste of the frenetic excitement Brown could generate and his fans’ dramatic reactions; some consider it the greatest live album ever recorded by any artist. Brown’s hit single “I Got You (I Feel Good)” (1965) is also one of the most thrilling classic soul recordings. Brown’s impassioned musical sound paralleled the emergence of the Black Power movement that promoted self-sufficiency, community control, and economic and political empowerment. Its leaders inspired unity, racial pride, and identification with the motherland of Africa among African Americans. Soul embodied this spirit as well as its sense of urgency to achieve these goals. The combination of soul’s social and political messages with its sheer musical power encouraged various levels of activism among African Americans and the nation as a whole.

The soul sound encompasses many different vocal styles and timbres. It ranged from the more lyrical and tempered style of Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions, and Al Green, to the gospel-folk style of the Staple Singers to the percussive and shouting approach of James Brown, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and Sam and Dave. Performances of soul music were similar to the preaching style and gospel singing heard in African American folk-styled churches. The singing was improvisatory and intensified the performance by repeating words and phrases, and punctuating with grunts, shouts, and moans. Timbres alternated between lyrical and percussive, shifted from high to low pitches, and incorporated bends, slides, melisma, and passing tones in the melody. Instrumentalists imitated these vocal sounds, using the technological devices of the day such as guitar wah-wah pedals and keyboard synthesizers to make their instruments “talk.”

Soul music performers promoted the ideology of Black Power through their lyrics, which advocated national Black unity, activism, and self-pride. Curtis Mayfield, songwriter and lead singer of the Impressions, set the stage with <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:298,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Keep on Pushing&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1442919644&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Keep On Pushing&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The Impressions&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Keep On Pushing&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1963-10-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music124\/v4\/1d\/1b\/f7\/1d1bf72a-f081-d768-8390-a3731302a32c\/00602557467956.rgb.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:3000,&quot;height&quot;:3000,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;341814&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;fbe829&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;d2a975&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;d3be25&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;b28c62&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/18\/d4\/ba\/18d4ba91-d765-e363-a23e-0ba2538cfa86\/mzaf_5421898072126070615.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Keep on Pushing”</a> (1964), “People Get Ready” (1964), “We’re a Winner” (1967), and “This is My Country” (1968). These themes also resonate in the recordings of Sam &amp; Dave’s “Soul Man” (1967) and the Staple Singers’ “You’ve Got to Earn It” and “Respect Yourself” (1971). James Brown stressed the need for racial pride in “Say It Loud—I’m Black and I’m Proud, Pt. 1” (1968) and he addressed social and political issues in “I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I’ll Get It Myself)” (1969) and “Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved” (1970). By the end of the turbulent 1960s, Motown artists began to address a range of social issues as heard in the Temptations’ “Cloud Nine” (1968) and “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is Today)” (1970), Gladys Knight &amp; The Pips’ “Friendship Train” (1969), Edwin Starr’s “War” (1970), and Stevie Wonder’s “Living for the City” (1973) and <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:299,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Higher Ground&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1440807404&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Higher Ground&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Stevie Wonder&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Innervisions&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1973-08-03&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is1-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music115\/v4\/ff\/c2\/5f\/ffc25f04-cb3b-b56e-dd28-8b77ae63e613\/00602537070824.rgb.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1431,&quot;height&quot;:1431,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;cb933e&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;050403&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;050504&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;2c210f&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;2d2110&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/3d\/a2\/b8\/3da2b8f9-e389-563b-e349-cf43f43ec750\/mzaf_13481458924750549834.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Higher Ground”</a> (1973).Other prevalent themes in the lyrics of soul focused on unity and respect, not only among African Americans as a community but in personal relationships as well. Otis Redding spoke of committed personal relationships in “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” (1965), “Respect” (1965), and <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:300,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Try a Little Tenderness&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;997088842&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Try a Little Tenderness&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Otis Redding&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;The Very Best of Otis Redding&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1966-10-15&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is1-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music125\/v4\/92\/3e\/f6\/923ef641-d13b-c0ac-1271-332f74b17956\/603497887217.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:2400,&quot;height&quot;:2400,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;000000&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;4fb2f4&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;3e9de9&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;3f8ec3&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;317eba&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview122\/v4\/d0\/93\/2e\/d0932e89-ed44-171c-19af-165162543c12\/mzaf_17667679326630100305.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Try a Little Tenderness”</a> (1966), as did Sam and Dave in “You Don’t Know Like I Know” (1965) and “When Something Is Wrong With My Baby” (1966), and Al Green in “Let’s Stay Together” (1971) and “I’m Still In Love With You” (1972). Joe Tex’s “A Sweet Woman Like You” (1965), Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Women” (1966), and Wilson Pickett’s “I Found a Love” (1967) acknowledged the importance of women in their lives. Aretha Franklin (known as the “Queen of Soul”) echoed related themes from the opposite perspective in “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” (1967), “Do Right Woman—Do Right Man” (1967), and “I Can’t See Myself Leaving You” (1968), and Gladys Knight &amp; The Pips in “If I Were Your Woman” (1970).

