The Chess Story 1947 - 1975: Part 3 1965 - 1975 (Discs 11 - 13)

Well... this concludes The Chess Story.  I find the latter years to be the weakest in terms of quality.  Clearly compromises were made in pursuit of making money.  Combined with changes in ownership, we are left with really dated and unimportant music.  Still, there are some worthy tunes and overall it's a decent listen.  I guess the point is that, even the worst Chess offerings were better than alot of the music being released during that time.

I have gone through the previous posts and reloaded all of the links.  I hope this will benefit anybody who missed any.  There's a 14th disc featuring interviews with Phil and Marshall Chess, if there's interest I can post it as well... enjoy!!!

The Chess Story 1947 - 1975: Part 2 1957 - 1964 (Discs 8 - 10)

More from the heyday of Chess and the last installment of Part 2...  enjoy!!!

The Chess Story 1947 - 1975: Part 2 1957 - 1964 (Discs 6 & 7)

Hey Gang!!  Sorry about the large delay with this series.  I suppose I have lost some of you but I assure you, I will keep things movin on this one.

We have reached part 2 of the box, and discs 6 & 7 are really representative of the Chess heyday.  Now the label is firmly established and has found its way.  This means they are pumpin out the hits from their now famous roster.

As far as who's who, the list is much like the last couple of discs we heard.  These artists had much to say and the recordings flowed like wine.  I will give you guys some time to absorb these before unleashing the next batch... enjoy!!!

The Chess Story 1947 - 1975: Part 1 1947 - 1956 (Discs 3-5)

With all of the amazing music coming through Chitlins, it's hard to find the right time for a substantial post like this.  Translation:  The time is never right, so here it is!! 

I hope you all enjoyed the first two discs, the next three are even more intruiging as Leonard Chess expands his roster and aspirations.  Individual players from Muddy Waters' band begin succesful recording careers of their own.  New and creative artists like Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry arrive, and by disc 5, Chess is a varied and multi faceted label.

Something that you should know, Leonard Chess also began recording jazz around this time as well.  Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt and even the great Benny Goodman were some of the first artists to record jazz on the Chess imprint.  I think it would have been a great idea to include the Chess label jazz sides, just as a measure of Leonard Chess' great taste.  Another area which is omitted, would be comedy LPs.  Pigmeat Markham and Moms Mabley were frequent releases during these early years at Chess.  Most of the sides were recorded live, but the comedy album held much esteem back in the day.

For my personal tastes, these 3 discs are the strongest in terms of all around impact.  Musically, creatively and what would eventually be, historically too.  The next few discs are also incredibly strong, so buckle up...  Enjoy!!!

The Chess Story 1947 - 1975: Part 1 1947 - 1956 (Disc 1 & 2)

Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases.
Run by brothers Leonard and Phil Chess, the company produced and released many important singles and albums, which are now regarded as central to the rock music canon. Musician and critic Cub Koda described Chess Records as "America's greatest blues label."  The Chess Records catalogue is now owned by Universal Music Group and managed by Geffen Records.

Chess Records was based at several different locations on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, initially at two different locations on South Cottage Grove Ave.  The most famous location was 2120 S. Michigan Avenue from around 1956 to 1965, immortalized by British rock group The Rolling Stones in "2120 South Michigan Avenue", an instrumental recorded at that address during their first U.S. tour in 1964; the Stones would record at Chess Studios on two more occasions. The building is now home to Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven Foundation. In the mid-60s Chess re-located to a much larger building at 320 East 21st Street, the label's final Chicago home.

Leonard bought a stake in a record company called Aristocrat Records in 1947; in 1950, Leonard brought his brother, Phil into the operation and they became sole owners of the company, renaming it Chess Records. The first release on Chess was the 78 RPM single "My Foolish Heart" b/w "Bless You" by Gene Ammons, which was released as Chess 1425 in June 1950, and became the label's biggest hit of the year.

