Chess Records

by John Collis

The story of Chess Records, set up by the Chess brothers, who signed the two great musical pioneers Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and provided the shop window for Chicago bluesmen. The text both examines the subject of exploitation in the music business and celebrates the work of Berry and Diddley.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published October 15, 1998

Reviews

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very detailed story of Chicago’s Chess Records who helped introduce black music to white Americans. It was a relatively small company who had many black musicians record on their label. Our book club read Wendy City Blues by Renee Rosen & we had a fascinating tour of Chess Records.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book about the history of blues music and not just about the chess label. There is a lot of information about the people sing blues music before Muddy Waters really made popular. Also there is a lot of information about how the label came to be. The other parts of the story are good, it is just some of the stuff from other labels. How the record company cheated them out of money maybe it happen, matbe not. Not every singer said the same thing. But I am sure some of that had to be going on there if it was going on at other places in the 50's. A good book about the lifes of some of the biggest blues singers and musicans that was really good reading about. Overall a good book.

[Dicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

History of Chicago Blues

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little on the thin side