For more than a half-century, R&B has been at the centre of popular music. Its history is colourful, to say the least, as well as entertaining and enlightening. The R&B Story is a comprehensive telling of the who, what, where, how and why of the music as told by its actual makers. The singers, the musicians, the writers, the producers and others are now available to tell, by way of your station, how it all happened. From B.B. King and Chaka Khan to the Temptations, A Taste Of Honey, Barry White, Teena Marie, Gerald Levert, Jodeci, Montell Jordan and dozens more, your listeners will hear directly from the creators of the art. And, they'll hear some of the greatest music ever made! It's produced and hosted by American R&B radio veteran, J.J. Johnson. It is, as well, available in kit form allowing your DJ's to present in the appropriate language.

The R&B Story is a weekly, two-hour, 52-instalment account of rhythm & blues music in its many creative forms. The year-long special tells the story from various perspectives; chronological, geographical and stylistic. Your listeners will be fascinated and entertained by some of the greatest writers, producers and performers ever to hit the entertainment scene as well as many behind-the-scenes people who've helped propel and transform the art over the course of more than five decades.

The R&B Story, available now on a market-exclusive basis from Media Lane International.

To listen to a promo for the series ::.click here

Each episode will carry a theme and the plan is to offer episodes in batches such as Chronological, Geographical, Stylistic, and Creative.

The schedule below is a guide to how the 52 episodes will look.

Chronological
(Weeks 1 and 2) The Early Years (including the '50s)
(3, 4, 5) The '60s
(6, 7, 8) The '70s
(9, 10, 11) The '80s
(12, 13, 14) The '90s

Geographical
(15, 16, 17) The South
(18, 19, 20) The East Coast
(21, 22, 23) The Midwest
(24, 25, 26) The West Coast
(27, 28) The U.K.

Stylistic
(29, 30) The Doo-Wop Years
(31, 32) The Great Harmonizers
(33, 34, 35) The Girl Groups
(36) The Mixed Groups
(37, 38) The Soloists
(39, 40) The Self-Contained Bands
(41, 42) The Bluesy Side
(43, 44) The Jazzy Side
(45, 46) The Funk

Creative
(47, 48, 49, 50) The Writers & Producers

Today
(51, 52) The New Millennium

"J.J. Johnson is a veteran of American contemporary radio. He has worked on-air and as program director for radio stations in Cleveland, Houston, Chicago, San Francisco and, for the past thirty years, Los Angeles. Thirty of his thirty-six years in the business have been spent in R&B radio, beginning in the late 1960s. In addition, he has performed as the announcer for Motown 25, one of the all-time top-ten American music specials which aired on the NBC Television Network (and was the show on which Michael Jackson was transformed from star to superstar as he unveiled the famous glove while performing "Billie Jean"), as the main commercial voice of Motown Records (on TV and radio) for the better part of 30 years and as segment announcer of Real TV with Ahmad Rashad, a Paramount Television Production, to name a few credits. He has garnered numerous broadcast awards including two Billboard Awards for Broadcast Excellence, a Black Radio Exclusive Award and a Los Angeles Black Media Coalition Outstanding Technical Achievement Award. He has hosted numerous nationally-syndicated radio programs including The Music Of Black America, which he co-hosted with Lou Rawls, The Budweiser Concert Hour and Highlights in which he alternately shared the microphone with actor Dorian Harewood and blues legend B.B. King. He also served for two years as JAMS Editor (the magazine's Urban Music Department) for HITS Magazine, a major music industry publication."