In 1951, the Chess brothers began an association with Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Service. One of the most important recordings that Phillips gave to Chess was "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats which topped Billboard magazine's R&B Records chart and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 because of its influence as a rock and roll single. One of the most important artists that came out of Memphis was Howlin' Wolf, who stayed with the label until his death in 1976.

In 1952, the brothers also started Checker Records as an alternative label for radio play (radio stations would only play a limited number of records for any one imprint). In December 1955, they launched a jazz and pop label called Marterry (a name created from the first names of Leonard and Phil's sons Marshall and Terry). This was quickly renamed Argo Records, but the name was changed again in 1965 to Cadet Records to end confusion with an older British classical music label.

In 1953, Leonard Chess and Gene Goodman set up Arc Music BMI, a publishing company that would publish songs by many rhythm and blues artists. In the mid 1950s the Chess brothers received two doo-wop groups by Alan Freed, the Coronets and the Moonglows; the former group was not very popular but the latter achieved several crossover hits including "Sincerely", which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. Several of Chess's releases gave a writing credit to Alan Freed. During the 1950s, Leonard and Phil Chess handled most of the production. They brought in legendary producer, Ralph Bass in 1960 to handle the gospel output and some of the blues singers. Bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon was also heavily involved in organizing blues sessions for the label, and is now credited retroactively as a producer on some re-releases. During the 1960s, the company's A&R manager and chief producer for soul/R&B recordings was Roquel "Billy" Davis, who had previously worked with Motown founder Berry Gordy on songs for Jackie Wilson, Etta James, Marv Johnson and on early Motown releases.

Female fans at a Little Walter store appearance.

In 1958, Chess began producing their first LP records which included such albums as The Best of Muddy Waters, Best of Little Walter, and Bo Diddley. Chess Records was also known for its regular band of session musicians who played on most of the company's Chicago soul recordings, such as drummer Maurice White and bassist Louis Satterfield, both of whom would later shape the funk group Earth, Wind, & Fire; guitarists Pete Cosey, Gerald Sims and Phil Upchurch; pianist Leonard Caston, later a producer with Motown; and organist Sonny Thompson.

In 1969, Chess Records established a subsidiary label called Middle Earth Records in the U.K., which was distributed by Pye Records. The subsidiary specialized in Psychedelic rock and was a joint venture with the Middle Earth Club in London. The Middle Earth label released only 4 albums titles and about a dozen singles before it was closed in 1970. The company was briefly run by Marshall Chess, son of Leonard, in his position as vice-president between January and October 1969, and then as president, following its acquisition by GRT, before he went on to found Rolling Stones Records. In 1969, the Chess brothers sold the label to General Recorded Tape (GRT) for $6.5 million. In October 1969, Leonard Chess died and by 1972, the only part of Chess Records still operating in Chicago was the recording studio, Ter-Mar Studios.

Although Chess had produced many R&B number ones and major pop hits over the years, it was in 1972 that the label finally reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with Chuck Berry's "My Ding-A-Ling", a live recording from a concert in Manchester, England. However, this became the company's 'swansong' release. GRT had moved the label to New York City, operating it as a division of Janus Records. Under GRT, Chess effectively vanished as an important force in the recording industry. In August 1975, GRT sold what remained of Chess Records to New Jersey-based All Platinum Records.

In the early 1980s, noticing that much of the Chess catalog was unavailable, Marshall Chess was able to convince Joe and Sylvia Robinson, who ran All Platinum, to re-issue the catalog themselves under his supervision (All Platinum had been licensing selected tracks out to other companies, which ultimately resulted in the disappearance of some original master tapes). The re-issued singles and LPs sold well, but by the mid-80s, All Platinum fell into financial difficulties and the Chess master recordings were acquired by MCA Records, which itself was later merged into Universal Music imprint, Geffen Records.