Soul music remained a major form of Black popular expression through the mid-1970s. The changes envisioned by African Americans, especially those living in the inner city, came at a much slower rate than anticipated. Musicians continued to speak on behalf of the community: The Isley Brothers expounded on the need for <a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/more/genres/24/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:301,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Freedom&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;198021832&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Freedom&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The Isley Brothers&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;The Essential Isley Brothers&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1970-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music125\/v4\/1e\/34\/dd\/1e34ddc4-b87d-d9f9-ebbd-aa822a29cc79\/mzi.nqjgihhk.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:600,&quot;height&quot;:600,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;d7d3d0&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;0a0b0a&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;242321&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;333331&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;484644&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/c1\/5f\/66\/c15f6645-e97f-87ca-5ce1-74bce7ce4d8b\/mzaf_2794225123669043066.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Freedom”</a> (1970) and the Chi-Lites reminded society that the critical mass of African Americans had not yet been empowered in “(For God’s Sake) Give More Power to the People” (1971). The O’Jays cautioned about “Backstabbers” (1972) and Marvin Gaye spoke of inner-city social problems in “What’s Going On” (1971) and “Inner City Blues” (1971), as did the O’Jays’ “Give the People What They Want” (1975). By the mid-1970s, the defining sound of soul had largely disappeared from the popular music landscape, replaced by funk and disco, and later, rap/hip-hop.

Contemporary Gospel

Soul Jazz

Smooth Jazz

Punk & Alt-Rock

Traditional Gospel

Gospel Group

Gospel Choir

Respect

Funk

Neo Soul

New Jack Swing

Electric Guitar

Electric Piano/Synthesizer

Meter

Timbre

Slide

Ray Charles

Sam Cooke

Aretha Franklin

Otis Redding

Sam & Dave

The Isley Brothers

Marvin Gaye

Stevie Wonder

Keep On Pushing

Keep on Pushing

Higher Ground

Try a Little Tenderness

Economics/Poverty

Civil Rights

Black Power/Pride

from the Black Rock Coalition manifesto

Punk and alt-rock are sub-genres of rock. Although they became commonly understood as musical idioms predominantly performed by and narrowly marketed to young white males, Black rockers contributed to their development. In the late-1960s, rockers in Detroit and New York created proto-punk out of a desire to remove the sonic excesses and eliminate the freestyle approach associated with the hard-edge psychedelic rock style of Jimi Hendrix. Alt-rock (alternative rock) emerges from independent music scenes, dissenting from corporate and mainstream trends, and does not represent one genre. Punk and alt-rock represents a do-it-yourself ideology and an aesthetic approach that expresses rebellion and alienation.

