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Leonard Chess

Leonard Chess (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969) was a Polish-born American record executive best known as the co-founder of Chess Records, the influential Chicago-based label that documented and popularized electric blues, rhythm and blues, and early rock and roll from the late 1940s through the 1960s.^[1] Born Lejzor Czyż in Motal, Poland (now in Belarus), Chess immigrated to the United States with his family in 1928, settling in Chicago where he anglicized his name and grew up in a Jewish immigrant community on the city's South Side.^[2] After working in the junk business and operating a liquor store, he entered the nightlife scene by opening the Macomba Lounge, a bar and after-hours club at 3905 South Cottage Grove Avenue, which exposed him to live blues and jazz performances by Black musicians in the 1940s.^[2] In 1947, Chess invested in the fledgling Aristocrat Records label, founded earlier that year by Charles and Evelyn Aron, and began wholesaling records while using the lounge to scout talent; this partnership led to his first major signing, recording Muddy Waters in August 1947, whose debut single "I Can't Be Satisfied" became a hit in 1948 and solidified the label's focus on Chicago blues.^[3]^[4] By 1950, Chess and his younger brother Phil, who had joined after serving in World War II, had bought out the Arons and renamed the company Chess Records on June 3, shifting its numbering system and expanding its roster to include jazz, gospel, and R&B alongside blues.^[2] Under Leonard's hands-on leadership as president, the label became a cornerstone of the post-war music industry, producing seminal recordings such as Jackie Brenston's "Rocket 88" in 1951—often credited as an early rock and roll milestone—and hits like Muddy Waters's "Hoochie Coochie Man" (1954) and Howlin' Wolf's "No Place to Go" (1954).^[4]^[5] The 1955 signings of guitarist Chuck Berry and singer-guitarist Bo Diddley marked a pivotal expansion into rock and roll, with Berry's "Maybellene" and Diddley's self-titled debut single both topping the R&B charts that year, while earlier blues artists like Little Walter and Willie Dixon contributed enduring tracks such as "Juke" (1952).^[6]^[4] Chess Records also ventured into doo-wop with groups like the Moonglows and the Flamingos, and soul with Etta James and Fontella Bass in the 1960s, amassing over 20 Billboard R&B hits for Waters alone and influencing global rock acts including the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.^[4]^[3] In addition to music production, Chess diversified into radio broadcasting, co-founding WVON-AM in 1963 as a pioneering Black-oriented station and serving as president of the L&P Broadcasting Company from 1959 until his death.^[7] Facing industry shifts toward major labels and soul music, he sold Chess Records to General Recorded Tape (GRT) for $6.5 million in early 1969.^[8] Just months later, on October 16, 1969, Chess died of a heart attack at age 52 while driving in Chicago, leaving a legacy that earned him and his brother induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 as non-performers and the Blues Hall of Fame in 1995.^[1]^[9]^[10]

Early Life and Background

Birth and Family Origins

Leonard Chess was born Lejzor Szmuel Czyż on March 12, 1917, in Motal (also known as Motele), a small town in the Grodno region of what was then Poland (now part of Belarus), to a Polish-Jewish family.^[11]^[12] His birth occurred in a modest Jewish community where traditional shtetl life prevailed, marked by close-knit religious and cultural practices central to Eastern European Jewish heritage. His parents were Joseph (also spelled Yasef or Yasel) Czyż, a shoemaker by trade, and Celia (Cyrla) Pulick Czyż, who together raised their family amid economic hardship typical of many Jewish households in the region.^[12]^[13] The family experienced significant poverty, with limited resources exacerbated by the instability following World War I, during which the area saw shifting control between Russian, German, and Polish forces. Leonard had an older sister, Malka (later known as Mae, born around 1915), and a younger brother, Fiszel (later Phil Chess, born in 1921); tragically, three other siblings died in infancy or early childhood.^[12]^[13] Joseph's prior emigration to the United States in search of better opportunities underscored the family's precarious situation.^[12] Chess's early childhood unfolded against a backdrop of post-war recovery and escalating antisemitism in interwar Poland, where Jewish communities faced economic boycotts, pogroms, and discriminatory policies that intensified communal tensions and poverty.^[14] In Motal, where Jews comprised a significant portion of the population and often worked in trades like shoemaking, daily life revolved around synagogue activities and survival amid these challenges, shaping the resilient cultural identity that Chess carried forward.