_______________________________________________

This post marks the beginning of a wonderful journey for all of us.  I'm really excited to share The Chess Story - a 3 part, 14 disc monster of a collection.  The incredible part of the "story" is also told in what it lacks, its jazz arm.  There are some jazz gems included but for the most part we are treated to everything else that Chess was involved in.

Unless you are willing to shell out some big bucks for a copy on the used market, this set has long been OOP.  For those who are fortunate enough to already own it, I encourage you to listen along with us and share your thoughts.

The set runs chronologically, in three parts.  We will kick it off from the formative years, the genesis of Chess.  Part 1 has some really wonderful music, much of which was performed by artists I have never heard of.  I will give you guys some time to listen and hopefully we can get a good chat goin. 

I worked quite hard at tagging this thing as each part has its own cover, title, etc.  I would suggest starting a folder for the entire set, and simply add the discs as you receive them.  Once they are all in your folder, the tagging will be complete and based on that.  Enjoy!!!

First the good news, which is really good: the sound on this 340-song set is about as good as one ever fantasized it could be, and that means it runs circles around any prior reissues; from the earliest Aristocrat sides by the Five Blazers and Jump Jackson & His Orchestra right up through Muddy Waters' "Going Down to Main Street," it doesn't get any better than this set. The clarity pays a lot of bonuses, beginning with the impression that it gives of various artists' instrumental prowess. In sharp contrast to the past efforts in this direction by MCA, however, the producers of this set have not emasculated the sound in the course of cleaning it up, as was the case with the Chuck Berry box, in particular. When the rock & roll era dawns at Chess as depicted on disc five, the sound is nice and dirty, just really sharp. The contents of the set are largely "limited" -- if that's the word for any 340-song collection -- to Chess' blues, R&B, rock & roll, and soul output, although Ramsey Lewis gets a nod, as does comedian Pigmeat Markham. What's more, the care lavished on the songs is virtually universal -- there was time spent getting all of it right. One wishes that the same could be said for one of the featured bonuses on this set, the CD-ROM that comprises the 15th disc (disc 14 is a pair of interviews with Phil Chess and Marshall Chess). First, there are the skimpy film clips, misspellings ("Arether Franklin") and incorrect dates. There also would have been enough room to put a complete Chess discography on the CD-ROM, rather than just the MCA reissues of Chess' material. The CDs themselves conveniently assembled in three fold-out volumes in a slipcase, but identifying individual tracks and artists means constantly referring back to the booklets glued into those volumes; additionally, it would've been nice to have had a sessionography on the songs, or at least the release dates, or even release years. This set is available only as a British import as of the spring of 2000; it is unbeatable for sound, and should be considered on that -- but only on that -- basis.  - Bruce Eder/AMG

Fontella Bass - The Very Best Of

 (NY Times Obituary)

wiki "Fontella Bass (July 3, 1940 – December 26, 2012) was an American R&B soul singer best known for her 1965 hit, "Rescue Me".

Fontella Bass was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of gospel singer Martha Bass (a member of the Clara Ward Singers). At an early age, Fontella showed great musical talent – at five years old she was providing the piano accompaniment for her grandmother's singing at funeral services, she was singing in her church's choir at six years old and by the time she was nine she was accompanying her mother on tours throughout the American South and Southwest.

Fontella continued touring with her mother until the age of sixteen. As a teenager, Bass was attracted by more secular music. She began singing R&B songs at local contests and fairs while attending Soldan High School where she graduated from in 1958. At seventeen, she started her professional career working at the Showboat Club near Chain of Rocks, Missouri. In 1961, she auditioned on a dare for the Leon Claxton carnival show and was hired to play piano and sing in the chorus for two weeks, making $175 per week for the two weeks it was in town. She wanted to go on tour with Claxton but her mother refused and according to Bass "... she literally dragged me off the train". It was during this brief stint with Claxton that she was heard by vocalist Little Milton and his bandleader Oliver Sain who hired her to back Little Milton on piano for concerts and recording.
 

