Editor's Note: This story will be expanded on throughout Black History Month until we've covered each decade! Check back later for more!
This February marks 100 years since the first Negro History Week was established in 1926 — a seed that would eventually grow into what we now recognize as Black History Month. A century later, one of the clearest ways to trace that history is through sound.
Throughout history, Black music has been a powerful tool for resistance, cultural expression, and storytelling. For generations, Black Americans have leaned on music not just for sound, but for survival — using it to document join, pain and protest. From slave spirituals to jazz, civil rights anthems, and the modern fusion of hip-hop and R&B, Black music marks every era of Black history.
In the early 1900s, Black music underwent a transformation that would lay the groundwork for groundbreaking genres like jazz and rock ‘n roll, while shaping popular American culture as we know it today. Ragtime, defined by its syncopated rhythms, was popularized early on thanks to composers like Scott Joplin — widely known as the King of Ragtime — and James Scott. Originating in Black communities in St. Louis, many early ragtime musicians played by ear on instruments such as the banjo or piano, but they had no formal music training because they could not read or write music.
While Joplin believed ragtime belonged in concert halls, the music easily thrived in informal spaces like house parties, juke joints, and saloons. Ragtime became one of the first genres created by Black artists to cement itself within mainstream American culture, serving as a direct influence on jazz and blues.
As blue music spread from the deep south, artists like Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong helped define the Jazz Age of the 1920s. Jazz — rooted in ragtime, blues and brass music — rose alongside the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural and artistic movement centered in New York City that celebrated African-American history and heritage, art and literature. Despite enduring racism, the Harlem Renaissance turned these singers and musicians into cultural icons, reshaping the industry and influencing generations to come. Jazz’s impact would spring forward, laying the foundation for future sounds, such as rhythm and blues.
Originally labeled “race music” or “race records,” rhythm and blues burst onto the scene in the 1940s as a sound created by and for Black communities. R&B captured the complexities and nuances of Black life — oppression, racism, as well as the freedoms and joys of the Black experience. In 1948, the term R&B replaced “race records,” eventually serving as a blanket for all forms of the evolving genre, from the development of rock ‘n roll and gospel, to soul and funk music. Artists like Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole and Ray Charles helped confirm the mainstream success of Black artists.
By the late 1980s and into the 1990s, contemporary R&B took shape, blending elements of jazz, blues, electronic, soul and funk. Innovators like Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye paved the way for the genre’s modern sound — one that continues to evolve today.
The 1960s, marked by political unrest and the rise of the Civil Rights Movement, saw an increase in protest music. Artists like Nina Simone, Sam Cooke, James Brown and Aretha Franklin released songs that became anthems for social change, while also giving birth to funk and groove. Motown Records, spearheaded by music executive Barry Gordon, achieved uncharted crossover success, introducing soul-infused pop music to wider audiences.
Over time, hip-hop became the go-to genre that could carry contradictions of Black life in America — joy and struggle, celebration and critique — all at once. But as we continue throughout the years, music genres and styles continue to shift and evolve, Black music remains rooted in innovation and creativity. It does not copy or steal, it adapts, responds and moves with the world.
Spanning from the 1920s to the present trend of genreless music, this timeline traces Black history through music, illustrating how Black music has always been a cultural signifier for resistance, joy, and survival across decades.
The 1920s: “Crazy Blues” by Mamie Smith and her Jazz Hounds
The 1920s were all about jazz and the blues. While artists like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong emerged as leading artists of the jazz age, Mamie Smith became the first Black woman singer to record a commercially successful blues song. In “Crazy Blues,” Smith laments about the emotional distress of an abusive partner, a theme that resonated deeply with female listeners who felt that their stories of love gone wrong were finally being heard. The song also became one of the first significant blues records. Its success opened up the market for “race records” with record companies producing music with Black listeners in mind and paved the way for other singers like Ma Rainey.
The 1930s: “It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" by Duke Ellington
Despite the Great Depression, the 1930s were a time of great creative innovation when it came to music. Swing and big band music came to define the era, offering a sense of escapism. Duke Ellington, already an established cultural figure by then, solidified his status as one of the greatest composers thanks to “It Don’t Mean a Thing.” Ellington was talented at blending musical influences and challenging jazz conventions. His influence on the genre continues to reverberate across generations.
The 1940s: “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday
Although Billie Holiday began her career in the 1930s performing at Harlem nightclubs, she didn’t achieve major success until the release of her hit song, “Strange Fruit.” Originally titled “Bitter Fruit,” written by teacher and poet Abel Meeropol as a protest poem against lynchings, the song became one of the most powerful musical statements of that era. Holiday performed it at Cafe Society, one of the first racially integrated nightclubs in New York. At first, many record companies wouldn’t allow Holiday to record it for fear of backlash from the music industry, especially in the South. The song went on to sell over a million copies — the best-selling record of Holiday’s career — and became an anthem for the anti-lynching movement.
The 1950s: “Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard
The 1950s introduced audiences to pioneers in rock n’ roll. Artists like Chuck Berry, Ray Charles and Little Richard established foundational sounds that continue to influence R&B today. Doo-wop groups reworked older traditions, creating something fresh. Known as the architect of rock ‘n roll, Little Richard’s influence spans generations. “Tutti Frutti” combined the blues, gospel and boogie-woogie with high-energy vocals and a distinctive beat that helped define early rock music. His charismatic stage presence and powerful vocals laid the groundwork for modern rock ‘n roll. “Tutti Frutti” became an instant hit and is often credited as one of the songs that helped birth rock ‘n roll.
