Great Black Music: Recommended Masterpieces
The great achievement of Black music is not only that it gave birth to genres like jazz, blues, gospel, and soul.
It has also been a wellspring of inspiration for legendary songs in the histories of rock and pop, and it is the most influential force on musical genres since the 20th century—an influence that continues unbroken into the 21st century and beyond.
To explore the roots of this magnificent Black music, this time we’re researching classic tracks mainly from the soul and R&B realm spanning the 1960s to the 1990s.
In the latter half, we also introduce more recent songs, so whether you love the latest hip-hop and R&B or aren’t very familiar with Black music, this is a must-check!
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- Western R&B Popularity Rankings [2026]
- Classic and Contemporary Hits in Western R&B: From the Newest Popular Tracks to All-Time Big Hits [2026]
- A masterpiece of Japanese black music. A noteworthy work embodying the soul of black music.
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- [2026] Best Western R&B Love Songs and Romance Songs Compilation
- [Definitive Edition] Masterpieces of 70s Disco Music
- The Latest: A Quick Guide to Trends in Western R&B Music (2026)
- Gospel singers of the world. Masterpieces of gospel music, recommended popular songs.
- [Hip-Hop Classics] Timeless HIPHOP / Golden Oldies
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- Today's R&B: A curated playlist packed with classic hits!
Great Black Music: Recommended Classics (11–20)
Say My NameDestiny’s Child
If you’ve been closely following the R&B scene from the mid-2010s into the 2020s, you’ve probably noticed a wave of young artists drawing inspiration from 1990s R&B.
For those who listened in real time back in the ’90s, it’s nostalgic; for younger music fans, it feels fresh—so the rediscovery of ’90s R&B seems likely to keep accelerating.
The song featured this time, “Say My Name,” is a massive hit by Destiny’s Child, the group that Beyoncé was a part of.
It’s a classic included on their second album, The Writing’s on the Wall, released in 1999, which became a huge global success.
In fact, the first maxi-single release was in Japan, so many of you might remember it well.
Above all, Beyoncé’s rhythmic, rap-like, and highly original vocal delivery on this track has had a tremendous influence on subsequent artists.
Its legacy still shines undimmed more than 20 years after its release—Summer Walker, a leading artist in today’s R&B scene, even references it in her own song “Playing Games.” If you only know Beyoncé from her solo career, be sure to check out Destiny’s Child too!
UntitledD’Angelo
D’Angelo is known as a leading artist in the neo-soul genre, which blends soul music with hip-hop, jazz, and funk.
He was a major figure from the 1990s through the 2000s, a pioneer who helped create a new genre in neo-soul, and an indispensable figure in the history of Black music.
His track “Untitled” is one of his signature works, crafted as a romantic piece influenced by Prince’s “Purple Rain.”
Love and HappinessAl Green
Al Green, a soul singer who was hugely active in the 1970s and is known as a forerunner of the genre neo-soul—later shaped in the 1990s by D’Angelo—is a representative artist of so-called “new soul.” Yet his appeal lies in a completely distinct musicality that sets him apart from contemporaries like Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway.
The song I’d like to highlight as one of his classics is Love and Happiness.
Unlike the fiery soul music of the past, it’s crafted as a smooth, chill take on soul.
Billie JeanMichael Jackson
It’s impossible to sum up the achievements of Michael Jackson—the “King of Pop”—in a few sentences, but from his genius as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, the group he formed with his brothers as a child, to his record-breaking solo success that reshaped music history, his impact on popular music remains entirely undiminished even in the 2020s.
Picking just one song from his monumental discography—filled with mega-hits that everyone has surely heard at least once—is no easy task, but let’s highlight “Billie Jean,” the biggest hit of his career.
Released in January 1983 as a single from the historic, blockbuster 1982 album Thriller, it’s also the song during which he first unveiled his signature “moonwalk.” Its music video, which has surpassed one billion views on YouTube, was aired on MTV despite the channel’s then-reluctance to feature Black artists, making it a pioneering work in the music video boom of the 1980s.
With a disco-inflected rhythm built on simple bass and drums, sleek production, and a instantly memorable melody written by Jackson himself, the track may feel newly fresh to younger music fans today—especially in a decade where many hits draw on the disco and funk sounds of the ’80s.
The First Time Ever I Saw Your FaceRoberta Flack
Since her debut in 1969, Roberta Flack has long been a leading figure among female soul and R&B singers.
She’s also known for first making a hit of the original song behind Misato Watanabe’s “Yasashiku Utatte ~Killing Me Softly with His Song~,” familiar as a Nescafé Excella commercial tune.
Another of Roberta Flack’s signature songs, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” is a massive hit also known in Japan by its Japanese title “Ai wa Omokage no Naka ni.” It’s a standard that has been covered by many artists; more recently, the cutting-edge singer-songwriter James Blake revisited it, which is still fresh in our memories.
The song was originally written in 1957 by the British singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl.
After several folk groups covered it, Roberta included it on her 1969 debut album, First Take.
Two years later, in 1971, it was featured in Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut, Play Misty for Me, and the following year it was re-released as a single, becoming a major hit.
Given the high acclaim it received—including winning both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 15th Annual Grammy Awards—it’s clear not only how good the song itself is, but just how outstanding Roberta’s version truly is.