Bass originally only played piano with the band, but one night Milton didn't show up on time so Sain asked her to sing and she was soon given her own featured vocal spot in the show. Milton and Sain eventually split up and Bass went with Sain; he also recruited male singer Bobby McClure and the group became known as "The Oliver Sain Soul Revue featuring Fontella and Bobby McClure".

With the support of Bob Lyons, the manager of St. Louis station KATZ, Bass recorded several songs released through Bobbin Records and produced by Ike Turner. She saw no notable success outside her home town. It was also during this period she met and subsequently married the noted jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie.

Two years later she quit the band and moved to Chicago after a dispute with Oliver Sain. She auditioned for Chess Records, who immediately signed her as a recording artist. Her first works with the label were several duets with Bobby McClure, who had also been signed to the label. Released early in 1965, their recording "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing" (credited to Oliver Sain) found immediate success, reaching the top five at R&B radio and peaking at #33 at pop. In 1979 the song was covered by Ry Cooder with Chaka Khan on Cooder's album Bop 'Til You Drop.

Bass and McClure followed their early success with "You'll Miss Me (When I'm Gone)" that summer, a song that had mild success, reaching the Top 30 on the R&B chart, although it made no significant impression on the pop chart. After a brief tour, Bass returned to the studio. The result was an original composition with an aggressive rhythm section; backing musicians on the track included drummer Maurice White (later the leader of Earth, Wind, & Fire), bassist Louis Satterfield and tenor saxophonist Gene Barge, with the young Minnie Riperton among the background singers. The song, "Rescue Me", shot up the charts in the fall and winter of 1965. After a month-long run at the top of the R&B charts, the song reached #4 on the US pop charts and #11 in the UK, and gave Chess its first million-selling single since Chuck Berry a decade earlier. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Bass followed with "Recovery," which did moderately well, peaking at #13 (R&B) and #37 (pop) in early 1966. The same year brought two more R&B hits, "I Can't Rest" (backed with "I Surrender)" and "You'll Never Know." Her only album with Chess Records, The New Look, sold reasonably well, but Bass soon became disillusioned with Chess and decided to leave the label after only two years, in 1967. Bass claimed that, although the credited co-writers Carl Smith and Raynard Miner, and record producer Billy Davis, had assured her that her contribution to co-writing the lyrics of "Rescue Me" would be acknowledged, this was never done.

    "I had the first million seller for Chess since Chuck Berry about 10 years before. Things were riding high for them, but when it came time to collect my first royalty check, I looked at it, saw how little it was, tore it up and threw it back across the desk."

Bass demanded a better royalty rate and artistic control; she approached her then manager Billy Davis about securing her writing credit on the song but was told not to worry about it. When the record came out and her name was still not on it she was told it would be on the legal documents, but this never happened. She continued to agitate about the matter for a couple of years but later recalled: "It actually side-stepped me in the business because I got a reputation of being a trouble maker." It was many years and much litigation before Bass would be credited with her share of the songwriting and the royalties.

Tiring of the mainstream music scene, she and husband Lester Bowie left America and moved to Paris in 1969, where she recorded two albums with the Art Ensemble of Chicago – Art Ensemble of Chicago with Fontella Bass and Les Stances a Sophie (both 1970). The latter was the soundtrack from the French movie of the same title. Bass's vocals, backed by the powerful, pulsating push of the band has allowed the "Theme De YoYo" to remain an underground cult classic ever since.[citation needed] She also appeared on Bowie's The Great Pretender (1981) and All the Magic (1982).

