About

This website is dedicated to the original early rhythm & blues music emanating from the blues and gospel music traditions of the early 40’s to the early 70’s incorporating rock and roll, soul, funk, doo wop, etc.

The format and content of the website is as follows:

R&B Defined – basic definitions of the terms: Rhythm & Blues and its derivatived Rock and Roll, Soul, Funk, Doo-wop, British R&B, New Orleans R&B, Reggae and Ska.

Articles – a series of articles and essays relating to the early R&B scene.

Interviews – interviews/stories with key artists and R&B music industry figures.

Galleries – Award, Photo and Video Galleries of key artists and R&B music industry figures.

Reference – Books, Discographies and Websites.

Coming Soon – New sections currently being developed or planned:

Origins – the origins of the music genre.

Artists & Bands – artists and bands from R&B’s early days.

Composers – featured composers of the genre

Songs – featured songs of the genre

Organisations – influential organisations for the genre

Thanks – acknowledging all contributors to the website.

Contact – a simple contact form for messages, memories and stories.

Please note the above format is subject to change as the website develops over time.

Any comments, suggestions or contributions (all welcome) please complete the contact form on the Contact page.  Thank you.

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This website is part of the ‘Early Music’ group comprising:

www.earlyblues.com

Probably the longest continuously running blues ‘information resource’ websites on the Internet comprising a vast range of blues material published over a 20 year period: the ‘UK and European Blues Festival Guide’, photographic galleries and reviews of blues festivals, blues tours and gigs, artist and band interviews, recommended blues magazines CDs, DVDs, and radio stations, travelogues, general blues news items, a blues shopping mall, blues recipes, blues resting places, social media, discussion forums and guestbook views.

www.earlyblues.org

This website runs in parallel to www.earlyblues.com and replaces the original History Section, being entirely dedicated to the history and evolution of the Blues in essays and articles, cultural aspects, exhibitions, presentations, courses, talks, research projects, reference lists, recommended blues books, blues resting places, and links to other historical blues websites. There is a separate detailed section of British Blues ( http://earlyblues.org/british-blues/  ) including an archive of over 160 blues festival photographic galleries and reviews going back some 20 years (http://earlyblues.org/british-blues-events-festivals/ ). This is now the main ‘EarlyBlues’ historical website of blues material.

www.earlygospel.com

This is the sister website to ‘Earlyblues.com’, specialising in early gospel music and particularly lesser known singers and groups, from the spirituals and sacred songs in the 1870s through the evolution of gospel music to the end of WW II. The website provides an introduction to the history and evolution of gospel music. It includes the origins of gospel music, a chronology of key dates and significant events, influential churches in the American south, bibliographical summaries of preachers and their congregations / ‘jack-leg’ preachers and evangelists / gospel singers, essays and articles specialising in early gospel music, research projects, a discography including key recordings, a bibliography of key reference literature, and a list of Internet resources used for reference and further research.

www.undergroundrailroad.org.uk

The website documents the anti-slavery Underground Railroad movement including the origins of the underground railroad, a chronology of key dates and significant events, influential people, locations and associated events, themes, essays and articles specialising in the underground railroad, musical influences, research projects, a bibliography of key reference literature, a discography including key recordings, and Internet website references. The website reflects a key factor of the social environment in the early development of blues and gospel music genres.

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Notes

1.  This is a nonprofit educational website and no content may be copied for commercial use (click here for the copyright notice).

2.  Some details in these sections are taken from Wikipedia articles reproduced here strictly for nonprofit educational use only. Several are augmented with photographs, additional information and links by Alan White (and/or other contributors as indicated within each section).

3.  Wikipedia source:  www.wikipedia.org  – used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license (CC-BY-SA);

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Collage compiled by Kirk Lang