Cradle of Rhythm and Blues, Record-Row, TV Documentary

Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R’n’B, is a genre of popular music that originated within the African-American community in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to African Americans, at a time when “rocking, jazz based music … [with a] heavy, insistent beat” was becoming more popular.