A slow jam is music with rhythm and blues and soul influences. Slow jams are commonly R&B ballads or downtempo songs, and are mostly soft-sounding with heavily emotional or romantic lyrical content. The earliest known use of the term is from a July 1, 1961, article in The Chicago Defender . [1]
Essence magazine compiled a list of the "25 Best Slow Jams of All Time", containing songs of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, [2] and Complex compiled a list of 100 slow jams in "The Best Songs to Get You in the Mood". [3] [4]
In 1983, Kevin "Slow Jammin'" James created the radio show Slow Jam on WKYS, named after the Midnight Star song, then later the Weekend Slow Jam show. [5]
In 1994, R Dub! created the radio show Sunday Night Slow Jams on Power 1490 KJYK in Tucson, AZ. [6] Today, Sunday Night Slow Jams can be heard on over 200 radio stations in 17 countries. [7]
In 2024, the mayors of San Diego, California and Tucson, Arizona proclaimed the date of June 21 to be "Slow Jams Day", honoring the debut broadcast of Sunday Night Slow Jams with R Dub!. [8] [9]
Quiet storm is a radio format and genre of R&B, performed in a smooth, romantic, jazz-influenced style. It was named after the title song on Smokey Robinson's 1975 album A Quiet Storm.
"I'll Make Love to You" is a song by American R&B group Boyz II Men for the Motown label. Written by Babyface, it was released in July 1994 as the lead single from their second album, II (1994). The song was a commercial success, spending 14 weeks atop the US Billboard Hot 100. It was also the third best performing song in the 1990s on Billboard, as well as ranking on Billboard Greatest of All-Time chart. "I'll Make Love to You" won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and was nominated for Record of the Year. Its accompanying music video was directed by Lionel C. Martin.
WKYS is a commercial radio station licensed to Washington, D.C. The station is owned by Urban One through licensee Radio One Licenses, LLC, and broadcasts an urban contemporary radio format. It is co-owned with WMMJ, WOL, WPRS-FM, and WYCB, with studios and offices in Silver Spring, Maryland.
"U Got It Bad" is a song by American singer Usher. It was released through Arista Records as the second official single from his third studio album 8701 (2001). It was written by Usher, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox, and produced by Dupri, with Cox credited as co-producer. Released in the United States on August 21, 2001, "U Got It Bad" is an R&B ballad that, according to MTV, incorporates "digi-coustic" guitars, a "slow-burning bass line" and "sex funk" drums. The lyrics notably contain some quick direct allusions to other soul music ballads, mainly Maxwell's "Fortunate" and Prince's "Adore".
Mark Howe Murphy was an American jazz singer based at various times in New York City, Los Angeles, London, and San Francisco. He recorded 51 albums under his own name during his lifetime and was principally known for his innovative vocal improvisations. He was the recipient of the 1996, 1997, 2000, and 2001 Down Beat magazine readers' jazz poll for Best Male Vocalist and was also nominated five times for the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Jazz Performance. He wrote lyrics to the jazz tunes "Stolen Moments" and "Red Clay".
"A House Is Not a Home" is a 1964 ballad written by the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1964 film of the same name, starring Shelley Winters and Robert Taylor. The song was recorded by American singer Dionne Warwick at Bell Sound Studios in New York City, and was a modest hit in the United States for the singer, peaking at #71 on the pop singles chart as the B-side of the top 40 single, "You'll Never Get to Heaven ". Another version of the song, by Brook Benton, which was the version that appeared in the film, was released at nearly the same time. It debuted two weeks earlier on the Billboard Hot 100. Benton's version split airplay with Warwick's, and ultimately peaked at #75.
KXCI is a non-commercial, listener-supported, radio station in Tucson, Arizona. It is owned by the non-profit Foundation for Creative Broadcasting. Its call sign comes from the Roman numeral for 91 (XCI). Their studios and offices are located at 220 South 4th Avenue, Tucson, Arizona. Its transmitter is on East Mount Bigelow Road in Whitetail, Arizona.
