rhythm-and-blues

Rhythm and blues (also known as R&B or RnB) is a popular music genre combining jazz, gospel, and blues influences, first performed by African American artists. The term was coined as a musical marketing term in the United States in 1947 by Jerry Wexler at Billboard magazine. It replaced the term race music (which originally came from within the black community, but was deemed offensive in the postwar world) and the Billboard category Harlem Hit Parade in June 1949. In 1948, RCA Victor was marketing black music under the name Blues and Rhythm. The words were reversed by Wexler of Atlantic Records, the leading label in the R&B field in the early years.
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Synonyms and related words:
acid rock, avant-garde jazz, ballroom music, bebop, boogie-woogie, bop, country rock, dance music, dances, folk rock, hard rock, hot jazz, jazz, jive, mainstream jazz, musical suite, rag, ragtime, rock, rock-and-roll, suite, suite of dances, swing, syncopated music, syncopation, the new music