Before Soul there was Rhythm and Blues. It’s not always easy to classify what is Rhythm and Blues and what’s not. Usually uptempo black music from mid fifties onwards shifted the bar from slow blues to faster, more melodic sounds. In the case of Little Richard for example, should we classify him as Rock and Roll or Rhythm and Blues?
Rhythm and Blues? Genius!
Why not shift the goal posts and just call him I musical genius. Or, in his own immortal words ‘I’m Seventy Two years old and I’m still BEUtifuuull!’ (this as he was been helped onto the top of his piano. (Halifax Victoria Theatre, 2005).
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