Chess Records

Call to mind the shuffle 'n' shake of classic Chicago blues, and it's the roster of Chess Records that echoes in your head. Brothers Phil and Leonard Chess' little-label-that-could defined the new sonic sparks that came leaping out when Southern blues artists moved to post-war Chicago and plugged in for the first time. The primal crunch and stomp of Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy" combined the industrial clang of his new, factory-filled hometown with amped-up, unabashed sexuality. Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning," strung with Hubert Sumlin's barbed-wire guitar licks, added a dash of menace to the Windy City recipe. And on the other end of the spectrum, Etta James earmarked the first dance for a million weddings to come, with the starry-eyed R&B swoon of "At Last." Hear Chess move to a rock 'n' roll beat in Next Steps.

Not only did the blues have a baby called rock 'n' roll, but the birth played out right there in the Chess catalog. Chuck Berry changed the world when he mixed country guitar licks with a hopped-up blues beat and Johnnie Johnson's R&B piano in history-making hits like "Nadine." Rockabilly rebel Dale Hawkins matched raw, Howlin' Wolf-like riffs with a swampy groove on "Suzie Q," later to become a hit all over again for Creedence Clearwater Revival. But Chess' straight-up blues acts still packed a powerhouse punch — just listen to guitar-slinger Buddy Guy wage a battle for his soul against blues demons personified in spine-chilling detail on "First Time I Met the Blues." Dig into the R&B and soul sides of the Chess story in Deep Cuts.

With a world-beating pedigree in blues and rock 'n' roll, Chess couldn't help but lead a hard charge in R&B too. On the vocal groups' side of the street corner, the Moonglows made like the Moses of doo-wop, laying down the "Ten Commandments of Love" for moon-eyed romantics everywhere to follow, while the Dells set the stage for passion with the slow-burning "Oh What a Night." Meanwhile, deep-soul shouter Little Milton preached keep-on-pushin', tearing through the tough times with "We're Gonna Make It," and Sugar Pie DeSanto kept it simultaneously sweet and funky with her sassy "Soulful Dress."

Chess Records' four-alarm blaze of blues, rock 'n' roll, and R&B has left its sizzling stamp on the world. Cuts like Muddy Waters' "I've Got My Mojo Working" and Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?" launched countless scrappy cover versions by legions of American garage rockers and British beat combos, and placed Chicago Sluggers in the hands of rock 'n' roll's heaviest hitters. And a full four decades after the label's heyday, the Chess story inspired not one, but two big-screen dramas based on the blues empire's reign. Ready to explore the riches within the Chess vaults? We've done the legwork for you — from juiced-up joyrides like Bobby Charles' "See You Later, Alligator" to neck-deep blues baths like Howlin' Wolf's ominous "Evil," the whole Chess experience is laid out right here.