Immigration and Early Career in Chicago

In 1928, at the age of 11, Leonard Chess (born Lejzor Szmuel Czyż) immigrated to the United States from Motele, Poland (now Belarus), along with his mother Celia, his older sister Malka, and his younger brother Fiszel (later Phil), reuniting with their father Joseph, who had arrived earlier and established himself in Chicago's liquor trade during Prohibition.^[15]^[16]^[17] The family settled in a Jewish immigrant neighborhood on Chicago's West Side, initially at 1425 S. Karlov Avenue, where they navigated the challenges of the Great Depression amid a growing Polish-Jewish community.^[18] Chess received limited formal education beyond high school, graduating from Crane Technical High School on the Near West Side, after which he entered the workforce to support his family.^[18] His early jobs included laboring in his father's Wabash Junk Shop and assisting in his father's illegal liquor operations, reflecting the economic pressures faced by many immigrant families in the city's industrial underbelly.^[18] By the 1930s and 1940s, as Prohibition ended, Chess transitioned into the legal liquor business, co-owning several stores on Chicago's South Side with his brother Phil and father, which provided the capital for venturing into nightlife.^[19] In 1946, they purchased and operated the Macomba Lounge at 3905 S. Cottage Grove Avenue, an after-hours club in a predominantly African American neighborhood that featured live performances by jazz and blues musicians, exposing Chess to the vibrant South Side music scene and laying the groundwork for his later recording endeavors.^[15]^[20] The venue operated until October 1950, when it mysteriously burned down, but it had already become a key hub for emerging talents in the genre.^[20]

Chess Records and Music Industry Career

Founding Aristocrat and Chess Records

In 1947, Leonard Chess entered the recording industry by partnering with Charles and Evelyn Aron, who had recently established Aristocrat Records in Chicago to capture the burgeoning local blues scene. The label initially emphasized jazz and rhythm and blues, but Chess, drawing from his experience operating the Macomba Lounge—a South Side nightclub that featured electrified Chicago blues performers—pushed for recordings of raw, urban blues talent. This partnership allowed Aristocrat to release its first singles, including early efforts by artists like Andrew Tibbs, whose "Bilbo Is Dead" became one of the label's initial successes in promoting postwar Black music from the city's club circuit.^[2]^[21] By late 1949, financial strains and personal separations among the Arons prompted Leonard Chess and his brother Phil, who had joined the family nightclub ventures after World War II, to acquire full ownership of Aristocrat Records. The brothers restructured the company, renaming it Chess Records on June 3, 1950, to reflect their surname and signal a new era focused exclusively on blues and emerging rhythm and blues sounds. This transition marked a pivotal shift from their nightlife operations, as the Chess brothers leveraged their club networks to directly scout and sign local musicians, transforming Aristocrat's modest output into a platform for authentic Chicago blues.^[22]^[21] Under Chess Records' early operations, the brothers prioritized on-the-ground recording of club performers, often capturing sessions at their own venues or nearby studios to preserve the energetic, amplified style of South Side blues. A breakthrough came with their first major hit, Muddy Waters' "I Can't Be Satisfied," released on Aristocrat 1305 in 1948, which showcased Waters' raw Delta-influenced electric guitar and propelled the label's reputation for authentic urban blues. This single's success validated the Chesses' hands-on approach, setting the foundation for Chess Records as a cornerstone of the genre despite the label's rudimentary beginnings.^[2]^[23]

