Rhythm and Blues

Blues singer Lonnie Johnson recorded "Careless Love" in 1928, and 40 years later he re-recorded it for the R&B charts which Elvis Presley did a cover on the tune as a tribute to Lonnie. Muddy Waters in the early 1950s had several hits that were listed in the R&B charts. Among them were "Long Distance Call" arid "Honey Bee. Lowell Fulson's 1949 hit of "Three O'clock Blues" was later recorded by B. B. King in 1951 and took full credit for the success of that tune. T-Bone Walker, Pee Wee Crayton, Pete Lewis, Willie Dixon's trio with Ollie Crawford on guitar and pianist Leonard 'Baby Doo' Caston joined the ranks to rhythm and blues.

Rhythm and blues embraced various types of the blues and blues-related music. Fats Domino, Chuck Berry. Little Richard, Bo Diddlev and Louis Jordan with his first number one R&B hit of "Blue Light Boogie" were among the first to expose R&B to the public. Unlike the blues that often described troubled times and hardships, rhythm and blues was happy dancing music. It was heard in black American churches. Black bands during the "swing era" were playing rhythm and blues, bands like Johnny Otis, Count Basie and Lionel Hampton.

During the early 1950s, B.B. King, Bobby 'Blue' Bland, Roscoe Gordon and Jackie Brenston were recording R&B tunes. Johnnie Ray's "Cry" and Eddie Boyd's "Five Long Years" hit the top of the R&B chart. Vocal groups were heavy into R&B. There were the "Crew Cuts," Billy Ward and the Dominoes, the Oriole, the Drifters, the Moon Glows and the Crows. A good deal of R&B came from gospel music. The hymn "Stand by Me" by Ben F. King was an R&B classic.