All through the second half of the twentieth century, R&B proved to be the most influential genre of music in terms of the effects it had on other genres such as Rock and Roll, Country and Western, Jazz, and Gospel. All R&B sub-genres have a common use of rhythm, timbre, and instrumentation. The advent of magnetic tape made it possible for individuals to establish their own recording companies. Larger record companies had little interest in R&B, thus allowing independent companies such as the Atlantic and Chess to produce and distribute this genre. Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler introduced Rhythm and Blues to a wider audience by publishing recordings of artists such as Ruth Brown, Lavern baker, and Ray Charles.

The recording of R&B appeared almost simultaneously on both coasts of the United States. In 1938, Louis Jordan who had begun his career as a big-band jazz musician started a group called Tympany Five. Decca records produced his records in New York. His music was characterized by humorous lyrics, the use of the traditional 12- bar Blues, and rhythmic solos. Jordan’s music appealed to a mixed audience. His music influenced the compositions of Chuck Berry, B.B. King, and James Brown among many other musicians performing in the following decades.

Around the same time, artists like Nat King Cole and Charles Brown developed a more subtle style of R&B characterized by a combination of crooning vocals and very rhythmic piano music. The resulting music appealed to both white and black audiences.

There were two other styles of R&B popular in the 1940’and 1950’s: the instrumental genre and the vocal style. Saxophonists Joe Houston, Paul Williams, and T.J. McNeely contributed to the popularity of the instrumental type. The Mills Brothers, the Ink Spot, and the Ravens represented the vocal side of R&B Music. This group-vocal style was replaced by Doo Wop in the 1950’s. The lyrics spoke to the youth and teenagers of that era with themes of romance, cars, and rebellion. Five Keys, the Coasters and the Drifters belonged to this last group.

American musical culture was deeply influenced when artists such as Chuck Berry and Little Richard started making music in the black Rock and Roll style. Both these artists talked to the youth by writing about their dreams and fancies. Little Richard’s songs “Tutti Fruiti” and “Lucille” along with Chuck Berry’s “Maybelline” and “Johnny B. Goode”, turned into classics and were performed by a number of white artists in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

The Chicago Soul, Motown sound, and Southern Soul emerged in the 1960’s as the most popular types of R$B music. The first was mostly influenced by Gospel music. Curtis Mayfield and the group “Impressions” represent Chicago Soul music. The songs of this singer-songwriter featured several singers performing in a call-and-response fashion. He also used “falsetto” voice and the “vibraphone” in his compositions and referred to his music as “songs of faith and inspiration”.

The Motown record company was formed in 1959 by Berry Gordy in Detroit Michigan. Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and the Temptations are the most successful vocal groups of this period. Along with Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, they turned Motown into one of the most successful independent record companies in the world.

Southern Soul was developed by Ray Charles and James Brown. Brown would compose a secular love song, “I got a woman” on the basis of a traditional religious song, “I got religion”. In the late 1960’s Atlantic records and Stax records published several vocal artists like Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding. These recordings were sold to both black and white audiences. Southern Soul remained popular through the 1970’s with the help of artists like Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, and Al Green.