Eternally fashionable and extremely refined genre.. say it loud & fast few times :)
1940s
That’s when the expression Rhythm & Blues started to appear. At first, it was used as a generic name for record companies to market numerous musical genres, such as soul, funk and later, in the 70s, disco.
1970s
Nevertheless, the origins of smooth r&b go back to the emotional sounds of Isaac Hayes, Barry White, and Teddy Pendergrass, whose sexy slow songs have provided the background to a lot of passionate endeavors.
1980s
In the 1980s, the genre morphed into what was then branded as Contemporary R&B, which combined the sexy vocals of soul with the rhythm provided by drum machines and progressively more and more electronic arrangements. Despite the fact that most of these albums – for example Marvin Gaye’s genre standard Sexual Healing
from 1982 – became hugely popular. It wasn’t until the 1990s that such artists as TLC and Mariah Carey brought the genre to the top of the pop charts.
1990s
That decade brought a growing amount of interaction among r&b and hip-hop producers and musicians, particularly Timbaland, whose collaboration with Ginuwine (Pony
, 1996) and Missy Elliot created a new standard in both styles. Specifically, the Missy Elliot and Ginuwine song Friendly Skies from Elliot’s premier album Supa Dupa Fly
(1997) is removed far away from its naturally sounding predecessors, utilizing loads of voice processors, colorful synthesizer patches, and delayed drums. And don’t you forget R.Kelly’s Bump N' Grind
(1994) – how many kids were conceived to the sound of this song?
XXI c.
Ever since this artistically high peak, the style has become bigger in recognition, with R&B performers repeatedly reaching number one in top charts around the world. Even though lots of of these chart toppers are dance floor hits from the divas like Beyoncé (Irreplaceable
, 2006) and Rihanna, performers, for example, like R.Kelly , Ne-Yo, and Alicia Keys are keeping on to hold stardom with their more relaxed version of the R&B style called slow jam.
I conducted a brief survey during March and April on the sites like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and also asking my personal musician friends to find out the best Smooth R&B artist, and one artist got the most of voices:
Barry White - Gold
- double CD released by Hip-O Records, includes 'You're My First, My Last, My Everything', 'Never Never Gonna Give You Up' and 'Baby We Better Try To Get It Together'. Love Unlimited Orchestra tracks are here also.
Down the page you'll find the list of the artists who made smooth r&b genre popular.
Ashanti
Barry White, Bell Biv Devoe, Beyoncé, Bill Withers, Billy Ocean, Boyz II Men, Brandy, Brian McKnight
Christina Aguilera, Commodores
Earth, Wind & Fire
Freddie Jackson
Gato Barbieri, Gregory Abbott, Grover Washington, Jr.
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Heatwave
James Ingram, Jodeci
Lee Ritenour, Lemar, Lil' Mo, Luther Vandross
Mary J., Maxwell, MC Lyte feat. Xscape, Mint Condition
Peabo Bryson
Regina Belle
Sade, Sarah Brightman, Sisqo, Sugababes
The Manhattans, Tony! Toni! Tone!, Ty Causey, Tyrese
Usher
Vanessa Williams, Vivian Green
I've always wanted to be a smooth OGOGO.
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