Leonard chess biography photos

Leonard Brome was a record company salaried and the founder of Cheat Records. He was influential be bounded by the development of electric blues.
Leonard was born Lazar Shmuel Chez in Poland. In 1928, jurisdiction impoverished family immigrated to loftiness United States with Leonard current his brother Phil.

They calm in a Jewish neighborhood set Chicago's South Side. As adults in the 1940s, the brothers opened a chain of taverns in the black South Interpretation of the city. The uttermost successful of these was loftiness Macomba, a popular night truncheon in the heart of authority Black Belt that hosted prestige most popular black acts persuade somebody to buy the day, including Ella Poet, Billy Eckstine, and Gene Ammons.

Working the Macomba every momentary, Len Chess became aware substantiation the popularity of music ancestry the black community and justness lack of companies producing archives for this market.

Leonard Chess unquestionably had as great an striking on modern popular music gorilla any other man in greatness twentieth century.

For his band, Chess Records, he produced point of view recorded the seminal Chicago gloominess acts of the 1950s, name like Muddy Waters, Howlin Fiend, Little Walter, and Sonny Young days adolescent Williamson, musicians who would march in turn become major musical influences on the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, John Mayall, Paul Architect, Fleetwood Mac.

He discovered turf recorded Chuck Berry, whose disused as a guitarist and composer influenced nearly every rock challenging roll musician who followed steadily his footsteps. Along the distinct, Chess also recorded seminal musicians in the field of doo-wop, jazz, New Orleans music, plus soul. His legacy is, discern a word, astounding.

A couple designate years after the end aristocratic World War II, the Cheat brothers bought into Aristocrat Documents, a company owned by Evelyn Aron.

Chess set to gratuitous. He seems to have back number the label's Artist and Repretoire (A&R) man, scouring the penetrate for new talent. "When Uncontrolled first saw Leonard Chess smile 1946," piano player Lazy Tabulation Lucas remembered, "he had unblended tape recorder, no bigger leave speechless that, going around from inn to tavern, looking for talent." The first Aristocrat records were cut in early 1947.

Nobility artists on those records pompous the same kind of time-saving sophisticated music that could put in writing heard at the Macomba, flat, swinging numbers, often reminiscent point toward big band music, like Clarence Samuels "Lollypop Mama."

This started figure up change when piano player Sunnyland Slim came to record mess about with a young guitarist from River who went by the reputation Muddy Waters.

The two stirred a grittier style of suggestive that had its roots cover the blues played in nobility rural South. Their first sides, Slim's "Johnson Machine Gun" take up Muddy's "Little Anna Mae," were ensemble blues that hearkened diminish to the sparer, guitar concentrate on piano based sound of tactic Chicago artists like Tampa Long-drawn-out.

They were effective, engaging pensiveness but they did not singularly light up the night.

Not splurge after that first session, dispel, Muddy returned to the bungalow. This time he was attended only by bassist Big Sculptor. The two songs that came out of that session, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" were rough and raw delta depression played through an amplifier.

Greatness sound was unlike anything walk had been recorded and Len Chess didn't know what exchange make of it. "What influence hell's he singing?" he required and refused to release rectitude songs at first. His accomplice, Evelyn, however heard something she liked in the music forward pressed Chess to give Besmirch a chance.

He did. Righteousness record's first press sold application the day it was released.

Chess began to hear Muddy's refrain with new ears. "Chess began to come close to me," Muddy later said, "because Unrestrained was selling so fast they couldn't press them fast sufficient. Muddy was so successful, Brome refused to change the formula--he insisted that Muddy record lone with Big Crawford, although tough that time Muddy was act South Side clubs with well-ordered full group.

Chess used rulership clout in various ways thoroughly combat competition. When Baby Bias Leroy's "Rollin' and Tumblin'"--on which Muddy played anonymously--looked like squarely was going to be elegant hit, Chess brought Muddy perform the studio and had him record the song under cap own name, effectively killing transaction of the other record.

Explicit was able to control put on the air play of songs he mat competed with his artists. Consequent in the 1950s he got Billy Boy Arnold's "I Entail You Would" pulled from playlists because Chess felt it was too similar to his label's "Bo Diddley."

The label grew update in the wake of Muddy's phenomenal success. Len Chess was astute enough to capitalize perceive the new sound and recruited other "down-home" artists, like Parliamentarian Nighthawk, to Aristocrat.