Key Artists, Releases, and Innovations

Under Leonard Chess's leadership, Chess Records became a cornerstone for Chicago blues by signing transformative artists who shaped the genre's electric evolution. Muddy Waters debuted with the label's predecessor, Aristocrat Records, in 1947, recording his initial tracks that introduced amplified Delta blues to urban audiences.^[24] His 1954 single "Hoochie Coochie Man," written by staff songwriter Willie Dixon, exemplified the raw, boastful energy of postwar blues and reached number three on the Billboard R&B chart, solidifying Waters' status as a label flagship.^[25] Dixon, who joined Chess as a full-time producer, bassist, and songwriter in 1951, crafted over a hundred songs for the label, including hits for multiple artists that blended poetic lyrics with driving rhythms. The label further bolstered its blues roster with harmonica virtuoso Little Walter, whose amplified playing technique—treating the instrument like a lead guitar—debuted on Waters' 1952 track "Country Boy" and propelled his solo single "Juke" to the top of the Billboard R&B chart for eight weeks that year.^[12] Howlin' Wolf signed exclusively with Chess in 1951, following the licensing of his Memphis-recorded "Moanin' at Midnight," which became his debut release and showcased his gravelly vocals and intense delivery, influencing generations of blues and rock performers.^[26] By the mid-1950s, Chess expanded into rock 'n' roll, signing Chuck Berry after Waters recommended him to Leonard Chess; Berry's debut single "Maybellene" in 1955 sold over a million copies, topping the R&B chart and peaking at number five on the pop chart, bridging Black blues traditions with white country influences to reach broader audiences.^[27] That same year, Bo Diddley debuted on Chess's Checker subsidiary with "Bo Diddley"/"I'm a Man," both rooted in his signature "hambone" rhythm; the A-side hit number one on the R&B chart, pioneering the tremolo guitar sound and cross-racial appeal that defined early rock.^[28] Chess Records innovated the electric blues sound by emphasizing amplification to suit Chicago's noisy clubs, with Waters' adoption of electric guitar and Little Walter's cupped harmonica microphone creating a fuller, more aggressive style that transitioned rural Delta blues into urban Chicago blues.^[23] The label developed in-house production capabilities, including recording, pressing, and printing at a single facility, while launching subsidiaries like Checker and Argo to target diverse radio formats and expand distribution through independent networks.^[12] These efforts, coupled with strategic artist signings, facilitated the cross-promotion of Black music to white listeners, laying groundwork for rock 'n' roll's commercial breakthrough.^[23]

Business Challenges and Sale

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Chess Records faced significant operational challenges amid the payola scandals that swept the music industry, with Leonard Chess implicated in practices of paying disc jockeys to promote records, a common but increasingly scrutinized tactic that led to congressional hearings and regulatory crackdowns.^[29] These scandals strained relationships with radio stations and contributed to broader instability in independent label promotion. Additionally, the label encountered racial tensions in marketing its blues and R&B artists to white audiences, navigating segregated radio formats and distribution networks that limited crossover success, even as Chess worked to bridge racial divides in music access.^[30] Intensifying competition from rising soul labels like Motown in the 1960s further pressured Chess Records, as Motown's polished, youth-oriented sound captured a larger share of the pop market and challenged Chess's rawer blues-rooted output for airplay and sales.^[31] Legal issues compounded these difficulties, particularly songwriting credit disputes; for instance, bassist and composer Willie Dixon sued Arc Music—the Chess brothers' publishing arm—in the 1970s over improper crediting and royalties for hits like "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "Hoochie Coochie Man," alleging exploitation of artists' copyrights.^[32] Similar lawsuits from artists including Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf accused the label of cheating on royalties and credits, resulting in out-of-court settlements that returned some ownership rights but highlighted ongoing financial strains from such litigation.^[33] Dixon later reflected in his autobiography on the Chess brothers' maneuvers to retain royalties, describing it as "swindling" under the guise of business savvy.^[34] By the late 1960s, these cumulative pressures led Leonard and Phil Chess to sell the label in 1969 to General Recorded Tape (GRT) for $6.5 million plus 20,000 shares of GRT stock, marking the end of their direct control amid a shifting industry landscape.^[21] Following the sale, Leonard shifted focus to broadcasting, having co-owned WVON-AM since 1963 as a platform for Black music and community voices, which became one of Chicago's top stations under his involvement.^[35]