The next few years found Bass at a number of different labels, but saw no notable successes. After her second album, Free, flopped in 1972, Bass retired from music and concentrated on raising a family (she has four children with Bowie). She returned occasionally, being featured as a background vocalist on several recordings, including those by Bowie. In 1990 she recorded a gospel album with her mother and brother David Peaston, called Promises: A Family Portrait of Faith and undertook a fall tour of the US West Coast, called "Juke Joints and Jubilee", which featured both traditional gospel and blues performers. During the 1990s she hosted a short-lived Chicago radio talk show, released several gospel records on independent labels; through old friend Hamiet Bluiett, she was invited to perform three tracks on the World Saxophone Quartet album Breath of Life.

The original version of "Rescue Me" was utilized in a TV advertising campaign by American Express: Fontella Bass has stated that she was at a low point in her life when on New Year's Day 1990 she was astonished to hear her own voice singing "Rescue Me" on the American Express television ad. The experience gave Bass the inspiration to set her life in order: it also motivated her to make queries over the commercial use of her recording of "Rescue Me" with the ultimate result a 1993 settlement with American Express and its advertising agency awarding Bass $50,000 plus punitive damages

Like many artists of her time, Bass experienced a revival of interest. She was featured on the PBS Special and accompanying DVD, Soul Celebration. Soul Spectacular recorded live at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh, PA, November 2001. Her voice can be heard on two tracks on The Cinematic Orchestra's 2002 album Every Day, and another two tracks on their 2007 album Ma Fleur.

Bass received a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame in the Loop in May 2000....Her health started fading after a series of strokes beginning in 2005. On December 26, 2012, she died at a St. Louis hospice from complications of a heart attack suffered earlier in the month of December 2012; she was 72."

Blues From Dolphin's of Hollywood

"The legendary John Dolphin, also known as Lovin’ John, was one of the first and most well respected, black business man who made his way in the music business of Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s. An independent record label owner and R&B producer, his contributions to the formative years of Rock & Roll are often overlooked. A minimogul who had almost every facet of the record business covered, was taking storm of this segregated town and bringing people of all colors together through music.

Dolphin first entered the music business as a retailer where in 1948, when he opened Dolphin’s of Hollywood, a record store on Vernon Avenue that would stay open 24 hours a day to cater to the

late-shift workforce. The store featured deejays broadcasting on the local station of KRKD, in front of the huge, glass window Mr. Dolphin had installed on the face of the store so that people on the outside could see in. Some of the most popular deejays found a home for their art in front of this window, playing for late night crowds of Blacks, Whites, and Latinos alike, who would dance and party together well after dark, until the cops came in and shut the parties down.

Party time began with DJ Ray Robinson, followed by DJ Hunter Hancock, and Dick “Huggy Boy” Hugg. John would have the deejays play records from his own label, but more than that, he would introduce brilliant recordings also from other record labels and artists whom had not previously received proper publicity. By this technique, John made Billboard hits of many recordings that had been nearly shelved by everyone else. A few of these hits include “Earth Angel” by The Penguins and “Dream Girl” by Jessie Belvin.

Dolphin’s of Hollywood, located in the South Central/Watts area of Los Angeles, on East Vernon Ave, near the corner of Central Ave., was given this name because Mr. John Dolphin initially wanted to open his store in Hollywood. However, Blacks were not allowed to own and operate businesses in Hollywood in the 1940s. So, John Dolphin thought up the next best thing, he would call his South Central store Dolphin’s of Hollywood. This was how he brought Hollywood to the hood and this record shop would soon become the most famous record shop in America, but also, its radio show on KRKD became the most popular black radio show in America. In fact, recording artists from all over would

appear at the store and perform live-on-air interviews, while greeting and signing autographs for the customers. These well-known artists included Billie Holiday, Lionel Hampton, Sarah Vaughan, Little Richard, James Brown “the Godfather of Soul”, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Quincy Jones, B.B. King, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Ike and Tina Turner, Fifth Dimension, Solomon Burke just to name a few. Open 24 hours a day, even on Sundays, customers could come at all hours of the day and capitalize on the “Buy One Get One Free” special, while hundreds would dance the Saturday nights away in front of the store, to the deejay’s tunes.