Late 1960s through the Mid-1970s: Proto-PunkThe 1960s was an era of social unrest stemming from multiple and overlapping protest movements: Civil Rights, anti-Vietnam War, and Women’s Liberation. In the late-1960s through the early 1970s, in Detroit and New York City, the proto-punk bands MC5, Stooges, Alice Cooper, New York Dolls, and The Velvet Underground were creating new sounds. The music was more aggressive than that of their rock contemporaries and the lyrics often had anti-authoritarian themes. Forgoing the non-structured approach, they revived the basic three chords and simple melodies of the 1950s and early 1960s rock ‘n’ roll music that they played loud and at a faster tempo.These sounds, lyrical themes, and the live theatrical performance aesthetic resonated with and inspired a few Black rockers, who became a part of the proto-punk scene. The brothers Bobby, David and Dannis Hackney formed one of the early proto-punk bands in 1973, naming the band Death. Growing up in Detroit, the band’s musical taste was eclectic. They were attracted to the rhythms of Detroit’s industrial sounds as well as the sounds of R&amp;B, gospel, soul, funk, Motown, reggae, Alice Cooper, and the rock touring groups performing and recording in Detroit such as The Who and the Rolling Stones. Operating outside the white, proto-punk underground scene in the city, Death created a unique, hard-rocking aggressive sound characterized by complex rhythmic structures, percussive vocal timbres, varying instrumental qualities and tinges of rhythm and blues.After refusing a record deal offered by Columbia Records’s Clive Davis, because Davis wanted them to change their name, Death founded the Tryangle label. They pressed their own records but couldn’t secure radio air play. Disco was in vogue and the control of playlists by local disc jockeys was shifting to corporate consultants. Death disbanded in 1977. The rediscovery and 2009 release of the band’s demos recorded in the mid-70s led to their resurgence and deserved recognition as a pioneering proto-punk band. The band began touring worldwide in 2010, and the Hackney brothers were the subject of the documentary A Band Called Death (2012). Since <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:297,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Keep on Knocking&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;303817020&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Keep On Knocking&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Death&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;...For the Whole World to See&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;2009-02-17&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is1-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music114\/v4\/f4\/3e\/f4\/f43ef408-e428-321e-4615-e3c8fe3b82af\/781484038726.png\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1400,&quot;height&quot;:1400,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;001621&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;f56f22&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;ff2f56&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;c45d22&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;cb294b&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/35\/05\/6d\/35056d75-e068-61c8-b858-4ff7e8793144\/mzaf_2913140154356375415.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">Death’s re-discovery</a>, Drag City Records and Tryangle Records have released three compilation albums, four singles, and an LP of old and new material N.E.W. (2015).In the mid-1970s, New York City became the center for the underground proto-punk scene. Unlike Death in Detroit, the all-Black band Pure Hell was a part of this white scene with the Dictators, Patti Smith, and Richard Hell &amp; the Voidoids on this scene. Inspired by Iggy &amp; the Stooges, Alice Cooper, and Jimi Hendrix, Pure Hell formed in 1974 in Philadelphia and later moved to New York. Their sound has been described as “louder, faster and more provocative than even those artists’ most experimental records” (“Noise Addiction” and “I Feel Bad” 1978).The band also became known for its unusual fashion (wigs and high heels) and spectacular stage act full of gymnastic theatrics. Despite successful performances in New York City and during European tours, Pure Hell experienced racism. Similar to the experiences of Death, record labels wanted them to change their name and style of music to conform to racial stereotypes. Refusing to comply, the band lost record deals, performance opportunities and momentum. By 1980, Pure Hell faded from the scene. The discovery of the band’s master tapes, recorded in 1979 and released in 2006, revived their legacy as an innovative pioneering proto-punk band.In the UK, early punk progenerated new wave and alt-rock, and was never a whites-only affair. Black and mixed-race musicians were part of the scene since the beginning, such as Poly Styrene of the punk X-Ray Spex (<a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:293,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Oh Bondage Up Yours&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;336774135&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Oh Bondage Up Yours!&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;X-Ray Spex&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Live @ The Roundhouse London 2008&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;2009-11-09&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/cb\/6b\/9f\/mzi.xagfwjvl.tif\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1500,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;000000&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;fefefe&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;f6155a&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;cbcbcb&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;c41148&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/22\/d9\/31\/22d931ca-77a2-9a3b-81c1-8f8fe62b199d\/mzaf_5201127381225438057.