Black Music Month: R&B Performers Influenced By Rich Musical Legacy
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In celebration of June's designation as Black Music Month, NY1's Dean Meminger filed the following report on how present African-American musicians, singers and composers are influenced by past generations of black performers. The music genre of rhythm and blues, or "R&B," has been known by that name for around 60 years. Prior to that, it was simply called by a different name.
"In the early days of rock and roll, which is a euphemism for R&B or 'black music,' which started in the 1950s, back then they use to call it 'race music,'" says Bob Slade, a radio host and music historian for 98.7 KISS FM. "They thought the term 'black' was too offensive to black people."
But times changed, and in the 1970s African-American record executives and songwriters pushed then-President Jimmy Carter to designate June as "Black Music Month," in recognition of those who have made the music an important part of American culture.
The month not only celebrates R&B musicians. Grammy Award-winning writer and singer Ne-Yo says rock legend Jimi Hendrix is one of his inspirations.
"He was the kind of artist that was like, 'I'm not going to do what the world wants me to do. I'm going to do what I want to do and let the world catch me.' That's who Jimi Hendrix was," says Ne-Yo.
Singer Chrisette Michele is inspired by gospel and jazz singers of black music.
"I became influenced by Ella [Fitzgerald], Billie [Holiday], Sarah [Vaughn], Dinah [Washington]. In school I played the sax since I was eight. I was in jazz bands and jazz orchestra," says Chrisette Michele.
Although Chrisette Michele reaches deep down into the black music vault for her soulful sound, there is a concern that some modern R&B artists are more into flash and style than substance.
"This music business can be something that's lucrative, so they started mass-producing it," says Ne-Yo. "They started putting together these 'add water and stir' artists."
"The 'copycat syndrome,' where everybody wants to sound like Mary J. [Blige] or Beyonce [Knowles], and we have 10 other versions of that. That's a killer right there, that kills the music," says Slade.
In the music industry it may be hard for artists to break out with their own style, but some say that's exactly what needs to be done.
"It was always limited. First there was R&B and then there was neo-soul and then hip hop. Now I think there is a tree that's soulful that has a root that's down deep," says Valerie Simpson of Ashford and Simpson. "And every kind of color can pull from that tree if you got it in the inside."