Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame
| Founded | 2010 |
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| Location |
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Key people
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Lamont "Showboat" Robinson, Founder/CEO; Executive Director |
| Mission | Dedicated to preserving the historical and cultural legacy and contributions of R&B, Gospel, Jazz and Hip-Hop music |
| Website | www |
The Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame is an independent organization honoring the historical preservation of Rhythm and Blues, Gospel, Jazz, and Hip-Hop music and culture.
Founded in 2010 as the Official R&B Music Hall of Fame Museum, its name was changed 1 October 2014 to The Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame Museum and on June 13, 2016 to Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. The project was founded and developed by sports entertainer and entrepreneur LaMont "Showboat" Robinson founder of Robinson Global Sports and Entertainment LLC.
Robinson is a player/owner of the Harlem Clowns and a former player for the Harlem Road Kings. Robinson's love for R&B and Soul music began at an early age. He would often attend music practice sessions with his musician uncle, a house band member at Leo's Casino a Cleveland, Ohio night club. It was one of the premiere clubs in the Midwest during the 1960s for R&B, jazz and African American comedians such as Redd Foxx, Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor and Moms Mabley. Otis Redding's last live performance on December 9, 1967 was at Leo's. This love inspired him to start collecting memorabilia and artifacts that reflect the history of the Rhythm and Blues era. Robinson collected many of these exclusive and rare items while traveling all over the world to play basketball with the Globetrotters and other teams.
Realizing that his collection had grown to a size worthy of a museum, he wanted to share or donate some of his collection to an officially recognized location. However he was unable to locate a place that exclusively displayed, celebrated and collected information about the great accomplishments of R&B artists besides the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his hometown Cleveland. While donating some items to the Rock Hall, he realized that a lot of well deserving R&B artists will never be given the type of recognition or honor that they deserve. He then decided to pursue creating such a place, acquiring the support of friends, some of which are R&B and jazz musicians.
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