Chess Records
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- This article is about the record label. For records in the game of Chess, see World records in chess.
Chess Records became famous for the blues music, rock and roll, and rhythm & blues recorded and released by the label. Artists associated with Chess Records included Willie Dixon, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Gene Ammons, Jimmy Rogers, Little Walter, The Moonglows, Etta James, Minnie Riperton, and others. Dixon in particular was a vital figure at Chess Records. He was not only a fine bassist and prolific songwriter; he also aided in orchestration and was something of a figurehead for the label.
Chess Records was started as Aristocrat Records. Leonard and Phil Chess bought a stake of that company in 1947. In 1950 they became sole owners and renamed it Chess Records.
In 1952 they started Checker Records, mainly as a gospel label. In 1955 they launched a jazz sub label: Argo Records (which changed name in 1965 to Cadet Records because a similarly named label already existed in the UK). There was also Cadet Concept records which was home to a St. Louis band called The Truth, produced by Abner Spector. In 1969 the Chess brothers sold the label to General Recorded Tape for $6.5 million. In October 1969 Leonard died, and by 1972 only the Chess recording studio was operational. In August 1975 GRT sold what remained of Chess Records to All Platinum Records. The master tapes were eventually bought by MCA Records.
A popular story is that the Rolling Stones owe their origin to a Chess Records release. Keith Richards saw Mick Jagger, whom he had known in grammar school, at Dartford railway station; Keith started talking to him because he noticed he was carrying a copy of Chess LP-1427, The Best of Muddy Waters, which featured the song "Rollin' Stone".
See also
External links
| Blues | Blues genres |
| Jug band - Classic female blues - Country blues - Delta blues - Jump blues - Piano blues - Fife and drum blues |
| Jazz blues - Blues-rock - Soul blues- Punk blues |
| African blues - British blues - Chicago blues - Detroit blues - Kansas City blues - Louisiana blues - Memphis blues - Piedmont blues - St. Louis blues - Swamp blues - Texas blues - West Coast blues |
| Musicians |
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