The Pop Chronicles of the 50s and 60s
The Tribal Drum: The Rise of Rhythm and Blues
Part 1 of 2
by
The Pop Chronicles is a documentary radio series tracing the development of popular music through interviews, archival recordings, and commentary. This installment, “The Tribal Drum: The Rise of Rhythm and Blues,” focuses on the music and cultural currents associated with rhythm and blues.
The program combines spoken narration and recorded music to place the genre in context, offering listeners a chance to hear the sounds alongside discussion of their significance. Presented as the first part of a two-part feature, it introduces a subject that helped shape the broader story of popular music in the 1950s and 1960s.
Its documentary approach makes the listening experience both informative and musical: historical perspective is paired with the recordings themselves, letting the changing styles and influences come through in sound.
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.