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Oh Bondage Up Yours,”</a> 1977), and the Black British reggae-punk pioneer fusion group Basement 5 (“Riot,” 1980) that featured the legendary Black British filmmaker Don Letts on vocals. Additional musicians include, Pauline Black of the new wave 2 Tone ska revival band The Selecter (“Three Minute Hero,” 1980), and Burmese born Annabella Lwin, who fronted the new wave group Bow Wow Wow, (C-30 C-60 C-90 Go!, 1980).In the States a free-jazz-punk-funk movement emerged and kicked off James White and The Blacks’ “Stained Sheets” (1978) and “Contort Yourself/(Tropical) Heatwave” (1979) that spawned trombonist Joe Bowies/Defunct’s “Eraserhead” (1988), whose early incarnation featured Living Colour’s Vernon Reid and bassist Melvin Gibbs. They later formed the Black Rock Coalition flagship affiliated band, and Epic Recording act Eye &amp; I Gibbs.In the 1980s and into the 21st century, descendants of Black Rock progenitors appeared on the charts. They include: the metal group Living Colour (Vivid, 1988), the rap-metal fusion band Rage Against The Machine (Rage Against The Machine, 1992), the eclectic, alt-rockers Fishbone (The Reality of My Surroundings, 1991), the punk group Bad Brains (Build A Nation, 2007) and heterogeneous, genre-bending performer Janelle Monáe (The Arch Android, 2013).In the 1980s and 1990s, Black rockers were blurring genres in the production of new hybrid and eclectic styles identified as alt-rock and post-punk.The 1980s-1990s: Hardcore Punk, Metal, and Alt-RockThe 1980s witnessed the rise of Rick James (Street Songs, 1981) and Prince (Purple Rain, 1984), both of whom contributed major chart busters to the Black rock canon. Especially noteworthy are James’s “Give It to Me Baby” and “Superfreak” and Prince’s, “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Darling Nikki,” and “The Beautiful Ones.” In the 1980s and early 1990s their mantle was taken up by three Black rock bands with all-Black membership—Bad Brains, Fishbone, and Living Colour.These bands drew upon a broad range of multi-genre influences across the board of modern pop—heavy metal, funk reggae, hip-hop, Afrobeat, ska, and punk. They also were enthralled by the jazz-funk fusion of ’70s Miles Davis and his musical progeny Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams Lifetime, Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Billy Cobham, and Return to Forever. The influences of these jazz-fusion groups as well as their blend of elements from multi-genres fused with their own innovations are heard in: Bad Brains’ “Banned In DC” (1982), <a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/genres/57/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:294,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;I Against I&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;115820545&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;I Against I&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Bad Brains&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;I Against I&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1986-11-21&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is3-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music115\/v4\/cd\/2d\/a6\/cd2da695-23b9-53e3-fe62-85d708733cbe\/669910747056.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:3000,&quot;height&quot;:3000,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;3d0a28&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;d4a9d2&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;d48cbf&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;b689b0&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;b672a1&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/bb\/53\/f2\/bb53f294-7f6f-aa4b-c721-7e7c726dd822\/mzaf_1191486779428254935.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“I Against I”</a> (1986), and “With The Quickness” (1988); Fishbone’s “Party At Ground Zero” (1985), “Ma and Pa” (1988), their amped-up cover of Curtis Mayfield’s “Freddie’s Dead” (1988), “Everyday Sunshine” (1991), and, “Black Flowers” (1993); and Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality” (1988) and <a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/genres/57/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:295,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Time\u2019s Up&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;158439546&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Time&#039;s Up&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Living Colour&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Time&#039;s Up&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1990-08-20&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is3-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music124\/v4\/db\/a8\/1c\/dba81c3a-e583-68b9-e056-6171735757a8\/mzi.thhrijqw.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:600,&quot;height&quot;:600,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;0b0b09&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;f4f3f1&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;fdda63&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;c5c5c2&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;cdb051&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/41\/77\/e1\/4177e1aa-4eec-49bf-9c87-ce49deadd453\/mzaf_10868938526210637910.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Time’s Up” </a>(1990). These songs won Living Colour Grammys in 1990 and 1991 respectively.