John Dolphin not only brought Hollywood to the hood, but he also brought fame to many underserved, talented, black artists whom had been hidden behind the facade of Crossover music. This Crossover Music concept was essentially taking music originally recorded by African Americans and having white artists re-record it, as during this time, most black music was considered taboo and hard to sell to the masses. So John, hiring one of the most famous white deejay of the time, DJ Dick “Huggy Boy” Hugg, drew white teenagers and young adults to Dolphin’s of Hollywood in ever increasing numbers. And these crowds would buy black music, learning the lyrics and tunes, and share them with their friends; bringing fame to musicians whose music had previously been stolen from them without regard.

In 1950, John Dolphin mounted his own label, Recorded In Hollywood, with the motto: “We’ll record you today and have you a hit tonight,” inaugurated by jazz pianist Erroll Garner’s “Lotus Blue.” The imprint scored its first major hit with its sophomore release by R&B singer Percy Mayfield. The song was called “Two Years of Torture” and was followed by the “Dream Girl” record of Jesse Belvin and the “Jacquet Blows the Blues” record of tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet. In mid-1951, Dolphin cut a licensing deal with King Records. This resulted in nearly two-dozen Recorded in Hollywood recordings earning national release on King’s Federal imprint. In 1953, John Dolphin introduced Little Caesar’s “The River”, a record later banned for fear its emotional intensity might have led listeners to contemplate suicide. So in 1954, Lovin’ John sold Recorded in Hollywood and its catalog to Decca, soon after founding a new label: Lucky Records. This new venture proved short-lived, releasing only nine singles, including efforts from the Hollywood Flames, Joe Houston, and Jimmy Wright.

Later on, a pair of additional labels, Money and Cash, soon took Lucky’s place. Money was the more successful of the two, notching local smashes including Ernie Freeman’s “Jivin’ Around,” Johnny Fuller’s “Mean Old World,” and Don Julian & the Meadowlarks’ “The Jerk”, which sold about 2 million records and topped the billboard Pop and R&B charts at #1 in the U.S. and also went on to become a #1 hit in Great Britain.

Now, the commercial impact of most of the records released under Mr. Dolphin’s labels had been nearly impossible to gauge, as he would bypass distributors, delivering boxes of records directly to the front doors of rival retailers. The philosophy he established with his artist was that they should never sell their publishing rights, for the one who owns an artist’s publishing rights owns the artist. When an artist gives up their publishing rights in exchange for a cash advance, the result is that the music publisher then has the ability to exploit an artist’s music however they chose, in exchange for money, which the artist will see little or none of. So this is why John was so adamant about his artists retaining their rights. He felt that black artists had been exploited long enough, so this was his attempt to stop the cycle in its tracks.

After an influential ten years in the music business, on February 2, 1958, Percy Ivy, a disgruntled songwriter whom had recorded with John, went to John Dolphin’s Hollywood office to demand money for his un-noteworthy recordings. John made these recordings as a favor to Ivy but had no intention of ever using any of them. His generosity should have been enough for Percy and no money should have been owed. However, Ivy thought otherwise. With a gun in his pocket and demands on his mind, Percy shot John Dolphin dead behind the desk of his office. Two young people, future session drummer Sandy Nelson and later-day Beach Boy, Bruce Johnston; both of whom traveled to South Central in the hopes of enticing John with their songs, witnessed the murder. This was a devastating day for all those who would come to know and later remember Lovin’ John. After the untimely death of Mr. Dolphin, Dolphin’s of Hollywood was run by Dolphin’s assistant, Rudy Ray Moore, also known as Dolemite, along with John’s widow, Ruth Dolphin. Ruth would later reactivate Money Records, which served as a springboard for the great soul chanteuse Bettye Swann and her 1967 smash hit single, “Make Me Yours” which became a #1 Billboard hit for Money Record."