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Artists associated
with Chess Records
more...
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The Chess Record Label
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Fiszel (Phil), Malka, Cyrla &
Lejzor (Leonard) Czyz, 1926
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Born of a Jewish
immigrant family in Poland, and raised in the working-class neighborhoods
of Chicago, Leonard and Phil
Chess were already the
proprietors of several Chicago nightclubs when they bought into the
Aristocrat label in 1947. Initially, most of the material which came from
the label was jazz or jump blues but this all began to change with the
arrival of Muddy
Waters. His first hit, 'I Can't Be Satisfied' really kick started a new
direction for the Chess brothers. They bought out the other partner in the
business (one Evelyn Aron) and in 1950 they renamed the label Chess.
Early on they continued to rely on
material from the vaults of the old Aristocrat label but slowly began to
sign up artists of their own, including Robert
Nighthawk, Jimmy
Rogers, Eddie
Boyd and, significantly, Howlin'
Wolf. By far the most important early advance however was the arrival
of Willie
Dixon. Leonard and Phil both had an excellent ear for music but they
didn't have the contacts that Willie Dixon brought with him. Dixon became
the mainstay of Chess, writing, producing and arranging many of its most
famous tracks. The Chess label soon became the leading outlet for Urban
blues. The brothers formed the Checker subsidiary and signed Sonny
Boy Williamson, Elmore
James and Little
Walter.
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Willie Dixon
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Chess also embraced Rock'n'Roll and R'n'B,
signing leading exponents such as Chuck
Berry and Bo
Diddley to the label. The Chess reputation also attracted the 'new
breed' of blues artists, including Otis
Rush and Buddy
Guy - it also got a new lease of life in the 60s when the so called
blues boom generated renewed interest in both the recordings and the
artists who made them.
Surprisingly to many, Chess didn't just concentrate on the blues idiom,
launching a jazz-based label, Argo, in
1956, but they never attracted the same kudos or commercial
success as the likes of Atlantic and Stax, although artistically at least,
much of the label's R'n'B output was equal to that of any recorded
elsewhere.
Leonard Chess died in 1969 and, almost
immediately, Phil sold Chess to GRT. However, the label has consistently
been repackaged and reissued over the years, most notably by MCA in the
States and Charly Records in the UK. A recent dispute over the rights to
the label's offerings between Charly and MCA has muddied the waters with
regard to Charly's massive reissue program - a shame for UK buyers, who
were well served by the quality of much of the reissue process.
The great Etta James
was signed to Chess subsidiary Argo in 1959, she had hits
from 1960 ('All I Could Do Was Cry') through to 1963 ('Pushover)'. A lull
in her career followed, the hits tried up and both her personal and
professional life were sorely tested by her heroin addiction. In 1967,
Chess took her to the Fame Studios and the resulting "Tell Mama"
was an artistically triumphant comeback.
Its highlights included the hit title
track, her version of Redding's 'Security' and the classic 'I'd Rather Go
Blind'. The sale of Chess left her without a contract, but Etta has
continued to record music of high quality, including the 1978 release
"Deep In The Night" and "The Right Time" (1992).
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Chess Studios
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Mitty
Collier signed to Chess in 1961 and recorded a string of
singles through to 1968, when she was unceremoniously dropped by the
label. She never achieved any degree of lasting success, despite the
quality of her performances and material. Tracks such as 'I Had A Talk
With My Man Last Night', 'No Faith, No Love' and 'Got To Get Away From It
All' are fine examples of Southern Soul within a Gospel tradition. 'I Had
A Talk.....' is alone worth the price of any compilation you find it on.
Laura
Lee started her career, unsurprisingly, as a gospel
singer in her native Chicago during the late 1950s. She signed to
Chess in 1965 although it appeared that early on the label was
unsure how best to record her. Another trip to the Fame Studios
resolved this particular dilemma - a string of great sides were
released, including 'Dirty Man', 'Love More Than Pride' and 'A Man
With Some Backbone'. One of the earlier female artists to record
material which questioned traditional male dominance and asserted
the need for female independence, she later became an arch exponent
of this genre, along with artists such as Millie
Jackson and Betty
Wright.
The Moonglows
are evidence enough that Chess embraced music other than blues early
on in its history. They were a classic doo-wop group and released a
succession of singles on the label throughout the 1950s. Amongst the
better known are 'Sincerely', 'SeeSaw' and, as Harvey & The
Moonglows, 'The Ten Commandments Of Love'. The mainstay and leader
of the group, Harvey Fuqua, also began to work for the label as an
A&R man, bringing Etta James to the label and introducing Marvin
Gaye to his own group.
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Leonard, Marshall & Phil
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An artist whose reputation largely
rests on the recording of one song, Chess artist Billy
Stewart should nonetheless be remembered for much more
than his idiosyncratic hit version of the Gershwin standard
Summertime'. Prior to the hit, he had already proved his talent as a
songwriter and had written a number of superior soulful songs. He
started out his career as a member of the Rainbows
(who recorded on the Fire and Fury label), joining the Chess
label after the group disbanded. Before the 'Summertime' hit, he had
already scored with the ballads 'I Do Love You' and 'Sitting In The
Park' in 1965.
The success of 'Summertime'
typecast him and it was followed by the stylistically similar
'Secret Love', both featuring a scat and stuttering style unique to
Stewart. If you can find a greatest hits package, buy it and you
will hear a fine singer and an excellent set of largely self penned
material.
Copyright Peter Dean ©
1998 - 2003 Courtesy of R&B Music Primer - www.rhythmandtheblues.org.uk
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