Leonard Chess
Videos
Leonard Samuel Chess was a Polish-American record company executive and the founder of Chess Records alongside his brother Phil. He was influential in the development of the recording industry, and el
Chess's grave at Westlawn Cemetery
Chuck Berry
Videos
Charles Edward Anderson Berry was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who was one of the pioneers of rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm a
Leonard Chess
…later renamed Cadet) in 1955. Chess Records' commercial success grew in the 1950s with artists such as Little Walter, The Moonglows, The Flamingos, and Chuck Berry, and in the '60s with Etta James, Fontella Bass, Koko Taylor, Little Milton, Laura Lee, and Tommy Tucker. As the 1960s progressed, Chess's recording…
Berry in 1957
Billboard advertisement, August 6, 1955
Berry in a 1958 publicity photo
Berry and his sister Lucy Ann, 1965