1950s R&B

History and character

"Classic" rhythm and blues is the African American popular music of the United States from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. The term, already used by Billboard in the early 1940s, is credited as a music label to Jerry Wexler (1948); in 1949 Billboard adopted it for the chart that replaced "race music". The roots are the jump blues of the slimmed-down swing orchestras (Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five, who in 1948 held three of the top five places on the chart), urban blues, boogie-woogie and gospel. Independent labels (Atlantic, Chess, Specialty, King, Imperial, Savoy) built the market.

1950s R&B has several souls: jump and shout (Wynonie Harris, Roy Brown "Good Rockin' Tonight", Big Joe Turner), the New Orleans sound of Dave Bartholomew and Fats Domino (the Latin-Caribbean tresillo under the swing; the triplet piano of Professor Longhair, "Mardi Gras in New Orleans", 1949), the Atlantic singers (Ruth Brown, LaVern Baker), the vocal-group doo-wop (The Orioles, The Ravens, The Dominoes, The Clovers, The Platters), "honking" tenor sax, Johnny Otis, Big Mama Thornton ("Hound Dog", 1953). "Rocket 88" (Jackie Brenston and Ike Turner, 1951) is often cited as a precursor of rock and roll; Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley (the "Bo Diddley beat" on the clave) and Ray Charles ("I Got a Woman", 1955) close the decade and open the door to soul.

Until about 1957 "R&B" and "rock and roll" were used almost as synonyms (Alan Freed called the R&B he broadcast "rock and roll" from 1951). Aesthetic: strong backbeat, tenor sax as protagonist, triplet piano, shouted or smooth vocals depending on the strand, blues or 32-bar song form, live studio recordings with few microphones.

Scales and keys

Blues scale and minor pentatonic

• Minor pentatonic: 1 b3 4 5 b7 — 3S T T 3S T. On F: F Ab Bb C Eb.
• Blues: 1 b3 4 b5 5 b7. On F: F Ab Bb Cb(B) C Eb. Characteristic note: the passing b5 and the b3 against the major chord.
• Use: honking tenor sax, guitar and piano riffs, shouted vocals; it is used over the three dominant chords of the blues.
• Real-world example: Big Joe Turner — Shake, Rattle and Roll; Jackie Brenston — Rocket 88.
• Common mistakes: thinking a different scale is needed for each chord: in 1950s R&B the tonic blues scale covers the whole chorus.

Mixolydian (dominant)

• Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 — T T S T T S T. On F: F G A Bb C D Eb.
• Characteristic note: b7 (Eb). Chords: F7 (I7), Gm7, Aø7, Bb (IV), Cm7 (v), Dm7, Eb (bVII).
• Use: horn riffs on the triad with sixth and seventh (F A C D Eb), boogie bass lines.

Major pentatonic and "major blues"

• Major pentatonic on F: F G A C D. With b3: F G Ab A C D.
• Characteristic note: b3 → 3 (Ab → A) that "cries" on the major third.
• Use: Fats Domino melodies, "lyrical" sax, Chuck Berry-style guitar riffs (double stops 3–5 and 5–6).

Major (Ionian) for doo-wop and ballads

• On C: C D E F G A B. Chords: C (I), Am (vi), F (IV), G7 (V7).
• Characteristic note: 6 (A) and 3 (E) in the "tri-ple-ti" backing vocals. Use: melodies of 12/8 ballads and vocal groups.
• Real-world example: The Platters — Only You; The Penguins — Earth Angel.

Sixth arpeggio (I6) and boogie scale

• Bass formula: 1 3 5 6 b7 6 5 3. On F: F A C D Eb D C A.
• Use: bass lines and left-hand piano, doubled by the guitar or baritone sax.

How to choose

Harmony

Forms and function

• 12-bar blues (I7–IV7–V7) in fast and jump tunes, often with the "quick change" (IV7 in bar 2).
• 8- and 16-bar blues and forms with the chorus on the IV.
• I–vi–IV–V progression (the "doo-wop") in ballads.
• 32-bar AABA form in songs derived from Tin Pan Alley.

Chords

Dominant sevenths on all the degrees of the blues; sixth (C6) on the tonics of ballads; passing diminished chords (C–C#dim–Dm7–G7); IV–iv in ballads.

Cadences and turnarounds

Turnaround I–VI7–ii–V (C A7 Dm7 G7) and I–IV–I–V in the last two bars; stop-time (the whole band on one hit) in the verses.

Harmonic rhythm

1 chord per bar or per two bars in the blues; 2 chords per bar in doo-wop ballads. The riff moves in parallel over the chords (a riff on I, the same transposed to IV and V).

