EDUCATION

THE APOLLO THEATER STUDY GUIDE PUBLISHED BY THE APOLLO THEATER EDUCATION PROGRAM IN NEW YORK, NY | VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2, APRIL 2017

RHYTHM & BLUES

D uring the 1930s and
40s, swing was the
most popular music
in America. The big bands of artists
ROOTS OF
RHYTHM
to explore new artistic possibilities
for jazz in the 1940s, particularly with
a fast-paced instrumental style of
jazz called bebop, R&B music invited

& BLUES
like Lionel Hampton and Cab Calloway audiences to dance and sing along.
delighted audiences with their high Early R&B pioneers like Louis
energy performances. Following World Jordan blended the syncopation
War II (1939-45), many of the big bands of swing with the hard driving feel
broke up into smaller groups, and the of jump blues to create R&B’s
Swing Era came to a close. In swing’s infectious rhythmic groove. When
place, a new popular music emerged, blues shouters like Big Joe Turner
called Rhythm & Blues. and Wynonie Harris got a hold of that
Before Billboard Magazine first coined the groove, listeners had never heard music
term “Rhythm & Blues” in 1949, or “R&B” r t i sts with such raw emotion. Audiences were
a
for short, record companies labeled R&B e s, j azz, especially drawn to the vocal qualities
u
numerous styles of music created by e d t he bl c r e a t e of R&B, which encouraged musical
blend m u s ic to r e
African Americans, “race music.” l a call and response and featured
ospe hat
While “race records” were marketed and g o u n d. W o d ay humorous song lyrics.
es tists
t
primarily to African American i r u niqu f a r t In order to meet the growing
the p les o i f f eren
audiences, R&B helped break down a m d demand for R&B music, dozens
m e ex l e n ded t h eir
categories of race by introducing s o b t e of record companies sprung up
have to cr
ea
at
music created by black performers to who y l e s W h throughout the United States in
white audiences on a massive scale. i c al st o u nds? the 1940s and 50s, leading to a surge
s s w
Similar to the big bands of the
mu
u n ique t h e y dra in R&B record sales and radio play.
own
l s t y les do
Swing Era, though smaller in size, R&B ca Nowhere did these developments
bands featured piano, upright bass, drums,
musi from
?
become more public, and was R&B
horns, and increasingly by the 1950s, electric more popularly received, than at the World
guitar. While many big band musicians went on Famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.
 RHYTHM & BLUES AT THE APOLLO
S ince The Apollo
first opened
in 1934, the
theater has presented many
different forms of arts and
entertainment.
Comedians, tap dancers,
and even animals performing
tricks, were all popular in
The Apollo’s Vaudeville style
variety acts of the 1930s and
40s. As a new generation of
audiences took interest in
R&B, the Apollo’s variety acts
were replaced by the “R&B
Revue” in 1955.
With popular disc jockey, Tommy
“Dr. Jive” Smalls, promoting the revues
on his “Dr. Jive” radio program, audiences
flocked to The Apollo to see as many as a
dozen R&B acts appear on the same bill.
The revues were so well received a made-
for-television movie was filmed to offer
home audiences a glimpse into what a
“Rhythm & Blues Revue” looked like.
For viewers to see black musicians
playing black music on television was
groundbreaking for the time; television
still being a new form of technology in
the 1950s. The Apollo’s “R&B
Revue” was the first
performance format
the
of its kind and j a zz in ed
inspired Li k e
& B invit
30s, R to
similar a n d l i st e ners With
s n of mic
1920 ratio rhyth th ent
ury
gy,
formats
ng g e n e ti o u s chy 20 c hnolo
a you infec i le cat n tec ,
with
. R& B ’s
ces, w h
ong. e m ents i le vision
theaters i c ipate l a r dan s i ng al advan
c and te
ss
pa r t
d po p u
ces t o s e radio a c h ma
and radio spire udien song as th
m to
re
v e i n e d a s o r such atfor ar. H
ow
stations groo s wel
com y ar
tist
nces
?
had a p l
ep o p u l
c
i R&B becom r watch)
l y r f a n d a
around
song ko lar ook n d
thin popu chy h nces
a o (o of
orms st
d
audie
the u t
n y o
ins p i r e
a c a ten t f
Ca
have have ou l is
at n e w
country. that e do y ? Wh 21
that ut so
ngs u fee
l lik od a y
g e d in the
t a b o k e y o ic t
eme r
Wha h ma mus have de
whic g alo
ng ? n ol og y
h h ave ma
sin g i n tech ry wh
ic
centu p ossib
le?
th a t
 A NATION OF RHYTHM & BLUES
W hile the Apollo helped
popularize R&B
more than any other
performance venue in America, a national
network of record companies and radio
stations played a great role in the
HERE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES OF FAMOUS RECORD COMPANIES THAT
RECORDED R&B MUSIC AND SOME OF THE ARTISTS THEY REPRESENTED:
DECCA (New York, NY)
Louis Jordan

