Los Angeles, California was one of the most important places in the world for the recorded music industry. During the 40s it had a vibrant African American community.
"Now R&B started here in L.A.. Roy Milton was here, Joe Liggins was here, T-Bone Walker was here, Charles Brown was here, I was here, and others, too. By '48 or '49 it was set - we had an art form, though we didn't know it then... It was a hybrid form that began to emerge. It surely wasn't big band; it wasn't swing; it wasn't country blues. It was what was to become known as rhythm and blues, a hybrid form that became an art form in itself. It was the foundation of rock and roll... Rock and roll was a direct outgrowth of R&B. It took over all the things that made R&B different from big band swing: the afterbeat on a steady four; the influence of the boogie; the triplets on piano; eight-to-the-bar on the top hat cymbal; and the shuffle pattern of dotted eighth and sixteenth note"
Johnny Otis, bandleader and A&R man