Voicing

Piano: triads in triplets in the right hand, octaves or boogie in the left; horns in 3-part harmony (trumpet, tenor, baritone); guitar with sixth and ninth chords.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Feel

1950s R&B is the moment when triplet swing (jump blues, shuffle) coexists with and then gives way to the straight eighth notes of rock and roll. Ballads are in 12/8 with triplets in the piano; jump is a fast shuffle; New Orleans mixes swing and tresillo (3+3+2 sixteenth notes over a bar of eighth notes: positions 1, 4, 7 out of 8 eighth notes).

Backbeat

The backbeat on 2 and 4 becomes very strong (Earl Palmer in New Orleans is often named as one of the drummers who made it the center of the rhythm), reinforced by handclaps and sax.

Typical accents

• Syncopated sax and piano riffs that anticipate the "&" of 4.
• Stop-time.
• Bo Diddley beat (3-2 clave: pos. 1, 4, 7, 11, 13 out of 16) and the "habanera/tresillo" in New Orleans.

Microtiming

Real triplet swing (66%) in jump tunes, eighth notes "between swing and straight" in early rock and roll (60%); backbeat slightly late.

Drums

Principle

A small kit (kick, snare, hi-hat, ride, one tom), played to make people dance: shuffle and backbeat. The drums are often recorded with a single room microphone and sit "behind" the band.

Kick

Light quarter notes (feathering) in jump swing, 1 and 3 in rock and roll; in New Orleans the kick plays the tresillo with the bass (pos. 1, 4, 7 on an eighth-note grid).

Snare

Strong backbeat on 2 and 4; in 12/8 ballads, hits on 2 and 4 of the four beats (or cross-stick); press rolls and triplet rolls in the fills; "shuffle" with the left hand on the third triplet.

Hi-hat and ride

Ride or hi-hat in shuffle triplets (first and third triplet of each quarter note) or in straight eighth notes; in ballads, all the triplets on the ride or on the closed hi-hat.

Percussion

Handclaps on the backbeat, maracas, congas and claves in Latin R&B (Johnny Otis, Bo Diddley).

Dynamics

Wide and natural: the drums accompany the sax soloist and grow in the "shout" sections.

Interaction

The double bass (or electric bass from 1951–52) plays walking or boogie with the kick; the horns play riffs on the backbeat; the drums accent the horn "hits" with the kick (bombs).

Sections

Piano or sax intro; verses with shuffle; sax solo with stronger backbeat and cymbals; stop-time; last chorus "shout".

Fills

Triplet rolls lasting one beat, press rolls, kick and cymbal hits on the endings.

Sounds

Snare with the snares very present, dark cymbals, big kick (22–24") with little definition; room ambience.

Typical mistakes

Using modern drums that are too defined and compressed, a kick that is too loud, wrong swing (neither straight nor triplet), forgetting the backbeat.

Bass

Sound

Slap or plucked double bass (until the mid-1950s), then the Fender Precision electric bass (from 1951). Round sound, percussive attack (the slap of the double bass is almost a second snare).

Notes

Walking bass in swing, boogie (1–3–5–6–b7–6–5–3) in fast tunes, root–fifth in ballads, tresillo in New Orleans (root on 1, fifth on "4", root on "7" in eighth notes).

Relationship with the kick

In unison in boogie and tresillo; the bass carries more notes than the kick.

Examples

Willie Dixon (Chess), Frank Fields (New Orleans, Fats Domino), Lloyd Trotman (Atlantic).

Harmonic instruments

• Piano: triplets in the right hand (Fats Domino), boogie in the left, glissandi and trills (Little Richard), rumba and "habanera" in New Orleans (Professor Longhair).
• Electric guitar: double-stop riffs (Chuck Berry), comping in eighth notes or ninth chords, blues solos (T-Bone Walker as a model).
• Horns: tenor sax soloist (honking: repeated notes, growl, altissimo harmonics), section riffs with trumpet, tenor and baritone.
• Organ: rare; later (late 1950s) in ballads.

Melody and vocals

Vocals

Two types: the shouter (Wynonie Harris, Big Joe Turner, Little Richard: shouted, rough voice, great energy) and the crooner/vocal group (doo-wop: falsetto lead tenor, tight harmonies, a bass voice carrying the line). Ray Charles unites gospel and blues.

Backing vocals

Doo-wop: 4–5 voices (lead tenor, second tenor, baritone, bass) with nonsense syllables ("doo-wop", "sh-boom"), the bass voice prominent, harmonies on I–vi–IV–V.

Sax as a second voice

The tenor sax "answers" the singer and takes the central solo.

Effects

Tape echo (slapback 80–140 ms), echo chamber, mono recordings.

