Chris Trottier on Nostr: What even if "rock"? And how is it different from "R&B"? I ask these questions ...
What even if "rock"? And how is it different from "R&B"?
I ask these questions because, every time an R&B artist is nominated to the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame, someone says they don't belong there.
However, I don’t think there’s much of a difference – if any at all. In the 50s-70s, most of the major rock acts described their music as “R&B”. For example, The Who famously described themselves as “maximum R&B”.
What changed is that, as time went on, “rock” became codified as “white music”, while “R&B” became codified as “black music”. And black R&B acts that were once described as “rock” were retroactively described as “R&B”. For example, “Queen of Rock n’ Roll” Tina Turner isn’t even regarded as a rock artist nowadays, even though she was a pioneer. Same deal with Aretha Franklin. Yes, she’s soul – but back in the 60s, people saw soul music as a subgenre of rock, because it was.
Nevertheless, if we get to what rock n’ roll is, at its core, it’s blues with a little extra rhythm. Hence “rhythm & blues” or “R&B”.
If Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin are in the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame, there’s no reason Mary J. Blige, Cher, and Mariah Carey shouldn’t also be in it.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/mary-j-blige-mariah-carey-cher-sade-oasis-and-ozzy-osbourne-among-rock-hall-nominees-for-24-1.6763984
I ask these questions because, every time an R&B artist is nominated to the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame, someone says they don't belong there.
However, I don’t think there’s much of a difference – if any at all. In the 50s-70s, most of the major rock acts described their music as “R&B”. For example, The Who famously described themselves as “maximum R&B”.
What changed is that, as time went on, “rock” became codified as “white music”, while “R&B” became codified as “black music”. And black R&B acts that were once described as “rock” were retroactively described as “R&B”. For example, “Queen of Rock n’ Roll” Tina Turner isn’t even regarded as a rock artist nowadays, even though she was a pioneer. Same deal with Aretha Franklin. Yes, she’s soul – but back in the 60s, people saw soul music as a subgenre of rock, because it was.
Nevertheless, if we get to what rock n’ roll is, at its core, it’s blues with a little extra rhythm. Hence “rhythm & blues” or “R&B”.
If Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin are in the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame, there’s no reason Mary J. Blige, Cher, and Mariah Carey shouldn’t also be in it.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/mary-j-blige-mariah-carey-cher-sade-oasis-and-ozzy-osbourne-among-rock-hall-nominees-for-24-1.6763984