FIVE GREATEST R&B SONGS OF ALL TIME
R&B, which stands for Rhythm and Blues, was the greatest influence on music around the world for most of the 20th century’s second-half. A combination of jazz and blues, this is the music that later gave birth to genres like soul, funk and even had influences on rock and roll. Disco’s downturn in the 1980s opened the door for R&B to truly take-off in popularity. And today it is the most listened to musical genres of the world. The newest R&B songs command more following than any other genre even today. Here are some R&B songs that helped shape this genres place in the musical history.
- Public Enemy – “Fight The Power”
Conceived at the request of Director Spike Lee for his film “Do the right thing”, this song has became number one on every chart the year it was released. It even ranked on the RIAA’s list of songs of the century. Today, “Fight the power” is considered to be one of the best r&b songs of all the time, not just because it is a good song, but because it stands for a whole community’s aspirations and beliefs.
- Sugarhill Gang – “Rapper’s Delight”
“I said a hip hop, a hippie, a hippie to the hip hip hop”-who can forget the opening lines of the song that established the mainstream popularity of Hip Hop and R&B Music in the United States. Sugarhill Gang’s number one single went on to be a part of the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. This song was truly a game changer!
- Dr. Dre – “Nuthin But A ‘G’ Thang”
This song was selected by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the best 500 songs that shaped rock and roll and is Dre’s only song on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Recorded in collaboration with the Snoop Dogg, this song went on to become one of the most successful songs of Dr. Dre’s entire career and peaked at the top of Billboard’s Hot R&B singles and tracks.
- Run-DMC ft/ Aerosmith – “Walk This Way”
This song is often credited as helping break rap into mainstream pop music. The Run-DMC version of Walk this way was the first rap song to hit the Top 5 in The Billboard Hot 100. The song paved the way for other pop artists to use hip hop as part of their songs. It pioneered the trend of rap/sung collaborations that is still present in the music scene today. The video of the song is also considered to be one of the best R&B music videos of its age.
- Jay-Z – “Hard Knock Life”
Using samples from the Broadway Musical Annie, “It’s a hard knock life” became an anthem for the entire generation that the song was released to. It was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 41st Grammy Awards in 1999 and even ranked on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop.
About the Author:
James Griffith is a freelance writer from London specialising in writing hiphop r&b music and uk grime music articles. Over the years he has developed an extensive knowledge of urban music and urban music artists and is considered one of the leading authorities on this subject. With a passion for Hip hop and R&B music since childhood, James Griffith brings great knowledge and a great understanding of this exciting music genre and his articles are both informative and entertaining too.
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