Documents the history of rhythm and blues music by examining every song to top the Billboard R & B singles chart between 1965 and 1990 and offers inside stories from the singers, musicians, songwriters, arrangers, and producers who created the hits.

Provides lists of hit songs by date with information on the artist, songwriter, producer, label, and offering interviews with popular artists.

Music industry pros and legions of fans wanting to know more about their favorite artists will find authoritative answers in this indispensable reference source.

From Nelson George, supervising producer and writer of the hit Netflix series, "The Get Down," this passionate and provocative book tells the complete story of black music in the last fifty years, and in doing so outlines the perilous position of black culture within white American society. In a fast-paced narrative, Nelson George’s book chronicles the rise and fall of “race music” and its transformation into the R&B that eventually dominated the airwaves only to find itself diluted and submerged as crossover music.

Back in the days of Louis Jordan and Bullmoose Jackson and His Buffalo Bearcats, swing, and World War II,Billboardmagazine started keeping tabs on the best-sellers in record stores in New York City’s Harlem. That Harlem Hit Parade chart of 1942, the starting point of this book, wasBillboard’s first accounting of the growing interest in the music that would come to be known as R&B. Today, more than sixty years later, Billboard is proud to present the first edition of The Billboard Book of Top 40 R&B and Hip-Hop Hits, packed with complete, authoritative chart information on the most popular songs and artists, including everyone from the Nat King Cole Trio to Ray Charles to Mary J. Blige to Jay-Z. Great for music fans, record collectors, industry professionals, and trivia lovers, this book will answer questions, resolve arguments, and inspire new ideas. • Capitalizes on one of W-G’s top-selling titles, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits— more than 50,000 copies sold of the 7th edition! • Complete history of Top 40 R&B and hip-hop hits, covering 62 years • 300 pictures of top recording artists • Author Joel Whitburn is the leading authority on charted music

The only complete history of Billboard's "Hot RandB/Hip-Hop Singles" chart, this book by Joel Whitburn is a mammoth monument to one of America's most beloved music styles. All the chart hits are here with complete with in-depth chart data, essential artist information and much, much more! Arranged by artist, this authorized Billboard Chart book includes everything from the the early RandB bands, doo-wop groups, sweet soul singers, hot funk unites, sexy divas and the hottest hip-hop stars of today. Each listing has a bio summary and then shows peak chart position, chart debut date, total weeks charted for every song that cracked the charts. Over 4,400 artists and nearly 20,000 song titles.

Identifies every recording artist in the 20th-century whose music has been certified as gold or platinum.