ATLANTIC (New York, NY)

development of the music.
In New York City, major Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles
record companies like Decca
produced some of the biggest KING (Cincinnati, OH)
R&B stars of the day, including James Brown &
Famous Flames
Louis Jordan. Meanwhile,
smaller independent
MOTOWN (Detroit, MI)
companies like Atlantic
Smokey Robinson and
produced influential R&B Marvin Gaye
recordings by Big Joe Turner
and Ruth Brown. CHESS (Chicago, IL)
Other independent Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry
companies, such as Peacock
Records in Houston, TX PEACOCK (Houston, TX) –
recorded Big Mama Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton
Thornton as well as
the self-proclaimed SPECIALTY (Los Angeles, CA) Little
“Originator of Rock Richard and Sam Cooke
and Roll”, Little
Richard. In New STAX (Memphis, TN)
Orleans, LA, Little Otis Redding
Richard later recorded
some of his biggest hits
at J&M Studios, where
pianist and vocalist Fats
Domino recorded his own
hit R&B records in the 1950s.
By the 1960s, Detroit, MI
saw the birth of Motown Records and
the “Motown Sound”; made famous
by artists like Smokey Robinson
and Marvin Gaye. Additional
record companies including Chess
(Chicago, IL), King (Cincinnati, OH),
Specialty (Los Angeles, CA), and Stax
(Memphis, TN), all contributed to the
development of R&B, and produced
artists who shaped the course of
American music history.
 ON THE RADIO

T he explosion of R&B
records in the 1940s and
50s helped popularize
what was commonly referred to as “race
music” in the United States. When
Billboard Magazine formally replaced
ON HIS LATE-NIGHT RADIO
PROGRAM, “MOONDOG
ROCK’N’ROLL PARTY”,
FREED INTRODUCED
to the forefront of mainstream America.
Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton’s
hit record “Hound Dog” for example,
sold over 500,000 copies following
its 1953 release. Elvis Presley’s cover
of Thornton’s “Hound Dog” on the
the term with “Rhythm & Blues” in 1949, other hand, sold over 10 million copies
African American artists became more R&B TO YOUNG WHITE following its 1956 release, and became
widely recognized by white audiences, one of the most popular rock and roll
particularity on the radio.
Disc jockeys such as Alan Freed
AUDIENCES; SPARKING A records ever produced.
White artists were no doubt
in Cleveland, OH (who first coined the
phrase “rock and roll” in 1951) took
CULTURAL REVOLUTION afforded opportunities black artists
were not, reflecting African Americans’
notice of listeners’ growing interest in struggle to win racial equality in
R&B in the early 1950s. On his late-night
THAT BROUGHT MATTERS OF America. R&B had a major impact on
radio program, “Moondog Rock’n’Roll breaking down categories of race in
Party”, Freed introduced R&B to young RACE TO THE FOREFRONT OF music and popular culture, and planted
white audiences; sparking a cultural the seeds for future social awareness in
revolution that brought matters of race MAINSTREAM AMERICA. soul, funk, hip hop, and rap music.
RACE
IN RHYTHM
I n reference to Rhythm & Blues, vocalist Ruth Brown once said, “The rhythm
covered up the blues.” She was referring to racial inequality in both the music
industry and life at large for African Americans in the United States.
While the practice of segregation separated American citizens based on race in the
1950s, African Americans worked tirelessly to fight such injustice. Significant
civil rights events including activist Rosa Parks refusing to
give up her seat to a white man on a public

& BLUES bus in Montgomery, AL in 1955, brought

matters of racial inequality to the forefront
of American politics, and helped launch the
U.S. Civil Rights Movement.

DID
Meanwhile, African American artists like
Ruth Brown came up playing on the Chitlin’

K N O W ? Circuit; a route of performance venues in the

Y OUhitlin
C i r c u it get
s its
ngs,
eastern United States where African Americans
could safely perform and attend performances
tterli om at. The most respected venue on the Chitlin’
The C from chi r
ade f Circuit was none other than the Apollo Theater
name d dish m es
l foo estin in Harlem, which first desegregated performances
a sou small int
the og. in 1934, and has since become world famous for
of a h empowering African American artists.
RHYTHM & BLUES THEN AND NOW
THE PIONEERS
Saxophonist and vocalist Louis Jordan helped kick off the R&B movement in the mid-
1940s with hits like ”Let the Good Times Roll”. As the decade came to an end, blues
shouters including Big Joe Turner and Wynonie Harris helped popularize R&B even
more with their powerful voices and humorous song lyrics.
Vocal groups like The Orioles and Billy Ward and the Dominoes merged doo- wop
singing and R&B. The Dominoes featured influential R&B vocalists Clyde McPhatter and
Jackie Wilson. Along with artists like James Brown, Sam Cooke, and Aretha Franklin,
Wilson blended R&B and gospel music to help create soul music in the 1960s.
Whether at The Apollo, or in theaters and recording studios around the country,
R&B artists laid the foundation for the future
development of rock and roll, soul music, and more.

