On August 17, 1968, Billboard Magazine announced that a Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame was forthcoming to honor rhythm and blues icons, then 45 years later on August 17th, 2013, the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, hosted its inaugural induction ceremony, Then to the day 54 years later after the Billboard article in 1968, on August 17, 2022, Quitman County, Marks Mississippi announce plans to build a state-of-the-art complex for the great legacy of rhythm and blues and its legends.

On August 17, 1968, Bill Cosby made an announcement in Billboard Magazine that an R&B Hall of Fame was coming for the history of R&B music. So 45 years later on the same date as in Billboard Magazine, the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, hosted its official induction ceremony on August 17, 2013, in the city of Cleveland, Ohio at Cleveland State University. 

Some 9 years later after the first induction ceremony on August 17, 2013, and 54 years after the Billboard Magazine article, the city of Marks, Mississippi in Quitman County, made an announcement on August 17, 2022, that it has partnered with the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame Foundation to bring and build the official National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. 

National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame Foundation

The month of August will be labeled Rhythm & Blues Music Month