Thefirst great wave o fnew ln the early days o frock and roll, afew In 1928, an Orthodox Jewishfamily independent record labels came men made itpossible fo r the voice of named Checz came to Americafrom between the years 1944 and 1947. The change to be heard. Thefo rces that Poland. They moved to , m ajor labels o fthe tim e—RCA, were then shaping musicforeshadowed living at 1425 South Karlov, in the Columbia and Decca (now MCA) - had the end o fseparate black and white South Side, where Leonard, the older all the established orchestras, singers societies. In the late Forties, Jackie son, worked with his brother Phil in and vocal groups under contract, so it Robinson started playingfo r the theirfather’s junkyard. The Chess was up to the independent labels to ■ Brooklyn Dodgers, and Jerry familyfound a sympathetic I develop and nurture the new talent I W exler, at Billboard, helped change I neighborhood in the black ghetto. I and to discover andpromote the new I the name o fthe black-music chart trends. Most o fthe men responsibleforfounding from Race Records to Rhythm and . I Orthodox prayers, sung in elaborate and sustaining the independent record labels of As a boy, Wexler had worked with hisfather Hebrew cantillation, found echoes in theJ have since retired, sold out or died. In ias a window washer. A fter college (where he 2scales and gospel harmonies o fthe Chesses’ fact, only one ofthose pioneers is still active studiedjournalism) and the army, he started adopted neighborhood. As the years passed, the with his label: , chairman o f reportingfo r Billboard. But soon he caught the family made modest investments in liquor stores . boogie disease. He left Billboard in 1951 to and eventually began running a saloon called Ertegun, the son o fa career diplomat, was workfor a music-publishing company and in the Macamba Lounge, whichfeaturedjazz and born in , . When he was twelve, 1953joined Ahmet and at blues performers. hisfather was appointed Turkey’s ambassador Atlantic Records. Before he knew it, he was The Chess brothers started Aristocrat to the . Ahmet attended St. John’s drinking champagne at all-night recording Records in 1947, issuing small-group and blues College, in Annapolis, Maryland, and sessions with Mabel Mercer, releases, thenformed two years , in Washington, D.C. background with Ahmet Ertegun on Charles later. Thefirst Chess release was saxophonist He had always been a record collector, with a songs, driving down a dimly lit Alabama ’s version o f ‘ ‘My Foolish strong interest in and the blues. highway with two gallons o fbootleg booze on Heart, ’ ’ which was a sizable radio, retail and In 1947, Ertegun and the way to a Rolling Stones session, having a jukebox hit. The record number was 1425—a founded Atlantic. The label scored itsfirst major fin e time. reminder o f the brothers’ origins on South hit in 1949 with Stick McGhee’s “Drinkin’ Wine Clyde McPhatter and , LaVern Karlov. The very next record was M uddy Spo-Dee-O-Dee. ’ ’ Within afew short years Baker, , Joe Turner, , W aters’s legendary I ‘Rollin’ Stone. ’ ’ Atlantic became the premier , Ivory Joe Hunter, Chuck The powerful backbeat and literally label. The artist roster o fthe time reads like an Willis, , , Joe Tex, electrifying impact o fMuddy’s amplified honor roll o fstars: Ruth Brown, , , , , would become key elements o frock and roll. Ray Charles, LaVern Baker, Clyde McPhatter, , Dr. John, , Later, in 1955, brought his the Drifters, BenE. King, the Coasters, the Delaney and Bonnie, Willie Nelson, Allen distinctive rhythm-guitar patterns to Chess. The Clovers, Ivory Joe Hunter, and Toussaint, Tony Joe White, , Mavis backbeat, electric lead guitar and rhythm guitar many, many more. During this period Ertegun Staples and are just some o fthe remain the defining characteristics o frock and was producer or coproducer on the vast artists Wexler has produced. His work, as roll to this day. majority ofrecords made on his label. He was classic as thefilms o fHoward Hawks or the Over the years, the Chess roster expanded to also active as a songwriterfor many o fthe early stories o fJohn O’Hara, is characterized by include world-class blues artists like Howlin’ Atlantic artists, often using the pseudonym A. conciseness, humor and style. Such Wexler Wolf, , Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Nugetre (Ertegun spelled backwards). productions as Ray Charles’s ‘ ‘What’d I Say’ ’ Miller), , , Jimmy Though Ertegun was less directly involved as (coproduced with Ahmet Ertegun) and Aretha Rogers, Otis Sparm and . Chess not a producer in the Sixties and Seventies, he was Franklin’s ‘ ‘Chain o fFools’ ’ are like surprise only became the true repository o fAmerican on hand at Atlantic to direct the phenomenal parties, serendipitous celebrations. roots blues but also presented black musicfor growth o fthe label into the area o fsoul (Otis The lightness o fmuch early can the edification and delectation o fwhite Redding, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, be misleading. Men like Wexler, the Erteguns, audiences throughout the world. , Booker T. and the MGs, Sam and and the Chess brothers succeeded specialized in jazz recording, Dave, Solomon Burke, ) and rock because they were strong in their dedication to working with such great artists as , (, Iron Butterfly, , something they believed in. Thefuture success of and . Leonard, who Cream, , Yes, the , Blind rock and roll will depend on such dedication. died in 1969, specialized in the blues, aform of Faith, Crosby, Stills and Nash, King Crimson, tragic poetry infolk music, an eloquent Genesis, Roxy Music, Emerson, Lake and combination o fjoy and lament. And Marshall Palmer, ). Chess, Leonard’s son, carried on the tradition Atlantic continues to produce hit acts, and Ahmet Ertegun (left) and in his work with the Rolling Stones. No other Ertegun continues to influence and inspire new (center) family has given the world a greater generations ofartists. with Big Joe Turner contribution o fhonest, epic-making music.

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LEONARD CHESS B om March 12th, 1917 AHMET ERTEGUN JERRY WEXLER Poland Bam July 31st, 1923 Bom January 10th, 1917 D ied October 16th, 1969 Istanbul, Turkey , New York Chicago, Illinois