Chess

Recorded at the crest of the early ’60s folk revival, Folk Singer, despite its title, is the blues in its purest form. Returning to the all acoustic approach of his earliest recordings, Waters is joined by Buddy Guy on guitar and Willie Dixon on bass, wit

Rock n’ roll starts here. Assembled in 1958 and opening with the incendiary 1955 title track, Bo Diddley is an essential overview of the rock pioneer’s earliest singles – foundational recordings that laid the groundwork for an entire genre. The 12 tracks

The story of Chess Records is the story of American popular music in the second half of the twentieth century. Best known for capturing the sound of acoustic blues, originating from the Mississippi Delta and filtered through Chicago's South Side, going el

Little Walter The Best of Little Walter is the album that became a cornerstone of Chicago Blues and one that turned a pocket-sized harp into a weapon of musical mass seduction! Originally released on Chess Records in 1958, this compilation is stacked with

Etta James's debut album, originally released in 1961 on the Chess subsidiary Argo Records. The album's title-track and "All I Could Do Was Cry" (co-written by future Motown founder Berry Gordy) both went to No. 2 on the R&B charts.

When Etta James ste

Chuck Berry didn't just play rock 'n' roll; he invented its swagger. Released in 1959 on Chess Records, Berry is on Top is where Berry slammed his flag into the musical mountaintop and declared, "This land is rock 'n' roll, and I own the real estate." Thi

Howlin' Wolf's Moanin' in the Moonlight is a compilation album released by Chess Records in 1959, comprising songs recorded between 1951 and 1959 previously issued as singles, including the iconic hit "Smokestack Lightnin'." As Rolling Stone put it, "The

If you think the blues is just three chords and a cloud of dust, meet the man who turned that cloud into a thunderstorm: Sonny Boy Williamson II. This 1966 Chess Records gem, The Real Folk Blues, is a masterclass in attitude, sly humor, and harmonica sorc