KEEPING r&b ALIVE

An Affiliate Member of the National Blues Foundation

Cleveland Kurtz

President/CEO

 

                                Photo By:  Jean Coates

    The RHODE Island rhythm & blues preservation society

Home of The

Preservation Hall Rhythm and Blues Band

 

             

 

                

 

 

 

Founded in 2003, the Rhode Island Rhythm & Blues Preservation Society is an all volunteer, independent 501©(3), nonprofit, diverse membership organization dedicated to promoting and preserving the African American legacy, heritage, tradition and history of the rhythm & blues music style through activities, events and public education.  Among its many services, the Society provides instruments to underprivileged children, financial assistance to nonprofit organizations that provide and/or support afterschool music programs for underprivileged kids and educational projects and programs to support and improve public awareness of the music style and its local history.

RIRBPS Headquarters

1 Forestry Circle

Providence, RI 02907

 

RIRBPS Operations Center

43 Liena Rose Way

Coventry, RI 02816

 

 

For a membership application or more information about us please write us at P.O. Box 69, Coventry, RI 02816.  Because of serious and continuous abuse of our email address on this web site, the address has been removed.  We regret any inconvenience that this may cause in connecting with RIRBPS.

 

 

Rhythm

   &

Blues

RIRBPS

Mail: P.O. Box 69, Coventry, RI 02816

HQ Phone: (401) 461-7889

Ops. Center Phone: (401) 821-1084

Email: rirbps@gmail.com

 

Acting Treasurer

Jean Coates                 

RIRBPS Original Executive Committee

 

Left to right are Vice President, Mr. Richard Pena; President/CEO, Dr. Ed Coates; Parliamentarian, Mr. Norman Lincoln; Secretary, Mrs, Sylvia Whiting and Treasurer, Mr. Ron Paiva.

 

Photo: Jose Santos, 2005

January -March 2010

 HISTORY

Era of Rhythm & Blues:

 The Rhode

Island Story

 By Edward A. Coates, ED.D, Director of Education

 

The R&B era played a major role in the birth of RI integrated nightlife starting with the Celebrity Club and; the Celebrity Club played a major role in introducing big name R&B, jazz and local entertainers to the diverse community.

 

To set the record straight, the southern Delta country Blues music failed to gain traction in the Rhode Island community, especially among Americans of African descent (African Americans). No  evidence could be found to verify that the RI entertainment community produced an original home grown southern delta blues music performer before Duke Robillard in the 1990s. Prior to 1943, the blues legacy was perpetuated in the community of African Americans by the road and local jump blues big bands. .Also, local gospel music had a strong foothold in the state until WWII.

 

During WWII, a dramatic expansion in urban musical taste occurred in Rhode Island as a result of a delta country blues singer and acoustic guitar player named Muddy Waters, who, in 1943, played the blues with a bounce on electric guitar and introduced the new exciting guitar sound into his Chicago performances. In so doing, Muddy combined the delta country blues with the Rhythm and Blues flavor and bouncy rhythmic style found in earlier gospel music and ended up giving birth to, what eventually became known as, rhythm and blues. It is unclear to this day, who actually coined the name “rhythm and blues”.  However, 1940s local Black Newspapers like the Chronical sometimes referred to rhythm & blues as “Urban Blues” and “City Blues”. This description tended to separate the R&B music style from the southern blues style that was popular mainly for its listening enjoyment.  However, the label “rhythm and blues“ captured the imagination of young Rhode Island African Americans, such as this writer, and it stuck. The new, happy, foot stomping, hand clapping, danceable music took the urban African American community by a storm. The new sound traveled from Boston to Rhode Island on the play list of local jump blues big bands and took root.. Continued on page 7.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RIRBPS WELCOMES PRESIDENT ELECT: CLEVELAND KURTZ  

 By Dr. Ed Coates

 

Following a long search by the Nomination Committee, led by Mrs. Helen Polselli, Mr. Cleveland Kurtz was elected as the best qualified candidate to lead RIRBPS into the future. His term begins retroactive to January 1, 2010 and will run to December 31, 2013.

 

President Kurtz is joined by Mrs. Donna Pena who was elected to serve as the Vice President.

Donna Pena

Vice President

LOUIE CAMP: RI EARLY RHYTHM & BLUES SAXOPHONE PLAYER!

Story on page 4.