Celebrating Chess Records

Let’s not mince words here: Chess Records, the Chicago label which gave the world the electric blues, thence rock ‘n’ roll, ranks among the most important creative enterprises. Ever.

In the postwar years, Chess’s roster of artists made up the blues premier league – Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson were merely the tip of the iceberg. Then Chess recorded Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley.

Without Chess, no rock ‘n’ roll. No Elvis. No Dylan. No Stones.

Marshall, scion of the Chess dynasty, has been in London to promote Chess Moves, a hip-hop remix album of the label’s legendary recording artists, out next Monday.

The one-hour interview he did for Jools Holland on BBC Radio 2 was a wonderful Chess primer. You can hear it for the next week here:

www.bbc.co.uk/radio2


And the Marshall Chess interview in today’s Independent newspaper is a valued complement:

www.independent.co.uk




Gerry Smith