Little walter

For the Record …. Leonard Chess probably had as great an impact on modern popular music as any other man in the twentieth century. He discovered and recorded Chuck Berry , whose work as a guitarist and songwriter influenced nearly every rock and roll musician who followed in his footsteps. Along the way, Chess also recorded seminal musicians in the field of doo-wop, jazz, New Orleans music, and soul.

His legacy is, in a word, astounding. In , his impoverished family immigrated to the United States with Leonard and his brother Phil. As adults in the s, the brothers opened a chain of taverns in the black South Side of the city. The most successful of these was the Macomba, a popular night club in the heart of the Black Belt that hosted the most popular black acts of the day, including Ella Fitzgerald , Billy Eckstine , and Gene Ammons.

Working the Macomba every night, Len Chess became aware of the popularity of music in the black community and the lack of companies producing records for this market. Chess set to work. This started to change when piano player Sunnyland Slim came to record with a young guitarist from Mississippi who went by the name Muddy Waters. The two played a grittier style of blues that had its roots in the blues played in the rural south.

Leonard chess and etta james

They were effective, engaging blues but they did not particularly light up the night. Not long after that first session, however, Muddy returned to the studio. This time he was accompanied only by bassist Big Crawford. His partner Evelyn, however, heard something she liked in the music and pressed Chess to give Muddy a chance.