Rhythmic oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, R&B, disco, or dance genres of music. Playlists can span from the 1960s through the 2000s and, depending on market conditions, may be designed for African-American or Hispanic audiences. It is also referred to as "Jammin' Oldies" or "Music From Back in the Day" by various radio stations. Since the late 2000s, much of the library in the "rhythmic oldies" format has been adopted by the classic hits format. A variation on the format is urban oldies.
"One in a Million" is a song recorded by American singer Aaliyah for her second studio album of the same title (1996). It was written by both Missy Elliott and Timbaland with the latter producing the song. It was released to Rhythmic contemporary radio as the third single from One in a Million by Blackground and Atlantic Records on November 12, 1996. Musically, the song is an R&B and club ballad with trip hop and drum and bass influences. While Lyrically, it is about the narrator (Aaliyah) professing her love for a man whom she identifies as being her "one in a million".
"Until the End of Time" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake from his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006), written and produced by Timberlake, Timbaland, and Nate "Danja" Hills. The song was later re-recorded as a duet featuring American singer-songwriter Beyoncé, which was released as a single on November 13, 2007 and included on the Deluxe Edition of the album. It reached the top 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100, being the sixth single from the album to do so, with Timberlake becoming the only male artist in the decade to achieve this. During the concert tour FutureSex/LoveShow, Timberlake performed the song as a piano solo.
WTLZ is a radio station licensed to Saginaw, Michigan broadcasting an urban adult contemporary format.
Sons of Soul is the third album by American R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, released on June 22, 1993, by Wing Records and Mercury Records. It follows the success of their 1990 album The Revival, which had extended their popularity beyond R&B audiences and into the mainstream.
Gap Band V- Jammin' is the seventh album by the Gap Band, released in 1983 on Total Experience Records. The album was reissued on CD in 1997 by Mercury Records. In 2009, the album was remastered by PTG Records.
"Here I Stand" is a song by American recording artist Usher. It was sent to urban adult contemporary radio on August 18, 2008 by LaFace Records and RCA Records as the fifth single from Usher's fifth studio album of the same name. Penned by the singer with Polow da Don, Adam Blackstone, Gerrell Gaddis, and Dre & Vidal, and produced by Dre & Vidal, "Here I Stand" is a slow soul ballad and contains similarities to Stevie Wonder's music. The record was nominated for the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance award at the 51st Grammy Awards. "Here I Stand" maintained a position on the United States Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for several weeks in 2008 and 2009, reaching the top twenty. It also appeared on the US Radio Songs and Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles charts, peaking at numbers seventy-two and six, respectively.
"One Night Stand" is a song by American singer Keri Hilson, taken from her second studio album, No Boys Allowed (2010). It features American R&B singer Chris Brown who co-wrote the song alongside Kevin McCall and Charlie Bereal, who also produced the track. The R&B and soul ballad was sent to radio as the third single from No Boys Allowed.
KSSX is a commercial radio station located in San Diego, California, although the station is legally licensed to serve Carlsbad, in nearby North County. The station airs a rhythmic contemporary format, and is one of seven stations in the market owned and operated by iHeartMedia. The station's studios are located in San Diego's Kearny Mesa neighborhood on the northeast side, and the transmitter is atop Mt. Soledad, located in La Jolla.
The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team based in San Diego, California, that competes in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Pechanga Arena. The Gulls began play in the 2015–16 season. The team is an affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Anaheim Ducks.
Randy Williams, better known by the stage name R Dub!, is an American DJ and radio host. He is The Sultan of Self-proclaimed Slowjamastan. He is best known as the host and creator of Sunday Night Slow Jams, which he created on 24 July 1994. A program director of XHRM-FM and XHITZ-FM, Sunday Night Slow Jams is broadcast on more than 200 radio stations. Williams also serves as the self-proclaimed sultan of his own micronation, the Republic of Slowjamastan, located in Imperial County, Southern California, which he founded on 1 December 2021. Additionally, he is also noted to have visited all 193 United Nations member states, making him one of at least 250 people to do so.
Sunday Night Slow Jams is an American weekly syndicated radio program dedicated to slow jams music. Created on 24 July 1994, it is directed and presented by creator R Dub!, and broadcast on more than 200 radio stations in 17 countries as of May 2023.