Personal Life

Marriage and Family

Leonard Chess married Revetta Sloan, a Jewish woman from his Chicago neighborhood, in 1941.^[13]^[12] The couple had three children: a son, Marshall, born in 1942, and two daughters.^[13] As Chess's success in the nightclub and recording businesses grew, the family moved to better homes in Chicago, establishing a stable domestic life away from the city's more turbulent areas.^[13] He deliberately insulated his family from the rougher elements of the music industry, avoiding discussions of business controversies at home and leaving his wife to oversee the household and child-rearing. While Marshall took on part-time roles in the family enterprises, Chess shielded his daughters from the studio's coarse language and environment.^[13] Chess's younger brother Phil led a parallel family life, marrying his high school sweetheart Sheva Jonesi, also Jewish, in 1943 during basic training.^[13]^[9] The couple remained together for over 70 years until Sheva's death in 2016 and raised three children: a daughter, Pam, and two sons, Kevin and Terry.^[36] The brothers' close bond, forged through their shared immigrant roots from Poland, extended to non-music business endeavors, strengthening their personal and familial ties.^[13]

Health and Death

In the late 1960s, Leonard Chess suffered from declining health, which prompted him to gradually step back from the daily management of Chess Records and redirect his energies toward operating the radio station WVON, which he had acquired in 1963. This period of withdrawal was compounded by the stress of selling the label to General Recorded Tape in January 1969 amid evolving industry dynamics and corporate pressures.^[19] On October 16, 1969, Chess, aged 52, died of a heart attack while driving his car in Chicago, just blocks from the Chess Records headquarters.^[37] His funeral services were held privately, and he was interred at Westlawn Cemetery in Norridge, Illinois.^[7] The sudden loss devastated his immediate family, including his wife Revetta, son Marshall, two daughters, and brother Phil; Marshall, who had worked alongside his father in the business, organized a special radio tribute broadcast on WVON shortly after the death to honor his legacy.^[38] The handling of Chess's estate proceeded amid personal challenges for the family, as the prior sale of the label had already shifted business control to GRT, leaving the personal affairs to be settled privately by his survivors.^[19]

Legacy and Cultural Impact

Influence on Blues and Rock 'n' Roll

Leonard Chess played a pivotal role in amplifying the Chicago blues sound, transforming the raw, rural Delta blues into an urban, electric style that resonated with post-World War II audiences. Through Chess Records, he recorded artists like Muddy Waters, whose amplified guitar-driven tracks such as "Hoochie Coochie Man" (1954) captured the gritty energy of Chicago's Black working-class neighborhoods, blending harmonica, piano, and raw vocals into a electrified format that became the hallmark of the genre. This shift not only revitalized blues for a new era but also laid the groundwork for its global dissemination, as Waters' recordings were exported to Europe, directly influencing the British blues revival of the 1960s. Chess's label was instrumental in forging the foundations of rock 'n' roll by promoting innovative Black artists whose styles bridged blues and emerging pop sensibilities. Chuck Berry, signed to Chess in 1955, pioneered guitar riffs and storytelling lyrics in songs like "Maybellene" and "Johnny B. Goode," which fused country twang with blues energy to create prototypes for rock guitar heroism and narrative-driven anthems that would define the genre for decades. Similarly, Bo Diddley's rhythmic innovations, exemplified by his signature "shave and a haircut" beat in tracks like "Bo Diddley" (1955), introduced primal, hypnotic grooves that echoed African musical traditions while propelling the beat-forward propulsion central to rock 'n' roll. These recordings, produced under Chess's guidance, emphasized raw authenticity over polished production, allowing Black musical idioms to evolve into a youth-oriented rebellion sound. Beyond individual artists, Chess Records democratized access to Black music, challenging racial barriers in the mid-20th-century music industry and contributing to the cultural shifts of the civil rights era. By distributing blues and rhythm-and-blues records through independent networks and securing airplay on urban radio stations, Chess made these sounds available to white teenage audiences, fostering cross-racial appreciation and helping integrate Black artists into mainstream consciousness. This broader impact is evident in how Chess's catalog fueled the British Invasion, with bands like the Rolling Stones covering Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry tracks, thereby repackaging Chicago blues for a global rock audience and amplifying its influence on popular culture.