Instruments

• Lead vocal (shouter or crooner), doo-wop vocal group
• Tenor sax solo, baritone sax, trumpet, trombone
• Piano
• Electric guitar (semi-hollow)
• Double bass, later electric bass
• Drums (small kit), handclaps
• Latin percussion (maracas, claves, congas) in New Orleans and from Johnny Otis

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Piano V — R&B piano: Upright or slightly bright, compressed grand piano for the triplets; add a short room.
• B-3 V — Late-1950s organ: Soft drawbars (008800000) for ballads, slow Leslie.
• Wurli V — Wurlitzer: The sound of Ray Charles in What'd I Say (1959): tremolo off, a little drive.

Song structure

Forms

• 12-bar blues: Intro 4 or 12 – Sung choruses (×2–3) – Sax solo (1–2 choruses) – Sung chorus – Coda or final stop. 2:15–3:00.
• 32-bar AABA (ballads and doo-wop): Intro 2–4 – A (8) A (8) B (8) A (8) – half instrumental reprise – B – A – Coda.
• 16-bar verse-chorus in pop R&B.

Arrangement

Intro: piano or sax. Verse: voice, rhythm section, horns in the background (pad or riff). Solo: tenor sax with the full band. Last chorus: horns in "shout", voice higher. Length dictated by 78 and 45 rpm records: 2:00–3:00.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

A "live in a room" sound: voice and sax up front, piano and rhythm section behind, mono or narrow stereo, chamber reverb or slapback. In modern "retro" production (Daptone style, Vintage Trouble, JD McPherson) use few microphones, tape, tube compression and a mono-compatible mix. Indicative loudness: −14/−11 integrated LUFS.

Kick

HP 40 Hz; 80–100 Hz (+1/+2 dB); no modern click (at most +1 dB at 1.5 kHz); minimal compression. Center.

Snare

HP 100 Hz; 200 Hz body; 3–5 kHz (+1/+2 dB); compression 2–3 dB; chamber/plate 1.2–1.8 s or slapback; the snares are part of the sound, do not cut them.

Ride, hi-hat, percussion

HP 300 Hz; LP 12 kHz for a period sound; handclaps with chamber; narrow pan (0–30%).

Double bass / bass

HP 40 Hz; 80–120 Hz body; 700 Hz–1.2 kHz for the attack (slap); opto 3–4 dB; tape. Center.

Piano, guitar, horns

• Piano: HP 60 Hz, cut 300 Hz, presence 3 kHz, compression 2–3 dB, short chamber.
• Guitar: HP 100 Hz, presence 2–3 kHz, miked amp with room, spring reverb.
• Tenor sax solo: HP 80 Hz, body 200–300 Hz, presence 1.5–3 kHz (+2 dB), opto compression 3–5 dB, slapback 100–130 ms and plate 1.5 s. Center during the solo (volume automation +2/+3 dB).
• Horn section: bus with 2 dB of compression, narrow pan.

Vocal

HP 80 Hz; cut 300–400 Hz if muffled; presence 2–4 kHz; tube compression (Fairchild/LA-2A) 4–6 dB; slapback 90–140 ms (mono, filtered HP 300 Hz LP 4 kHz) and chamber 1.5 s.

Doo-wop backing vocals

A single microphone or a bus, compression 4 dB, longer chamber; bass voice slightly louder in the mix.

FX

Tape slapback (Soundtoys EchoBoy "Tape" or Fruity Delay 3 with feedback 0–10%), echo chamber (Valhalla Room "Chamber").

Buses and groups

Band bus with tube compression 2 dB and tape; vocal bus.

Sidechain

None.

Master

Chain: EQ (HP 30 Hz, optional LP 14–16 kHz for vintage color) – tube compressor 1–2 dB – tape – soft limiter. Target −14/−11 integrated LUFS, true peak −1 dBTP; check in mono.

Common mistakes

Wide, modern stereo, a contemporary rock kick, bright digital reverbs, compression that removes the sax's "scream", too much bass below 60 Hz (period records did not have any).

Reference tracks for the mix

Fats Domino — Blueberry Hill; Little Richard — Tutti Frutti; Ray Charles — What'd I Say; The Platters — Only You; JD McPherson — North Side Gal (modern retro).

Reference listening

• Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five — Caldonia (1945)
• Wynonie Harris — Good Rockin' Tonight (1948)
• Professor Longhair — Mardi Gras in New Orleans (1949)
• Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats — Rocket 88 (1951)
• Big Mama Thornton — Hound Dog (1953)
• Big Joe Turner — Shake, Rattle and Roll (1954)
• The Penguins — Earth Angel (1954)
• Ray Charles — I Got a Woman (1954)
• Little Richard — Tutti Frutti (1955)
• Bo Diddley — Bo Diddley (1955)
• Fats Domino — Blueberry Hill (1956)
• Ray Charles — What'd I Say (1959)