(Above: Blues guitarist Freddie King was one of several King artists to get pinched when James Brown’s career started taking off.) By Joel Francis The Daily Record Jon Fox Hartley is the author of the book “King of the Queen City” about King Records in Cincinnati. From 1943 to 1968, King was the home of [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Chess Records’
“Together Through Life” is a minor masterpiece
Posted in Album review, tagged Bob Dylan, Casey Jones, Chess Records, Chess Studio, Grateful Dead, Los Lobos, Love and Theft, Mike Campbell, New Morning, Robert Hunter, Silvio, Sun Records, Time Out of Mind, Together Through Life, Tom Petty on May 22, 2009 | 2 Comments »
By Joel Francis After delivering three “important” albums in the past dozen years, it’s nice to know Bob Dylan can make an album without making a statement. “Together Through Life” feels like an afternoon drive through a dusty Texas border town with the windows rolled down. Much of that feel comes from the ubiquitous accordion [...]
Shorty Long – “Function at the Junction”
Posted in Motown, tagged Chess Records, Devil With a Blue Dress, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, Huey Lewis, Koko Taylor, Ramsey Lewis, Shorty Long, Smokey Robinson, soul music, Wang Dang Doodle, Willie Dixon on February 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Shorty Long – “Function at the Junction,” Pop #97, R&B #42 Bluesman Shorty Long always sounded more like a Chess artist than someone on the Motown roster. His 1964 song “Devil With A Blue Dress” sounded like something coming out of a juke joint at midnight. “Function at the Junction,” released two years later, was [...]
Review: Buddy Guy
Posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star, tagged Back To Rockville, blues music, Buddy Guy, Cadillac Records, Chess Records, Chicago blues, Cream, Eric Clapton, Howlin Wolf, Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon on December 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Above: Buddy Guy preaches the blues via Cream, Hooker and Hendrix. By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star Buddy Guy isn’t mentioned in the film “Cadillac Records” but he made a strong case for his inclusion among the Chess label’s pantheon of greats Friday night at the Uptown Theater. After a brief introduction by his [...]
The True Story of Cadillac Records (Part Three): The Final Days and Legacy of Chess Records
Posted in Music history, tagged 2120 S. Michigan Ave., Blues Heaven Foundation, Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Cadillac Records, Chess Records, Chess Studio, Chicago blues, Chuck Berry, Chuck D, Etta James, Howlin Wolf, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Otis, Leonard Chess, Muddy Waters, Nas, NASA, Phil Chess, Public Enemy, Rolling Stones, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Willie Dixon, WVON on December 12, 2008 | 12 Comments »
Above: No, it’s not Beyonce. The wonderful Etta James during her Chess period. By Joel Francis As the 1960s dawned on Chess Records, label founders Leonard and Phil were at the peak of their powers. Thanks to the proselytizing of the British Invasion bands, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf and other blues artists were performing for [...]
The True Story of Cadillac Records (Part Two): Chess Records and the Birth of Rock and Roll
Posted in Music history, tagged Ahmad Jamal, birth of rock and roll, blues music, Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley Beat, British Invasion, Cadillac Records, Chess Records, Chuck Berry, doo-wop, Howlin Wolf, Ike Turner, jazz, Joel Francis, Johnny B. Goode, Johnny Otis, Moms Mabley, Moonglows, Muddy Waters, Ramsey Lewis, Rev. C.L. Franklin, Rocket 88, Sonny Boy Williamson, soul, Willie Dixon, WVON on December 10, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Above: Musical pioneer Bo Diddley was cruelly excluded from the “Cadillac Records” story. By Joel Francis With Willie Dixon feeding steady hits to Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and other Chess artists, the label had become a driving force of popular taste less than a decade after it was founded. While blues were the label’s backbone, [...]
The True Story of Cadillac Records (Part One): The Birth of Chess Records and the Chicago Blues
Posted in Music history, tagged B.B. King, birth of rock and roll, blues music, Cadillac Records, Chess Records, Chicago blues, Howlin Wolf, Leonard and Phil Chess, Little Walter, Maxwell Street, Muddy Waters, rock history, Rufus Thomas, Sam Phillips, the blues, Willie Dixon on December 8, 2008 | 6 Comments »
Above: The Wolf howls. By Joel Francis Leonard Chess’ motivation for buying the property on South Cottage Grove in Chicago that would become the Macomba Lounge was clear: he thought it would make money. When his brother Phil got out of the Army in 1946, he went straight to work with his brother at the [...]
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Bo Knows Hollywood
Posted in Industry commentary, tagged birth of rock and roll, Bo Diddley, Cadillac Records, Chess Records, Chuck Berry, Howlin Wolf, Joel Francis on December 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
By Joel Francis After last week’s three-part history of Chess Records, several readers wrote in expressing disgust that Bo Diddley was ignored in the film “Cadillac Records.” It appears Diddley may be having the last laugh. The New York Post reported yesterday that a deal is underway with Apostle Pictures for a documentary on the late [...]
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