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Rhythm And Blues / R&B

One of the direct precursors to the mid-1950s advent of rock and roll, rhythm and blues was a hybrid of straightahead blues and the swinging rhythms of big band jazz, pared down to a more adaptable small combo format. Immensely popular alto saxophonist Louis Jordan was the driving force behind the rise of R&B, perfecting a formula combining a punchy horn section, boogie-based piano, slicing electric guitar, and a danceable rhythmic drive. Jordan's jivey vocals were the perfect complement.

During the postwar era, the race music charts were dominated by small rhythm and blues combos. In addition to Jordan, Roy Milton, Amos Milburn, T-Bone Walker, Joe Liggins and his brother Jimmy, Buddy Johnson, Pee Wee Crayton, Dave Bartholomew, Fats Domino, Big Jay McNeely, and countless more specialized in what has become known as jump blues. Their incendiary musical attack opened the door to rock and roll, which in its early years retained the honking saxophones and relentless rhythms that previously defined rhythm and blues. When Clyde McPhatter, The "5" Royales, and Ray Charles added strong gospel influences during the early '50s, the seeds were planted for the eventual ascent of soul music.

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