New Series: The Men Behind The Bluesmen

I like to give credit where credit is due. That's just how I roll. Some people mistakenly believe that the blues is a black or white thing. It is true that many of the great bluesmen were black, it is also a fact that there were many white men standing behind them encouraging them, enabling them, cajoling them, collaborating with them to create this great art form that we all love so much.

Any way, I just want to shed some light on the men who stood with the bluesmen. Who helped them become the giants that we know today. In the coming months I plan to cover their bios, books, music, and other contributions of the following in a series of post I'm calling "The Men Behind the Bluesmen."

Lenard Chess

Phil Chess

Sam Philips

Alan Lomax

Robert Palmer

And many, many others.

Cadillac Records: My Review

Cadillac Records
27x41 Original Movie Poster


Movie Review

I saw Cadillac Records yesterday. It is a musical biopic that is now showing in theaters, it was written and directed by Darnell Martin. The film explores blues music starting in the early 1940s to the late 1960s. It chronicles the life of the influential Chicago-based record-company founder Leonard Chess, and some of the musicians who created and recorded Chicago blues music.

Cast

Adrien Brody as Leonard Chess
Beyoncé Knowles as Etta James
Emmanuelle Chriqui as Revetta Chess
Mos Def as Chuck Berry
Gabrielle Union as Geneva Waters
Columbus Short as Little Walter
Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters
Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon
Eamonn Walker as Howlin' Wolf

I thought it was a good movie, all things considered. The performances for the most part were well done and you can see that the actors wanted to put in a good performances. And some of them really shined.

Adrien Brody and Jeffrey Wright both did good jobs acting. But I could not totally suspend disbelief when it came to Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters. I think this maybe because I am such a big fan of Muddy Waters. I really like Jeffrey Wright as an actor, but here it was a hard sell. Having said that I can not think of anyone who could have done a better job, but Muddy Waters is such a strong character to play.

I thought as a whole that the movie packed too may threads into the same movie. Any one of the musicians depicted in this movie could have a movie made about their lives (and I hope someone makes those movies too). But too many threads caused the movie to play fast and lose with the facts, which again was kind of annoying to me, and again that may be because I'm such a big fan of the musicians depicted in this movie.

I was pleasantly surprised by Beyoncé Knowles as Etta James. I think she brought a lot of emotion to the part and of course her singing came across very well and is probably the high point of the movie.

Another highlight was Mos Def as Chuck Berry. I thought he really played the role well and he puts you in the mind of Mr. Berry. His mannerisms were perfect. I also really liked the part of Howlin' Wolf as played by Eamonn Walker. And because I enjoyed the way he played the part, it made me think that I would love to see a movie about Wolf's life played by Eamonn Walker.

Columbus Short as Little Walter was very well acted and he played the part in a way that portrays much of the volatility and sadness of Little Walter's life. And both Gabrielle Union as Geneva Waters and Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon put in notable performances.

The movie was very enjoyable, and while I have some criticisms of the film they are minor. This movie is a great introduction to blues music for young music fans. It has many popular young actors who may be able to attract young people to the blues pioneers and to be inspired by them.

NPR Reports on Chess Records Movies

I heard an interesting report by NPR's Neda Ulaby, which I thought you all would enjoy listening to and or reading. The radio report titled A Hollywood Makeover For Chess Records brings up details about the recent movies about Chess Records, Cadillac Records and Who Do You Love.

A couple of the points that I found most interesting was how both movies take some liberties with the facts. One question I had was did Lenored Chess really fool around with some of his female musicians? And what happened to Phil Chess in these movies?

I found the following quote by Leonard Chess' son, Marshall, to be very interesting;

He says the family's history is distorted in both films. Marshall Chess more or less grew up at Chess Records and worked there before the label was sold in 1969. He went on to become managing director of Rolling Stones Records. He's most upset that the bigger movie, Cadillac Records, cut out his uncle Phil entirely.

"That's horrible," Chess says. "It's like you make a movie about flight with the Wright brothers and you cut out one brother."