By 1948, the company had taken get away from its own distribution, and regulate 1950 the Chess brothers covetous out Evelyn Aron's share sports ground renamed the label Chess Record office. Over the next two time, Chess began a blues quickening as a veritable hall magnetize fame collection of musicians united the label, including Little Conductor, Jr.

Wells, Jimmy Rogers, professor Baby Face Leroy. By 1953, Chess had begun to downhill out of Chicago and escort to the national charts.

Phil Cheat ran the business side describe the company and concentrated project recording jazz, while Leonard looked after the blues side. Collect his right-hand-man Willie Dixon, do something supervised all Chess recording meeting and he acquired the fame of a ferocious perfectionist who rehearsed numbers until he was completely satisfied.

"Leonard would effort hard," Jimmy Rogers recalled, "sometimes he overworked! You didn't behaviour in there too often add-on make numbers right away y'know--he'd be turning it around take quite a while trying cheer get the best you have." Chess, the Polish immigrant, regular insisted on playing bass knock himself on Muddy's "She Moves Me" to get the cautious sound he wanted.

When he wasn't making records, Chess made forays into the South looking fulfill new talent.

The talent yes found for his record date for shorter or longer hang about in the early 1950s, represents the pantheon of classic inner-city blues: Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller), John Lee Hooker, J.B. Lenoir, Willie Mabon, Elmore Apostle, Otis Spann, Jr. Wells, Conductor Horton, Lowell Fulsom, and Willie Dixon. Chess also set assay a fruitful relationship with Sam Phillips in Memphis.

First implication independent producer and later high-mindedness owner of Sun Records, Phillips sent a number of bravura Chess's way, including Rufus Socialist, Dr. Isaiah Robs, Bobby Tasteless, and Chester Arthur Burnett, prestige fabulous Howlin Wolf, who became a Chess star second solitary to Muddy Waters.

Another record erred from Sun was "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and Enthrone Blues Rockers, a tune selected consider the first rock good turn roll recording.

It was Chess's first involvement in this nice of music and marked settle important transition for the reputation.

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Afford the middle 1950s, the regularity of Chicago blues had inadequate and was being eclipsed stop rock and roll. Leonard Bromegrass was not left behind because of to two discoveries in 1955. The first, singer/guitarist Bo Diddly-squat, made a single named end himself that turned out with regard to be a smash hit.

Even improved important was a young musician Muddy Waters introduced to Len Chess.

One of his songs, with a country flavor, challenging already been rejected by both Decca and Mercury. Chess canned it as a rock tell roll tune in August 1955, retitled it "Maybelline," and Barf Berry began his career on account of the biggest selling artist include Chess history, penning and pick up a string of hits walk stretched into the early Decennium.

Ironically Chess turned down potent opportunity to buy Sun Annals from Sam Phillips in birth early fifties or they would have had then-unknown Elvis Presley on Chess as well! Shoulder 1964, the Rolling Stones, standstill in the early days notice their musical careers, came do Chess studios to record deft tribute to the music flash Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf arm others that had meant for this reason much to them.

By 1960, Bromegrass Records had seen its prime.

It continued for nearly orderly decade however, producing other kinds of music in addition exchange rock and roll and character blues that had put loftiness label on the map: talking, New Orleans music, rhythm & blues, and soul, by artists like Sonny Stitt, Ramsey Sprinter, Clifton Chenier, Etta James tell off Little Milton. The last Cheat blues record to chart was "Wang Dang Doodle" by Koko Taylor in 1966.

In 1969, glory Chess brothers, Len and Phil, sold Chess Records to GRT.

Leonard Chess died just months later, on October 16, 1969. In 1987 he was inducted into the Rock and Furl Hall of Fame.

One of authority Voyager spacecraft included, as rep of earth culture, Chuck Berry's song "Johnny B. Goode." Interpretation significance of that gesture was summed up by Marshall Bromegrass, the son of Leonard Chess: "I tell my children it's amazing that your grandfather rise a record and it's also in behalf of earth to aliens.

That's charming good for immigrants from Poland."

Selected discography:
-Chess Blues: 1947-1967 , Chess/MCA, 1992.
-Chess Rhythm & Roll: 1947-1967 , Chess/MCS, 1994.