rhythm and blues | Musicosity

rhythm and blues

Rufus

There is more than one artist with this name: 1. A 1970s funk band, best known for launching the career of their lead singer, Chaka Khan. Major hits during their career include "Tell Me Something Good," "Sweet Thing," and "Ain't Nobody" . 2. A Czech band from Litomyšl: http://www.rufus.cz/. 3. A Brazilian band from Florianópolis. Playing a fusion of different styles, their music features experimental but raw instrumentals, with emotional lyrics.

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Songs

Songs are a Sydney based band (featuring members of New Zealand's post-punk wailers This Night Creeps and Ela Stiles of sisterly-duo The Said Sos) that do only simple things. From their single-syllable handle to their hand-drawn artwork to their music itself; it all has to be simple. Born in mid-2007, Songs have only been playing to the public as of this year (2008). They have signed a deal with Sydney label Popfrenzy (home to other acts such as The Gossip, Black Mountain, Jeremy Jay, The Ruby Suns and a whole bunch more) and have since played shows with Deerhunter...

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Mavis Staples

Mavis Staples (born July 11, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American rhythm and blues singer. Most of her career has been as lead singer for The Staple Singers. She first recorded solo for the Stax subsidiary Volt in 1969. Subsequent efforts included a Curtis Mayfield-produced soundtrack on Curtom, a nod to disco for Warner Bros. Records in 1979, a stab at electro-pop with Holland-Dozier-Holland in 1984, and a collaboration with Prince in the late 1980s and early 90s (producing the two solo albums Time Waits for No One in 1989 and The Voice in 1993, and various other collaborations).

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Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are a funk/soul band. They are signed to Daptone Records, where the dap-kings are the house band. They are widely thought to be spearheads of a revivalist movement that aims to capture the essence of funk/soul music as it was at its height in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s. Part of the way this is achieved is to shun modern digital recording methods in favour of using traditional analogue recording equipment. The type of instruments used by the band may also be considered limited to those that would have been available up until the mid seventies.

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Syl Johnson

Syl Johnson (b. July 1, 1936) is an American blues and soul singer and music producer. Born Sylvester Thompson in Holly Springs, Mississippi, Johnson sang and played with blues artists Magic Sam, Billy Boy Arnold, Junior Wells and Howlin' Wolf in the 1950s, before recording with Jimmy Reed for Vee-Jay in 1959. He made his solo debut that same year with Federal, a subsidiary of King Records of Cincinnati, backed by Freddie King on guitar.

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Irma Thomas

Irma Thomas (b. February 18, 1941, Ponchatoula, Louisiana) whose only national chart hit in a 50 year career is 1963's "Wish Someone Would Care", is an enduring, Grammy winning, soul, gospel, rhythm and blues singer from New Orleans. Known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans", she is a contemporary of Aretha Franklin and Etta James, but did not tour as relentlessly, and industry support and major commercial success eluded her for decades.

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Charles Bradley

Charles Bradley is no stranger to hard times. Born in Gainesville, Florida in 1948 and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Charles spent the better part of his childhood living on the streets. One of the more optimistic moments of his childhood came in 1962, when his sister took him to see James Brown at The Apollo. Brown’s energy formed a lasting impression on Charles. He went home and immediately began practicing microphone tricks with a broom attached to a string, imitating the Godfather’s every move.

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Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears is a blues band from Austin, Texas influenced by Howlin' Wolf and James Brown. Formed in 2006 and fronted by Black Joe Lewis, the rest of the band includes Zach Ernst, Bill Stevenson, Matthew Strmiska, Ian Varley, and the Hard Proof Honeybear Horns (Jason Frey, Derek Phelps, Joe Woullard.) After being signed by Lost Highway Records at SXSW they released their debut album Tell 'Em What Your Name Is! in March of 2009.

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Brian McKnight

Brian McKnight (born June 5, 1969 in Buffalo, New York) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and one of the prominent singers of his years, specializing in pop and R&B. He is a multi-instrumentalist and plays the piano, guitar, and trumpet. Embracing an effortless eloquence and cocoa butter smooth persona, the music of Brian McKnight has defined the true meaning of an American soul-man since 1991. Like his spiritual Motown godfathers, this upstate New York native has a velvety voice and silky style that captures the vibe of vintage soul without being old fashion.

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Allen Toussaint

Allen Toussaint (born January 14, 1938) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer and one of the most influential figures in New Orleans R&B who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was a prolific writer, producer and arranger, creating numerous hits for a variety of artists including Lee Dorsey, Robert Palmer, The Showmen, The Meters, Betty Wright, Solomon Burke and Willie West. He produced material for Dr John, LaBelle, Chocolate Milk and Aaron Neville amongst many more.

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