http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=g.58&rws=%2Fsoul-r-b%2Fclassic-r-b%2Fmusic-videos.rssR&B laid the foundation for rock 'n' roll. Emerging after World War II, R&B was a stripped-down, upbeat form that mixed jazz and the blues over a back-shuffle snare beat. The raunchy lyrical content continued a time-honored African-American tradition of setting sexual innuendos and double entendres to a danceable beat. This was not a male-dominated music form -- artists such as Ray Charles and Little Willie John shared the limelight with R&B pioneers Ruth Brown, Big Maybelle and Big Mama Thornton. In the 1950s, R&B artists incorporated more pop-oriented time signatures and lyrical topics, moving the infectious sound into the popular mainstream.Classic R&Ben720Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:51:10 -0800 http://static.realone.com/rotw/images/logo_rhapsody_113x22.gif http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=g.58&rws=%2Fsoul-r-b%2Fclassic-r-b%2Fmusic-videos.rss R&B laid the foundation for rock 'n' roll. Emerging after World War II, R&B was a stripped-down, upbeat form that mixed jazz and the blues over a back-shuffle snare beat. The raunchy lyrical content continued a time-honored African-American tradition of setting sexual innuendos and double entendres to a danceable beat. This was not a male-dominated music form -- artists such as Ray Charles and Little Willie John shared the limelight with R&B pioneers Ruth Brown, Big Maybelle and Big Mama Thornton. In the 1950s, R&B artists incorporated more pop-oriented time signatures and lyrical topics, moving the infectious sound into the popular mainstream.