Musical Roots

Chess Records



Did you know?
The Rolling Stones were named after one of Muddy Waters songs “Rolling Stone”…
Did you also know?
The new motion picture “Cadillac Records” chronicles the life of Leonard Chess and the artists who recorded for Chess Records…


Chess Records was the home of the Electric Blues. Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and countless more all enjoyed their greatest success with the label. The label would create a monopoly of Chicago music recording. If you were anyone recording the Blues in the 50’s & 60’s, you were on Chess Records. The label would go from a small local Chicago record label in the late 1940’s to a major force in popular music.

Brothers Leonard and Philip Chess were two Jewish immigrants from Poland who came to Chicago in 1928. They were involved in the liquor business and by the 1940’s they owned several bars on the south side of Chicago. Their largest establishment was a nightclub called the Macomba. The Macomba was heavy on live entertainment. Blues performers that had migrated to Chicago from the Mississippi delta in the '30s and '40s were usually a popular draw.

However, Leonard and Phil realized that these performers were not being properly recorded, so they decided to start recording them themselves. In 1947 they entered into a partnership with Charles and Evelyn Aron, who owned a small successful label called Aristocrat Records. By 1950, the brothers had bought out the husband and wife and Chess Records was born, it would soon become a fixture in the world of music and it remains the most impressive collection of blues music in the world.

The most important artist to record for Aristocrat before it was Chess, was McKinley Morganfield, better known as Muddy Waters. He had a few successful singles with Aristocrat. But through their connections with radio and other local clubs around Chicago, Chess was able to form Waters into Chicago’s premier Blues singer.

From their experiences in the nightclub business on the South side of Chicago, the Chess brothers understood the popular preferences of their predominantly African-American audiences, but also saw the marketability of blues music to a broader audience. In the beginning Chess Records was ran as a two man business, with Phil overseeing the nightclub and the offices of Aristocrat/Chess and Arc, it’s publishing division, while Leonard alternately scouted talent, produced the sessions, and hand delivered fresh recordings to radio stations in the Chicago area.

Other greats joined like Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Lowell Fulson and John Lee Hooker, all recording for Chess during post- war America. Later, they recorded the next generation of Chicago blues artists with Buddy Guy, Little Milton and Koko Taylor and later Etta James and Fontella Bass. Chess also recorded two black vocal groups, the Flamingos and the Moonglows, singing sentimental songs in styles that had appeal to the white record buying public.
But no one at Chess had the impact on the future of popular music as Chuck Berry. Berry spoke to his friend Muddy Waters and took his advice regarding the advantages of working with Leonard Chess. Berry signed with the label in May of 1955 and had his first unforgettable hit, "Maybellene." 




In 1969, Leonard and Phil Chess sold Chess to General Recorded Tape (GRT) for 6½ million dollars plus 20 thousand shares in GRT stock. In October 1969, the company suffered a devastating blow when Leonard Chess died. Quality output declined, and by the summer of 1972, the Chess Chicago offices were almost empty, the distribution company and pressing plants had been closed, and only the Chess Ter Mar studio was operating with a few employees. By the summer of 1975, GRT was dismantling what was left of Chess. In August 1975, with all of the GRT record operations closed down, what remained of Chess Records, was sold to New Jersey-based All Platinum Records. In 1985, MCA acquired the rights to the massive Chess catalog. At the start of 1987, the company began to mount an ambitious long-term reissue campaign of the invaluable Chess masters. 2007 marked the 60th anniversary!

Leonard Chess was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1987


Watch the movie!!
Cadillac Records-an DVD & BluRay & lots of other stuff now