R & B LIVE, founded by Manager Ramon Hervey II & Event Producer Bill Hammond, was a legendary LA weekly entertainment series which became a haven for top R&B, jazz, rap/hip hop, gospel, & pop artists from 1991-95. It launched on 1/16/91, the day the Gulf War erupted, at Tramps private nightclub in the Beverly Center. The first featured artists were Al Jarreau, Thelma Houston & Andrae Crouch. The concept was inspired to keep the rich heritage of R&B music as an artform and its artists/musicians alive. The emergence of hip hop & pro-tool technology reduced recording & touring opportunities for many top R&B musicians—R & B Live aspired to become an outlet for them & their fans.
Every Wednesday, R & B Live treated prominent entertainment, sports figures & the in-crowd to 
unannounced intimate appearances by 3 featured artists capped by an impromptu group finale. Some featured artists were Prince, Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, EWF, the Ohio Players, Joe Sample, Lenny Kravitz, Chaka Khan, The Emotions, Natalie Cole, Les McCann, Babyface, George Benson, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Heavy D, Grandmaster Flash, Lisa Stansfield, Mick Hucknall & Hamish Stuart, backed by All-Star bands put together by musical directors such as Greg Phillinganes & Marcus Miller. It also attracted comedian hosts like Jamie Foxx, Sinbad & Tommy Davidson. Some of the many celebrities & industry luminaries who supported the club included Quincy Jones, Clarence Avant, Eddie Murphy, Barbara Streisand, Magic Johnson, Andre Harrell, Russell Simmons, Paul Mooney, Steve McKeever, Sylvia Rhone, Mike Tyson, MC Hammer & Martin Lawrence.
After Tramps, R & B Live moved to Twenty-Twenty nightclub in Century City (the old Playboy Club) & later to the Roxy Theater on Sunset. It also produced several shows to open the House of Blues in Hollywood. One of its most famous shows was a pre-Grammy party at the Supper Club in NYC. It also partnered with the USO & AT&T to produce several tours for the Armed Forces in Japan, Europe, Cuba, the Caribbean & Bermuda. Over its five-year span Ramon and Bill produced over 300 R & B Live shows. Share your memory.
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