Editing Rhythm and blues (section)

===Late 1950s===
[[File:Della Reese Jubilee Records.jpg|thumb|upright=0.45|[[Della Reese]]]]
In 1956, an R&B "Top Stars of '56" tour took place, with headliners [[Al Hibbler]], [[Frankie Lymon]] and the Teenagers, and [[Carl Perkins]], whose "[[Blue Suede Shoes]]" was very popular with R&B music buyers.<ref>[[Joel Whitburn|Whitburn, Joel]], ''The Billboard Book of TOP 40 R&B and Hip Hop Hits'', Billboard Books, New York 2006 p. 451</ref> Some of the performers completing the bill were Chuck Berry, [[Cathy Carr (singer)|Cathy Carr]], [[Shirley & Lee]], [[Della Reese]], Sam "T-Bird" Jensen, [[the Cleftones]], and [[the Spaniels]] with [[Illinois Jacquet]]'s Big Rockin' Rhythm Band.<ref>{{Cite web|title=BLUES|url=https://www.radiovintage.net/p/rhythm-n-blues.html|access-date=January 18, 2021|archive-date=October 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023025127/https://www.radiovintage.net/p/rhythm-n-blues.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Cities visited by the tour included Columbia, South Carolina; Annapolis, Maryland; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo, New York; and other cities.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} In Columbia, the concert ended with a near riot as Perkins began his first song as the closing act. Perkins is quoted as saying, "It was dangerous. Lot of kids got hurt". In Annapolis, 50,000 to 70,000 people tried to attend a sold-out performance with 8,000 seats. Roads were clogged for seven hours.<ref>Go, Cat, Go! by Carl Perkins and David McGee 1996 pp. 188, 210, 212–214 Hyperion Press {{ISBN|0-7868-6073-1}}</ref>
Filmmakers took advantage of the popularity of "rhythm and blues" musicians as "rock n roll" musicians beginning in 1956. Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Big Joe Turner, [[the Treniers]], [[the Platters]], and [[the Flamingos]] all made it onto the big screen.<ref>''[[Don't Knock the Rock]]'' (1956), ''[[Rock Around the Clock (film)|Rock Around the Clock]]'' (1956), ''[[Rock, Rock, Rock (film)|Rock, Rock, Rock]]'' (1956), ''[[Rumble on the Docks]]'' (1956), ''[[Shake, Rattle & Rock! (1956 film)|Shake, Rattle & Rock]]'' (1956), ''[[The Girl Can't Help It]]'' (1956), ''Rock Baby, Rock It'' (1957), ''[[Untamed Youth]]'' (1957), ''[[Go, Johnny, Go!]]'' (1959)</ref>

Two Elvis Presley records made the R&B top five in 1957: "[[Jailhouse Rock (song)|Jailhouse Rock]]"/"[[Treat Me Nice]]" at number one, and "[[All Shook Up]]" at number five, an unprecedented acceptance of a non-African American artist into a music category known for being created by blacks.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R%26B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1957 |title=Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1957 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=December 23, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211063653/http://billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R&B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1957 |archive-date=December 11, 2007 }}</ref> [[Nat King Cole]], also a [[jazz]] pianist who had two hits on the pop charts in the early 1950s ("[[Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole song)|Mona Lisa]]" at number two in 1950 and "[[Too Young (1951 song)|Too Young]]" at number one in 1951), had a record in the top five in the R&B charts in 1958, "[[Looking Back (Nat King Cole song)|Looking Back]]"/"Do I Like It".{{sfn |Gilliland |1969|loc=show 22, tracks 3–4}}

[[File:Sam_Cooke_2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.45|[[Sam Cooke]]]]

In 1959, two black-owned record labels, one of which would become hugely successful, made their debut: [[Sam Cooke]]'s Sar and [[Berry Gordy]]'s [[Motown Records]].{{sfn|Palmer|1995|p=82}} [[Brook Benton]] was at the top of the R&B charts in 1959 and 1960 with one number one and two number two hits.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Brook Benton|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/brook-benton/chart-history/hsi/|access-date=June 8, 2020|magazine=Billboard|archive-date=December 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225144708/https://www.billboard.com/music/brook-benton/chart-history/HSI|url-status=live}}</ref> Benton had a certain warmth in his voice that attracted a wide variety of listeners, and his ballads led to comparisons with performers such as
[[Nat King Cole]], [[Frank Sinatra]] and [[Tony Bennett]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shewins.com/bio.htm|last=Simon|first=Tom|title=Brook Benton Biography|access-date=December 23, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205201544/http://www.shewins.com/bio.htm|archive-date=February 5, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Lloyd Price]], who in 1952 had a number one hit with "[[Lawdy Miss Clawdy]]", regained predominance with a version of "[[Stagger Lee (song)|Stagger Lee]]" at number one and "[[Personality (Lloyd Price song)|Personality]]" at number five in 1959.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R&B/Hip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1952|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618164949/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R&B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1952|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 18, 2009|title=Billboard – Year End Charts – Year-end Singles – Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs|magazine = [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=June 18, 2009|access-date=December 9, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Hot songs 1959"/>

The white bandleader of the Bill Black Combo, [[Bill Black]], who had helped start Elvis Presley's career and was Elvis's bassist in the 1950s, had a hit among black listeners with "[[Smokie, Part 2]]". The single reached number 17 on the U.S. pop charts and number 1 on the R&B charts, selling over one million copies, and was awarded a [[music recording sales certification|gold disc]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]].<ref>{{cite book| first= Joseph| last= Murrells| year= 1978| title= The Book of Golden Discs| edition= 2nd| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd| location= London| page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/111 111]| isbn= 0-214-20512-6| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/111}}</ref> [[Hi Records]] did not feature pictures of the Combo on early records.<ref>''The Blue Moon Boys—The Story of Elvis Presley's Band. Ken Burke and Dan Griffin''. 2006. Chicago Review Press. pp. 138, 139. {{ISBN|1-55652-614-8}}
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