Chess Records

He goes to Chicago in 1955.

Muddy Waters, a blues hero, makes the introduction to Leonard Chess, the main fellow at Chess Records.

And over the next 10 or 15 years, Chuck records an extraordinary series of hits for Chess Records.

An incredibly fruitful period that is broken up in the middle by another stint in jail.

For all intents and purposes, though, after Chuck leaves chess and signs up with Mercury Records, his career is pretty much over.

Sure.

It was a guitar-led band, Muddy Waters.

It was Muddy who brought Chuck Berry to Chess

You can read it, right? And here we have Mildred Bailey.

30 years ago, Chess was on the top of the charts.

I don't know if it's even more interesting now, but somewhere else for sure.

Here comes the report.

That was 83 and 84, I believe.

The first session was one of the very last things that was cut at what used to be Chess, but it was called Gerim by then, G-E-R-I-M.

Okay.

artist named Gerald Sims, singer, guitar player.

In 1968, Page built Led Zeppelin out of what was left And with Zeppelin, the exchange turned into something that's pretty hard to forgive.

In 1962, Willie Dixon wrote a song called You Need Love, and Muddy Waters sang it for Chess Records.

You Need Love, Muddy Waters, written by Willie Dixon, Chess Records, 1962.

You've got yawning and I got funny.

Baby, you look so sweet and cunning.

How

extraordinary to have a Muddy Waters record under your arms, a kid riding the train, and then to walk in one day to Chess Records and play with Muddy Waters.

That has to be surreal, right?

It's kind of surreal.

So, who came through that door first? The blues did.

In those first years, Phillips mostly recorded rhythm and blues artists, and since he had no real label of his own, he leased the recordings to bigger independent companies, mainly the RPM label out on the West Coast and Chess Records up in Chicago.

A young B.B. King was one of those early visitors.

King was under contract to RPM and Phillips produced many of his early recordings.

That was Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm, and Turner said the record was supposed to carry his band's name with Brenston featured.

He blamed Phillips for it.

Phillips leased the record to Chess.

It went to number one on the Rhythm and Blues chart in June of 1951. and Turner and most of the band were paid $20 a piece.