In 1985 Vernon Reid, founder and lead guitarist for Living Colour, instigated the creation of the Black Rock Coalition (BRC). This anti-racist support organization for the contemporary Black Rock community of musicians and devotees continues to thrive today. Early members of the BRC included the South Bronx-born quartet (then trio, now quartet again) 24-7 Spyz, whose albums Harder Than You (1989), Gumbo Millennium Strength In Numbers (1992), and Temporarily Disconnected (1995) garnered them cult support in Europe. This audience has given 24-7 Spyz a core tour base that has sustained them to the present-day while the mainstream American market success experienced by Living Colour has eluded them.A notable multi-ethnic rap-metal-fusion band, Rage Against the Machine (RATM), formed in 1991 in Los Angeles by Black guitarist Tom Morello and Chicano lead singer Zach De La Rocha. The band carried the Black Rock charge forward via Morello’s innovative guitar emulations of Public Enemy’s Bomb Squad productions and De La Rocha’s vocal fusing of punk intensity and rap flow. With the albums Rage Against the Machine, Evil Empire and The Battle For Los Angeles, RATM grew a loyal fan base that lead to them selling 16 million albums worldwide by 2010 despite breaking up in 1999. Another example of a rap-metal fusion is Body Count founded by rapper Ice T and guitarist Ernie C. Similar to RATM’s politically revolutionary musical vision, Body Count produced the controversial anti-police violence protest song, “Cop Killer” (1992).In Atlanta, Follow for Now formed in 1987 and left behind a legacy of headlining major venues with no album. Their first self-titled album released in 1991 received positive reviews from Rolling Stone magazine. The 2000s saw the advent of TV On the Radio, who emerged as the only predominantly Black rock band from Brooklyn’s thriving alt-rock scene. Spin magazine named the group’s second album, Return to Cookie Mountain (2006), its album of the year.The 2000s: Afro-PunkNYC’s Black Rock and hardcore punk scene of the late-1990s and early-2000s provoked the creation of a plethora of underground Black bands that rocked a genre defined as “hardcore:” Funkface, Sophia’s Toy, Tamar-Kali (who coined her own genre, Geechee Goddess Hardcore Warrior Soul), Honeychile, and Maya. The latter three women started a mini-festival series called Sista Grrrl Riots that recurred at the legendary rock club CBGBs in the late ’90s and early 2000s.Members of Funkface, Tamar-Kali and Honeychile prominently appear in James Spooner’s Afropunk (2003) documentary who, along with others, describe their experiences in a mostly white sub-culture. This documentary led to the establishment in 2005 of an annual Afropunk Festival that has been franchised from Brooklyn to satellite fests in Atlanta, Paris, and Dakar. The Afropunk events have featured vintage and contemporary Black rock acts including Living Colour, Bad Brains, Fishbone, Saul Williams, Jada Pinkett Smith’s Wicked Wisdom, Janelle Monáe, Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, The Veldt, Ho99o9, and Death Grips, whose signature blend of noisy samples, ferocious live drumming and the hyperkinetic vocals of MC Ride come off as bent on picking up were Bad Brains, Public Enemy, and Rage Against The Machine left off (DG’s dissonant mélange also manifests as a dominant, appropriated and abrasive presence on Kanye West’s 2013 Yeezus).One of the most innovative contemporary artists is Janelle Monáe, whose creativity crosses and fuses R&amp;B, soul, funk, hip-hop, and punk genres. Her four innovative albums Metropolis Suite, (2008), The Arch Android (2010), <a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/genres/57/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:296,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Givin\u2019 \u2018Em What They Love&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;665514253&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Givin Em What They Love (feat. Prince)&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Janelle Mon\u00e1e&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;The Electric Lady&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;2013-09-06&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is1-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Features124\/v4\/a2\/31\/f1\/a231f168-3033-d043-8efe-4728d3b23ea1\/dj.kajrbqrd.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1425,&quot;height&quot;:1425,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;111528&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;e3d9df&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;e67d68&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;b9b2ba&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;bb685b&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/ca\/a5\/be\/caa5be45-1e5c-e33c-3386-e0d8610864af\/mzaf_161927338421652881.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Electric Lady</a> (2013), and Dirty Computer (2018) and dynamic live shows (way more metal guitar-friendly than her recordings), have established her as a genre-jumping Afrofuturist/LGBTQ feminist successor to Living Colour.In September 2019, The Black Rock Coalition Orchestra, fast approaching their thirty-fifth year of operation, brought a history of Black rock lineage program to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which featured Stew and a younger cool-carrier of the Black Rock flame Fantastico Negrito alongside longtime BRC mainstays Sophia Ramos, Toshi Reagon, and The Family Stand, whose 1991 album Moon In Scorpio stands toe-to-toe with the best work by Fishbone, Living Colour, and Bad Brains as a signpost of the genres ongoing devotion to soul roots, multi-genre conceptualism and virtuosic instrumental prowess.