He says he's also irked by subplots suggesting that his father committed adultery — pure fiction, he insists. And he defends Chess Records' reputation for giving out cars instead of royalties — which is suggested in the title, Cadillac Records.

"Yes, we helped our artists who wanted to get Cadillacs get them," Chess says. "You have to understand, in that era, our artists did not have bank accounts (or) credit lines. So if they wanted a Cadillac bad enough and they pestered Phil and my father, we would set them up."

Later in the report he says;

"My father evolved," Chess says, "from an immigrant to a bar owner in the ghetto to wanting to make money — seeing black people make the first real money of their lives [and] wanting to get a piece of it — to falling in love with the music."

He says his father would be pleased that the movie Cadillac Records will introduce the Chess catalog to a new generation. And, of course, he says he would be thrilled about the royalties.

The report mentions Spinning Blues into Gold which is pictured below. I think it is a book that gives a more accurate history of Chess Records and the complicated legacy of the Chess brothers.

Spinning Blues into Gold:
The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records

click image for info @Amazon.com

blues movies @SqueezeMyLemon

Cadillac Records: A movie about the blues.

My sense of anticipation is growing as I read more and more about the upcoming movie "Cadillac Records." As best I can determine, from the references listed below, it is a movie about the life and times of Leonard Chess.

If the talent assembled is any indication, there is the potential for this to be a great movie.

The film stars actors Adrien Brody as Chess, Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon, Mos Def as Chuck Berry, Columbus Short as Little Walter and Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters. Set as co-executive producer, Beyoncé Knowles will play as Etta James (really!) and the movie will be directed by Darnell Martin.

The period piece follows the rise and fall of Chess Records, which launched the careers of such R&B greats as Muddy Waters, Etta James and Chuck Berry. Chess, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, scoured the South, checking out the various blues scenes and selling records from the back of his Cadillac.

The thing that is difficult for me to understand is how they are going to fit all these blues greats into one movie. I really hope they pull it off.

References;

Matt Dillon to Play Leonard Chess At first it seems that Matt Dillon was going to play the part of Leonard Chess.

'Cadillac Records,' Starring Beyonce, Isn't Like 'Walk The Line,' Columbus Short Insists

Cadillac Records @ Wikipedia

Cadillac Records @ IMDB

CADILLAC RECORDS casting news

There is also info out there suggesting another Chess movie in the works. I will have to do more research on this one.

Nivola Just A Pawn In Chess War

Other blues movies @ SqueezeMyLemon.

Black Snake Moan

Chess Records

Lately Chess Records has been on my mind. I have been listening to a lot of the music of the artist of Chess. If you don't know, Chess Records was an American record label, based in Chicago, Illinois. The brothers Leonard Chess and Phil Chess were the owners and operators of the company. Chess Records is one of the most important record labels in blues history and rock and roll too. If it were not for Chess Records we would not have some of the recordings that are considered the foundations of blues and rock and roll. They released many singles and albums by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williams II (Rice Miller), Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and many others.

While they had rock and roll, and rhythm & blues recording, the blues was their mainstay and the area where they had the biggest impact. People like Willie Dixon, Little Walter, John Lee Hooker, and Jimmy Reed among others worked with the Chess Brothers.

With Willie Dixon, an artist whose talent as a producer/songwriter/ session player during the 1950s and 1960s vastly contributed to the label's long-term success. Dixon was very instrumental and a vital figure at Chess Records. He was not only a good musician filling in as bassist and prolific songwriter. He aided in orchestration and was something of a figurehead for the label. But in my mind it is his songwriting that made him that man at Chess. Songs written by Dixon include "Back Door Man," "The Red Rooster," "Spoonful," and "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man." These are just a few of the songs that helped to make Chess Records the great label that it was.

Here are a few books that you might want to read about Chess Records;
The Record Men : Chess Records and the Birth of Rock & Roll (Paperback)

Spinning Blues into Gold : The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records (Paperback)

The Story of Chess Records (Hardcover)

file under;
music, blues, Chess Records, Willie Dixon