Honors, Recognition, and Enduring Contributions

Leonard Chess was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 in the non-performer category, recognized for his pivotal role in promoting blues music to wider audiences through Chess Records.^[39]^[40] Leonard Chess was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1991 as the inaugural non-performer inductee. His brother Phil was inducted in 1995.^[1]^[10] Preservation efforts for Chess's legacy include extensive reissues of the Chess Records catalog, ensuring the accessibility of seminal blues recordings. In 2025, Universal Music Enterprises launched a 75th-anniversary vinyl reissue series, remastering albums by artists such as Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf from original analog tapes to maintain audio fidelity.^[41]^[42] The Chicago Blues Festival has featured tributes to Chess Records, including a 2025 performance by the Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven Foundation celebrating the label's 75th anniversary with descendants of key artists like Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry.^[43] Chess's family has actively continued his work, with son Marshall Chess playing a key role in managing the label's assets after its 1975 sale to All Platinum Records and spearheading reissue projects in the late 1970s and beyond.^[21]^[44] Marshall's efforts, including producing new compilations and overseeing catalog transfers to major labels like MCA, have sustained the institutional legacy of Chess Records into the modern era.^[12]

Portrayals in Media

Films and Documentaries

The 2008 biographical drama Cadillac Records, directed by Darnell Martin, portrays the rise of Chess Records in 1950s Chicago through the lens of Leonard Chess's relationships with key artists including Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, and Etta James.^[45] Adrien Brody stars as Leonard Chess, depicted as a driven Polish immigrant club owner who transforms his venue into a recording powerhouse, navigating racial tensions, exploitation, and the birth of rock 'n' roll by gifting artists Cadillacs as bonuses.^[46] The film emphasizes the era's glamour and grit but has faced critiques for historical inaccuracies, such as timeline distortions (e.g., misplacing Chuck Berry's hits) and fictionalized elements like Chess's affair with Etta James, while omitting figures like Phil Chess and rival producers.^[47] Also released in 2008, Who Do You Love, directed by Jerry Zaks, offers an alternative biopic on Leonard Chess's life and the founding of Chess Records, highlighting his role in amplifying blues artists like Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon to mainstream audiences in the 1950s and 1960s.^[48] Alessandro Nivola plays Chess as a visionary yet conflicted figure balancing family, business ethics, and the music industry's racial dynamics, with the story structured around key songs like Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?".^[49] Produced with input from Chess family members, the film aims for greater fidelity to events but still takes dramatic liberties, focusing less on ensemble drama than Cadillac Records and earning mixed reviews for its narrower scope.^[50] Documentaries on Chess Records often incorporate archival footage to illustrate Leonard Chess's impact, such as in the multi-part The Chess Records Story (2013), which chronicles the label's origins and features rare clips of recording sessions with artists like Howlin' Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson II.^[51] This production draws on historical interviews and performance excerpts to depict Chess's hands-on production style in the 1950s Chicago scene, emphasizing the transition from blues to rock influences without dramatized narratives.^[52] Similarly, the BBC's 6 Music Stories: The Chess Records Story (2013), narrated by Marshall Chess (Leonard’s son), uses audio archives and family recollections to explore the label's legacy, including Leonard's immigrant background and artist discoveries.^[53]

Television and Other Adaptations

Leonard Chess's story and the legacy of Chess Records have been explored in several television documentaries and dramatizations, often focusing on the label's pivotal role in Chicago blues and early rock 'n' roll. In the 2003 PBS documentary "Godfathers and Sons," directed by Marc Levin as part of Martin Scorsese's "The Blues" series, Marshall Chess, son of Leonard, collaborates with hip-hop artist Chuck D to record a tribute album at the original Chess studios, highlighting the intergenerational impact of the label's artists like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.^[54] The film interweaves historical footage, interviews, and new performances to illustrate how Chess Records bridged blues traditions with modern music. Dramatized portrayals appear in scripted series, such as the 2017 CMT miniseries "Sun Records," where actor Rob Morrow depicts Leonard Chess as a key figure in the competitive landscape of 1950s record labels, interacting with Sun Records founder Sam Phillips during the rise of artists like Elvis Presley and Howlin' Wolf.^[55] This eight-episode production emphasizes Chess's business acumen and the cross-pollination between rival Chicago and Memphis labels.^[56] Beyond traditional television, Chess's narrative has been adapted into audio formats. The BBC Radio 6 Music series "The Chess Records Story" (2013), narrated by Marshall Chess, chronicles the label's evolution through episodes detailing key recordings and artist relationships, drawing on family archives for authenticity.^[53] In the 2020s, Marshall Chess hosts an ongoing podcast series on the Chess Records Tribute YouTube channel, offering episodic deep dives into the label's history, including rare interviews and behind-the-scenes stories from its founding in 1950.^[57] While no direct stage musical adaptation of Leonard Chess's life exists, the 1988 Broadway production "Chess" by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Tim Rice—unrelated to the record label—coincidentally shares the name and has been revived periodically, including a 2025 Broadway revival starring Lea Michele and Aaron Tveit, though it centers on Cold War geopolitics through the metaphor of competitive chess matches rather than music industry history.^[58]^[59]

