Jerry Wexler: Pioneer of "R&B". The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYC Tisch - Project

In 1949, a young reporter from Billboard Magazine by the name of Jerry Wexler would introduce into the American lexicon the term "Rhythm and Blues," which once referred to this genre of music as "Race Music." Wexler would later be known as one of the greatest music business pioneers of the 20th century. As co-head of Atlantic Records from 1953 to 1975, he and Ahment Ertegun grew the small independent R&B label into the major record company that it is today.