THINK ABOUT IT:

CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS
Just as the term “race music” was applied to numerous
Inequality can exist in
many forms; from racial,
styles of African American music during the 1930s and to gender, to economic,
40s, the term “R&B” was similarly applied to rock and and more. Can you think
roll artists in the 1950s, soul artists in the 1960s, and funk of any specific examples
artists in the 1970s. of inequality that exist
The label is still used by record companies today in the world today? How
to describe African American artists and their music. can artists, activists,
“Contemporary R&B” artists like Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé, politicians, and citizens
and Bruno Mars blend pop, funk, soul, and hip hop to at large, work together to
create their original sounds; just as artists in the 1940s make sure everyone’s civil
blended blues, jazz, and gospel music to create the rights are protected in the
original sound of “R&B.” 21st century?

Top to bottom: James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Louis Jordan, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé
 MUSICAL ELEMENTS OF RHYTHM & BLUES
Rhythm & Blues: Developing out of the 1940s Swing Bebop: A fast-paced instrumental style of jazz which
Era, R&B became the predecessor for rock and roll to emerged in New York City in the early 1940s.
develop in the 1950s, as well as soul music in the 1960s.
Call and Response: Similar to a conversation,
Swing: A style of jazz popular in the 1930s and 40s. musicians perform a “call” for an audience to “respond”
to, with audiences either echoing the call or expanding
Swing Era: An historical period (1935-45) when swing on it. A fundamental element of African American music,
was the most popular music in America. call and response became significant to the stylistic
development and popularity of R&B, rock and roll, soul,
Big Bands: Large jazz ensembles often featuring funk, hip hop, and rap music in the 20th century.
five saxophones, four trombones, four trumpets, and a
rhythm section of piano, upright bass, and drums. Jump Blues: An up-tempo style of blues featuring a
hard driving rhythmic feel, musical call and response, and
Syncopation: Syncopation in American music humorous song lyrics.
developed out of West African and Caribbean dance
rhythms, and became popular through jazz, R&B, and Blues Shouters: Powerful vocalists who can sing over
rock and roll in the 20th century. a band without the need for amplification.

REFERENCES
Carlin, R. & Conwill, K. (2010). Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment.
Washington DC: Smithsonian Books.
Cooper, R. (1990). Amateur Night at the Apollo. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.
Fox, T. (2003). Showtime at the Apollo: The Story of Harlem’s World Famous Theater. Rhinebeck, NY: Mill Road Enterprises.
George, N. (1988). The Death of Rhythm & Blues. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Schiffman, J. (1971). The Story of Harlem’s Apollo Theater. New York, NY: Cowles Book Company.
Schiffman, J. (1984). Harlem Heyday: A Pictorial History of Modern Black Show Business and the Apollo Theatre. Buffalo, NY:
Prometheus Books.

Written by Credits Generous Support for School Day Live

Tim Sullivan Images: Tickets provided by
Page 6: “A Negro Going in the Entrance for
Apollo Theater Education Staff Negroes at a Movie Theater”, Belzoni, Mississippi,
Shirley C. Taylor 1939, Marion Post Wolcott /Library of Congress
Leadership support for Apollo
Director of Education Prints and Photographs Division Education Programs provided by
Debbie Ardemendo Page 6: “Theatre in Leland, Mississippi”, June,
Associate Director of Education The Ronald O. Perelman Family Foundation
1937, Dorothea Lange/Library of Congress, Prints
Jason Steer & Photographs Division
Education Manager
Princess Belton Page 7: top to bottom – James Brown, Aretha
Education Coordinator Franklin, Louis Jordan, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé
Chinai Hardy (Wikimedia)
Education Associate
Design: Van Gennep Design
Generous support from Apollo EmpowerHer,
Conscious Kids Inc., Con Edison, Ella Fitzgerald
Charitable Foundation, Insperity, The Reginald
F. Lewis Foundation, Ellis L. Phillips Foundation,
Pinkerton Foundation, and public funds from the
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in
partnership with the City Council.