The two Chess brothers were born in a village in Poland called Motal, which is now in Belarus: Lejzor in 1917 and Fiszel in 1921. They came to America with their mother and sister in 1928 and joined their father, who was working in Chicago. Their Polish names were converted to something more recognisable. Lejzor became Leonard and Fiszel became Philip. The family name Czyż became Chess.
The brothers found employment in various night clubs on the South Side of Chicago from 1938 and became involved with Jazz and Blues promotion. This led to them opening a club, the Macomba Lounge, and then to an investment by Leonard in a Chicago record company called Aristocrat Records in 1947. Leonard’s role was that of talent scout. In 1950, Philip joined to oversee the business operation and the brothers took over, together with Evelyn Aron.
It was Blues music that helped them establish a solid foundation for the company, with Muddy Waters’s success a key factor. More Blues artists arrived, including Willie Dixon and Little Walter, and the reputation of Aristocrat Records spread wider. During the early years, Leonard Chess would travel extensively on the road in the southern states, to establish widespread distribution networks and radio contacts.
It was also in 1950 that the brothers decided to relaunch the company as Chess Records. Leonard was the creative and inventive force in the production of records, often with the legendary Willie Dixon. He worked long and hard to achieve a particular sound, using a makeshift echo technique, which became known around the world. He had a special understanding of how to use limited space in the most creative way in the recording process, resulting in many recordings that sounded especially dynamic and exciting. The label developed a powerful Blues and Rock & Roll roster, including Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. Each artist helped to put Chicago on the map internationally as an influential entertainment centre, especially for Blues recordings. These recordings had a tremendous impact on the careers of the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton, amongst many others.
In 1951 the Chess brothers started working with Sam Phillips, who had set up the Memphis Recording Service and was looking for licensing arrangements with record companies. Sam Phillips went on to form Sun Records, where Elvis Presley made his first recordings. One of the first songs that Sam passed to Chess Records was “Rocket 88”, by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats, which went to the top of the Billboard R&B chart. The Delta Cats were actually Ike Turner (nineteen years old at the time) and his Kings of Rhythm, and Jackie Brenton was the band’s saxophonist. Not a bad way for Chess Records to start putting their name on the music map!
In 1953 the brothers established a music publishing company which they called Arc Music. They also embarked on a project to widen the appeal of Chess Records by setting up subsidiary labels to cater for different musical genres, Checker and Argo being the best known. They signed Gospel and Jazz artists, and then had a breakthrough!
1955 was a significant year for Chess Records because that year it had its first national hit with “Maybellene”, recorded by Chuck Berry, who then had a succession of hits, which generated a significant amount of revenue for the company. This motivated the label’s owners to sign more artists of that particular genre with great success.
Chess Records at 2120 S. Michigan
Photo: Steve Browne & John Verkleir 2012 (Wikimedia Commons)
In 1956 Chess Records moved into its iconic headquarters on Record Row at 2120 South Michigan, opposite Vee-Jay Records, where it remained until 1965. The address is immortalised in the Rolling Stones’ song of the same name, an instrumental recorded at Chess Records in 1964. The band returned the following year to record four tracks for their “Out Of Our Heads” album, including the first version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, with Brian Jones playing harmonica. Two days after the Chess track was laid down, the band re-recorded the song at the RCA Studios in Hollywood, using a Gibson Maestro fuzzbox to enhance the guitar sound. This second version was chosen for release.
During the late fifties, Chess began to widen the scope of its operation, following the success of Vee-Jay’s R&B artists. A number of vocal harmony groups were signed, and Etta James started to explore different styles. In the early sixties, Leonard Chess managed to find a new Head of A&R, Billy Davis, who was able to develop a strong Soul and R&B division within Chess. The R&B artists attracted to Chess Records included female solo singers Etta James, Jan Bradley, Fontella Bass, Jackie Ross and Marlena Shaw, vocal harmony groups the Dells and the Radiants, plus male vocalist Billy Stewart.
To support these artists, Chess Records also built up a strong session band. Key members were Maurice White, Louis Satterfield, Pete Cosey, Gerald Sims, Phil Upchurch, Leonard Caston, and Sonny Thomson. Maurice White was a drummer and Louis Satterfield a bass player, who both went on to become founder members of the group Earth, Wind & Fire. Cosey, Sims and Upchurch were all guitarists, while Thompson played organ. Caston, a pianist, was later hired by Motown Records as a producer. Their work at Chess Records established an excellent reputation for all of them.
In 1965 the company relocated to a bigger building at 320 East 21st Street and continued to enjoy success. However, just three years later, Leonard left to further his interests in radio. In 1969 the company was sold to General Recorded Tape for $6.5 million and, just a few months later, Leonard died. Philip left Chess to run a local radio station WVON.
Sadly, GRT failed to strengthen the company. By 1972, Chess’ Ter Mar Studios was the last functioning part of the old operation. The business was slowly wound down and then sold in 1975 to All Platinum Records, a New Jersey company. The recording studio was finally closed in 1979.
Leonard Chess’ son Marshall Chess, who had been appointed as President of Chess Records by GRT in 1969, was able to persuade All Platinum to re-issue the Chess catalogue under his supervision. This kept the music alive and available for new generations. When All Platinum hit financial hard times, the Chess masters were bought by MCA Records, later merged with Geffen Records, a Universal Music imprint. The music lives on!
Chess Records Studios, Silhouette 1 on the fence, 2012
Photo: Steve Browne & John Verkleir (Wikimedia Commons)
Header Image: 2120 S Michigan Avenue, Chicago (Reading Tom, Wikimedia Commons)
