Editing Leonard Chess

{{Short description|Polish-American record executive (1917–1969)}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2016}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name                = Leonard Chess
| birth_name          = Lejzor Szmuel Czyż
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1917|3|12}}
| birth_place         = [[Motal]], Poland
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|1969|10|16|1917|3|12}}
| death_place         = [[Chicago, Illinois]], U.S.
| burial_place        = [[Westlawn Cemetery]]
| occupation          = Record company executive
| children            = 3, including [[Marshall Chess]]
| spouse              = Revetta Sloan
| parents             = 
| family              = [[Jamar Chess]] (grandson)
|module={{Infobox musical artist
| background          = non_performing_personnel
| embed               = yes
| genre               = {{hlist|[[Chicago blues]]|[[electric blues]]|[[blues]]|[[rock and roll]]|[[rhythm and blues]]|[[soul music|soul]]}}
| years_active        = 1938–1969
| label               = [[Chess Records|Chess]], [[Checker Records|Checker]], [[Argo Records|Argo]], [[Cadet Records|Cadet]]}}
}}

'''Leonard Samuel Chess''' (born '''Lejzor Szmuel Czyż'''; March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969) was a Polish-American record company executive and the founder of [[Chess Records]] alongside his brother [[Phil Chess|Phil]]. He was influential in the development of the recording industry, and [[electric blues]], [[Chicago blues]], and [[rock and roll]].

== Early life ==
Chess was born to [[History of the Jews in Poland|Polish-Jewish]] parents in [[Motal]], now in [[Belarus]].<ref name="bluestogold">Cohodas, Nadine (2000). ''Spinning Blues into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records''. New York: St. Martins. [http://www.bluestogold.com/index2.html Bluestogold.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204194237/http://www.bluestogold.com/index2.html |date=February 4, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first=Nate |last=Bloom |author-link=Nate Bloom|title=Jewish Stars|publisher=[[Cleveland Jewish News]]|date=December 5, 2008|url=https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/archives/jewish-stars/article_267bed47-31ea-5941-8a06-f04ecc105ae1.html}}</ref><ref name=CTObit>{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-phil-chess-dead-20161019-story.html|title=Phil Chess, co-founder of blues label Chess Records, dies|first=Tribune news|last=services|date=October 20, 2016 |publisher=chicagotribune.com|access-date=July 22, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=keJvCQAAQBAJ&q=observant%20jew|first=Rich |last=Cohen|title=The Record Men: The Chess Brothers and the Birth of Rock & Roll|publisher=[[W. W. Norton]]|date=October 17, 2005|isbn=9780393352504}}</ref>  He and his brother, [[Phil Chess|Fiszel]], sister, Malka, and mother arrived in New York in 1928 from Poland. They quickly went to [[Chicago]] to join their father, Joseph,  who was already engaged in the liquor business, which was illegal at the height of [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] and controlled in Chicago by [[Al Capone]].<ref>Gordon, Robert, 2003, ''Can't Be Satisfied: The Life and Works of Muddy Waters'', pp. 89–90</ref> The family name was changed to Chess, with Lejzor becoming Leonard and Fiszel becoming [[Phil Chess|Philip]].

== Chess Records ==
Leonard and his brother [[Phil Chess|Phil]] became involved in the black nightclub scene on the [[South Side, Chicago|South Side of Chicago]] in 1938 running a series of jazz clubs, culminating in the [[Macomba Lounge]].<ref>[[Peter Guralnick|Guralnick, Peter]], ''I Feel like Going Home'', 1971, p. 219</ref> In 1947, Leonard became associated with [[Aristocrat Records]], increasing his share in the company over time; eventually he and Phil would acquire complete control. The Chess brothers moved the company away from black pop and jazz and other genres into down home blues music with artists such as [[Muddy Waters]].<ref>{{Pop Chronicles|4|2}}</ref> In 1950, the Chess brothers renamed the company  [[Chess Records]]. "[[My Foolish Heart (song)|My Foolish Heart]]" ([[Gene Ammons]]), "[[Rollin' Stone (Muddy Waters song)|Rollin' Stone]]" ([[Muddy Waters]]), and "[[That's All Right (Jimmy Rogers song)|That's All Right]]" ([[Jimmy Rogers]]) were among the first releases on the new label. Leonard Chess played [[bass drum]] on one of Muddy Waters' sessions in 1951, specifically on the tracks "She Moves Me" and "Still A Fool".{{sfn|Palmer|1982|p=164/5}}

