9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent History of Chess Records, June 20, 2000
This review is from: Spinning Blues into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records (Hardcover)
This is the riveting story of Chess Records, the home of Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon, Etta James and other legendary blues artists. It the story of triumph. The story of a record label that took a genuine American art form, the blues, from the back porches and dusty streets and into the American mainstream. It is the amazing story of two Jewish brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess, who came into the USA as immigrants in 1928 and proceeded to build a record company that would influence the face of music for the next 72 years and beyond.
Cohodas does an admirable job in piecing together all of the events which lead the Chess brothers from Poland to the shores of America, and into Chicago, where they began their new life working in their father's junkyard. The Chess brothers would later operate a liquor store deep in the heart of the windy city's black community, where they were exposed to rough and tumble blues via a juke box in the store. The brothers went on to open the Macomba Lounge on Chicago's South Side, which would become a favorite after-hours spot for music lovers and red hot blues musicians.
It wasn't long before the brothers focused their acute business senses on the recording industry. Leonard hooked up with a fledgling record company called Aristocrat, and soon he met up and coming guitar player from Mississippi named McKinley Morganfield, who would come to be known the world over by his nickname, Muddy Waters.
The Chess brothers bought out Aristocrat in 1949, and changed the name to Chess Records. The company produced successful recordings by The Moonglows, Ramsey Lewis and even early rock and rollers like Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry. Later, the label would release LP's by comedians as diverse as Moms Mabley and Bob Hope.
This is the story of two brothers who were driven to succeed. Two men who never played a musical instrument, and knew absolutely nothing about the music industry or the blues, but possessed an innate inner drive and a real ability to make money.
For any fan of the blues, or anyone wishing to gain some real background on the very roots of the rock and roll family tree, Spinning Blues into Gold is a must read. Nadine Cohodas (who also authored The Band Played Dixie: Race and Liberal Conscience at Ole Miss and Strom Thurmond and the Politics of Southern Change has turned in an excellent history of a legendary record label, and a musical reference book of considerable magnitude.
-Michael B. Smith, gritz.net
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read for Blues fans!, October 12, 2000
This review is from: Spinning Blues into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records (Hardcover)
As a newbie Blues music fan, I found Ms. Cohadas' book very informative and enjoyable. Thoroughly researched, she does a great job of explaining the factors that led to the growth of the Chicago music scene, and many of the men and women who made it possible.
When I listen to a recording of a song, I tend to think about the "creative" talent involved in making it, i.e. the writer, arranger and performers. It's easy to forget, however, that there are a lot of creative talents involved in producing, marketing and distributing the music, and their contributions are as important. The Chess brothers were clearly a central force in bringing a lot of great music to the public.
One aspect of the book that I found particularly interesting and well-researched was the author's description of the economics behind the music business. What seems like a simple business is actually pretty complex. While the author does not excuse practices such as royalty sharing arrangements and the informal way the Chess brothers paid their artists, she manages to show how these could be interpreted in the context of the industry at the time.
If nothing else, this book prompted me to purchase several of the great Chess reissues which are now available on CD.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Makes you want to break out the 45s, July 25, 2000
This review is from: Spinning Blues into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records (Hardcover)
Cohodas has done an amazing job of researching and telling the story behind the roots of rock! This proves that sometimes what's behind the scenes is often more interesting and entertaining than what's playing on the jukebox!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No