Played at faster tempos and loud, punk draws from the basic three chords and simple melodies of the 1950s and early 1960s rock ‘n’ roll music. Post-punk embraced an Avant Garde approach to ’70s punk style. It opened the door for new wave (a synth-heavy, pop-oriented modern style) and alt-rock, a descendant of punk rock that moved away from the conventions of pop and rock. Hardcore punk was harder, faster, and more abrasive.A new generation of Black rock bands emerged in the 1980s—Bad Brains, Fishbone, and Living Colour. Each featured virtuoso musicians proficient in any style, and singers who could scream and holler over loud guitars like glory-zapped holy rollers. They also made a point of exposing their roots by doing edgy guitar-centric covers of ’70s soul classics: Bad Brains reworking Graham Central Station’s “Hair;” Living Colour rendering a driving metal treatment of Al Green’s “Love and Happiness;” Fishbone revving up Curtis Mayfield’s “Freddy’s Dead;” Rage Against The Machine drawing from the buzzbomb sound and political fervor of Public Enemy; the dreamy soul psychedelia of <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:504,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Revolutionary Sister&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1442227038&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Revolutionary Sister&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The Veldt&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Afrodisiac&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1994-02-08&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is2-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music128\/v4\/c9\/c0\/92\/c9c092a5-7c4a-5029-3e75-6e025c7caa1b\/00602557719758.rgb.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:3000,&quot;height&quot;:3000,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;9c406f&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;faf7e0&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;fbe5e0&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;e7d2c9&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;e8c4c9&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/d2\/7a\/2b\/d27a2bb7-1497-49a2-f5c9-b287bec65b46\/mzaf_2115574875464198007.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Veldt </a>taking cues from Curtis Mayfield and Britain’s Cocteau Twins; TV On The Radio mashing up tangents drawn from acts as disparate as the Beach Boys, Talking Heads, and Pink Floyd into a hallucinatory hybrid; Janelle Monáe freely referencing film soundtracks, Hendrix, and Michael Jackson, and drawing from mélange of rave-dance electronica and acid-seared funk ‘n’ roll. Veteran singer-songwriter outliers such as Nona Hendryx, Tracey Chapman, and Marc Anthony Thompson help complete our panoramic jigsaw puzzle picture of the wily diverse Black Rock field.

Although rock might symbolize or be associated with youthful rebellion and resistance, mainstream rockers usually are concerned with maintaining their broad fan base, thereby, avoid singing directly about politics. On the other hand, punk and alt-rock bands are drawn to the subversive and transgressive power and the political potential feared by commercial rock stars. Their lyrics cover many topics of the human experience: social and political commentary with themes of police brutality, drug use, racism, poverty, government corruption, class/social inequality, and mental health.

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