Jerry Wexler, the influential Atlantic Records producer who coined the term “rhythm and blues” before helping shape that sound into one of the most powerful musical forces of the 1950s and ‘60s, died ...

The 1950s brings to mind poodle skirts, sock hops, and drive-in movies. I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, and Leave It to Beaver were popular television shows, and Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and ...

Deborah Chessler, whose song “It’s Too Soon To Know” became a touchstone and launching pad for the rhythm and blues explosion of the late 1940s and 1950s, died Wednesday in Florida. She was 89.

Ruth Brown, the pioneering singer whose 1950s hits including “Teardrops From My Eyes” and “(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean” helped establish both the rhythm-and-blues form and Atlantic Records as ...

Charles “Big Saul” Greene didn’t have the longest career as a DJ in Macon, but it was certainly one of the most impactful. As part of the legendary “Three Horsemen” of WIBB -- along with Hamp “King ...

Rick Olivier has spent a lifetime photographing south Louisiana musicians. He’s also an avid collector of 45 rpm records from the golden era of New Orleans rhythm and blues, which informs his approach ...

This essay is one in a series celebrating women whose major contributions in recording occurred before the time frame of NPR Music's list of 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women. Ruth Brown was R&B's ...

Like many British Invasion groups, The Beatles picked up on American culture and sold it back to us. Even in their Quarrymen days, they performed songs by Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Ray Charles.

Fats Domino and Ray Charles are titans of American music, lauded as the architects of rock ‘n’ roll and soul music, respectively. And yet it was a pair of now-obscure Texans, a gay couple, it turns ...