Tunesmith: One thing I've learned in this thread is that the term rhythm and blues meant something completely different in England. I thought that it was weird that when they released a Boxed set of the Who it was titled 30 Years Of Maximum R & B. That made zero sense, over here. The Who were a rock band that did some blues and early soul music (and very little R & B as it is defined over here.) And Rhythm and Blues definitely included Doo Wop over here. I could post definitions from the best respected books on the subject to support it. But, that's really unimportant... same words, different meanings. As long as we all understand what we're talking about/ John Mayall didn't have a group called The Rhythm and Blues Breakers.
In The All Music Guide, you'll find him under Rock, not blues.

You are right about what rhythm and blues was in England. It just took on a different meaning than over here, where the music originated. To me, the early Stones were much closer to an R & B, or early Soul music band, and the early stuff still sounds good.

Jerry