Chess Records
Great Migration Blues: How 6 Million People Changed Music
Great Migration Blues: How 6 Million People Changed Music Great Migration blues began with moments like this one: in 1943, a young…
Blues Music Timeline: African Roots to Today
Blues Music Timeline: 25 Moments That Built America’s Most Powerful Sound This blues music timeline tracks the key moments that forged one…
Robert Lockwood Jr: The Only Student of Robert Johnson
Robert Lockwood Jr: The Only Student of Robert Johnson On a summer afternoon in the early 1930s, a teenage boy in Turkey…
Jump Blues: The Remarkable Truth That Made Rock and Roll
Jump Blues: The Remarkable Truth That Made Rock and Roll Jump blues is one of the most important — and least understood…
Etta James: The Troubled Life Behind ‘At Last’
Etta James: The Stunning Raw Voice That Conquered American Music In January 1955, a fourteen-year-old girl from Los Angeles cut a record…
Little Walter: He Amplified Harmonica and Changed Blues
Little Walter: The Daring Stunning Truth of Blues Harmonica On May 12, 1952, a twenty-two-year-old harmonica player walked into Universal Recording Studios…
Willie Dixon: He Wrote the Songs That Built Chicago Blues
Willie Dixon: The Untold Architect of Chicago Blues In January 1954, Willie Dixon handed Muddy Waters a set of lyrics backstage at…
Robert Nighthawk: The Slide Pioneer Who Taught Muddy
Robert Nighthawk: Prowling Slide Master of Delta Blues On May 5, 1937, Robert Nighthawk walked into a studio in Aurora, Illinois. He…
Blues Sidemen: The Amazing Forgotten Sound of American Music
Blues Sidemen: The Amazing Forgotten Sound in American Music On January 7, 1954, Muddy Waters walked into Chess Records’ studio at 4750…
Howlin’ Wolf: The Voice That Shook Chess Records
Howlin’ Wolf: Chicago’s Most Powerful Voice in Blues History Sam Phillips had heard plenty of talent by May 1951. However, nothing set…
Buddy Guy: The Guitarist Hendrix and Clapton Called King
Buddy Guy: The Daring Fire That Ignited Chicago Blues Three days without food. No money. No contacts. No plan. Buddy Guy stood…
Muddy Waters: The Man Who Electrified Chicago Blues
Muddy Waters: The Powerful Hidden New Voice of Chicago Blues In August 1941, a folklorist named Alan Lomax drove a government sedan…