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1987. Category ... This is the signature that appears on the inductee's plaque at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to officially commemorate their induction.
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Rating 3/4 · Review by Roger EbertDec 3, 2008 · This movie sidesteps the existence of Phil Chess, now living in Arizona, and focuses on the enigmatic, chain-smoking Leonard (Adrien Brody).
[46]
'Cadillac Records,' Staying True To The Tunes - NPR
Dec 5, 2008 · An exuberant fictionalization of the Chess Records story, Cadillac Records plays a gritty counterpoint to Dreamgirls.
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Cadillac Records Gets Nothing Right, Especially the Facts About ...
Dec 4, 2008 · Cadillac Records Gets Nothing Right, Especially the Facts About Chess Records. First, a key spoiler: Cadillac Records is not the story of Chess ...
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Competing films tell Chess Records story - Variety
Nov 17, 2008 · The first film he wanted to make was the Chess Records story. ... Oscar winner Adrien Brody plays Leonard Chess, the legendary co-founder ...<|control11|><|separator|>
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Another checkered history of Chess Records movie review (2010)
Rating 2.5/4 · Review by Roger EbertApr 28, 2010 · "Who Do You Love" is the second, and lesser, recent film about the brothers Chess, Leonard and Phil, and the label they founded.<|control11|><|separator|>
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Who Do You Love | Rotten Tomatoes
Rating 40% (25) Alessandro Nivola as Leonard Chess in "Who Do You Love." (L-R) Raheem DeVaughn as Andrew Tibbs, Chi McBride as Willie Dixon and Alessandro. Robert Randolph as ...
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The Chess Records Story 01 - YouTube
Jan 8, 2013 · ... Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and many more great blues artists. The Chess Records Story 01. 248K views · 12 years ago ...more. corporalhenshaw. 91.9K.
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Watch Video: The Chess Records Story - SoulTracks
Jul 20, 2024 · And the documentary The Chess Records Story tells an awful lot of that history in a pretty short time. It is great watching and a virtualy musical history ...
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6 Music Stories, The Chess Records Story - Episode 1 - BBC
The Chess Records Story - Episode 1. 6 Music Stories. Marshall Chess begins the story of the Chicago record label that was home to Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters ...
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The Blues . Godfathers and Sons | PBS
Director Marc Levin (Slam, Whiteboys, Brooklyn Babylon) travels to Chicago with hip-hop legend Chuck D (of Public Enemy) and Marshall Chess.
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The Blues: Godfathers and Sons - Wikipedia
Godfathers and Sons is a documentary directed by Marc Levin. The film is part of The Blues, a seven part PBS series, with Martin Scorsese as executive producer.
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'Sun Records' Review: Chad Michael Murray Stars in CMT Show
Feb 20, 2017 · That film's subject, the more successful producer and exec Leonard Chess, shows up in the third episode of “Sun Records.” “Sun Records” is a ...
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Leonard Chess - Sun Records - TVmaze.com
Character Guide for Sun Records's Leonard Chess. Includes character biography, gallery, and a complete list of episode appearances.
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Podcasts hosted by Marshall Chess - YouTube - YouTube
A unique exclusive podcast series with Marshall Chess talking all things Chess Records the seminal black label that changed the course of music.