Chess contacted [[Sam Phillips]] (of [[Sun Records]]) to help find and record new artists from the South. Phillips supplied Chess with recordings by [[Howlin' Wolf]], [[Rufus Thomas]], and [[Doctor Ross]] among others. Of these, Howlin' Wolf in particular became very popular, and Chess Records had to vie for him with other companies which had also been supplied with Wolf recordings by Phillips. In time, other important artists signed with Chess Records, including [[Bo Diddley]] and [[Sonny Boy Williamson II|Sonny Boy Williamson]], while [[Willie Dixon]] and [[Robert Lockwood Jr.]] took on a significant role behind the scenes. In the 1950s, Chess Records' commercial success grew 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 (singer-songwriter)|Laura Lee]], and [[Tommy Tucker (singer)|Tommy Tucker]], as well as with the subsidiary labels [[Checker Records|Checker]], [[Argo Records|Argo]], and [[Cadet Records|Cadet]]. As the 1960s progressed, Chess's recording enterprise branched out into other genres including gospel, traditional jazz, spoken word, comedy, and more. In the early 1960s, Chess became involved in the broadcasting business as part owner of [[WVON|WVON-AM]] radio and later acquired [[WCKL (FM)|WSDM-FM]], both in Chicago.

==Personal life and legacy==
[[File:Grave of Leonard Chess (1917–1969) at Westlawn Cemetery, Norridge.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Chess's grave at Westlawn Cemetery]]

In 1941, he married Revetta Sloan, who was also Jewish; they had three children: son Marshall and two daughters, Elaine and Susie.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cohodas|first=Nadine|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/43526859|title=Spinning blues into gold : the Chess brothers and the legendary Chess Records|date=2000|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=0-312-26133-0|location=New York|oclc=43526859}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first=Nate |last=Bloom |author-link= Nate Bloom  |title=Will the real music mogul stand up? Two films highlight role of Jewish immigrants in popularizing blues and rock |date=April 16, 2010 |publisher=[[Jewish Standard]]|url= https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/will-the-real-music-mogul-stand-up/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZASIpS00zv8C&q=marshall+chess+daughters&pg=PA188|first=John |last=Collis|title=The Story of Chess Records|date=October 15, 1998 |pages=188 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=9781582340050 }}</ref>  On October 16, 1969, six months after selling his namesake label to [[General Recorded Tape]], Leonard Chess died of a [[heart attack]].<ref name=CTObit /> He was buried at [[Westlawn Cemetery]] in Norridge, Illinois.

Music industry historian John Broven has written that "Leonard Chess was the dynamo behind Chess Records, the label that, along with [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] and [[Sun Records|Sun]], has come to epitomize the independent record business. ... Leonard Chess set new standards for the industry in artist development, deal making, networking, and marketing and promotion…"<ref name="broven116">Broven, John (2009). ''Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock 'n' Roll Pioneers.'' Urbana: University of Illinois Press, p. 116. {{ISBN|978-0-252-03290-5}}</ref> He was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 1987, posthumously, in the non-performer category.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/leonard-chess|title=Leonard Chess|website=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame|language=en|access-date=June 21, 2018}}</ref>

== Film and TV adaptations ==
Chess was the focus of 2008 movies ''[[Cadillac Records]]'' (portrayed by [[Adrien Brody]]) and ''[[Who Do You Love? (2008 film)|Who Do You Love?]]''  (portrayed by [[Alessandro Nivola]])<ref name=NYT>{{cite web|title=Fictional History: What It Was Like to Start Rock 'n' Roll, Sort Of|author=Holden, Stephen|author-link=Stephen Holden|date=April 8, 2010|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/movies/09who.html|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> which are also fictional accounts of the ascent (and descent) of the label itself and the personnel who were involved or recorded at Chess Records.

He is portrayed by [[Rob Morrow]] on [[CMT (U.S. TV channel)|CMT]]'s drama series titled ''[[Sun Records (TV series)|Sun Records]]''.

== See also ==
*[[Marshall Chess]] – Leonard's son, eventually became President of Chess Records after the GRT acquisition in 1969.
*[[Jamar Chess]] – Leonard's grandson, continues the family legacy, co-founder of music publishing companies Sunflower Entertainment and Revolution Songs.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book
| last = Palmer
| first = Robert
| author-link = Robert Palmer (American writer)
| title = Deep Blues
| year = 1982
| location = New York City
| publisher = [[Penguin Books]]
| isbn = 0-14006-223-8
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/deepblues00palm
}}

==External links==
*{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p64130/biography}}
*{{Rockhall}}
*[http://campber.people.clemson.edu/chess1.html The Chess Label Part I (1950–1952) ]
*[http://campber.people.clemson.edu/chess2.html The Chess Label Part II (1953–1955) ]
*[http://www.history-of-rock.com/chess_records.htm Chess Records]
*[http://www.bsnpubs.com/chess/chesscheck.html The Chess Story]
*[http://culture.pl/en/article/chess-records-how-two-polish-brothers-made-music-history Chess Records: How Two Polish Brothers Made Music History] 
{{All Platinum Records}}
{{1987 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chess, Leonard}}
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:1969 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Motal]]
[[Category:American music industry executives]]
[[Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Chicago]]
[[Category:Polish emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:Chess family]]
[[Category:Burials at Westlawn Cemetery]]
[[Category:Jews from Illinois]]