Established and run by two Jewish immigrant brothers from what was then Poland, Leonard and Phil Chess, the company produced and released many singles and albums regarded as central to the rock music canon.

[8] One of the most important recordings that Phillips gave to Chess was "Rocket 88", by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats (the band was actually Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm), which topped Billboard magazine's R&B Records chart[9] and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 in recognition of its influence on rock and roll.

Musical figures created for Chess by Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, and others were the basis of much subsequent rock and roll.

Bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon was also heavily involved in organizing blues sessions for the label and is now credited retroactively as a producer on some re-releases.

[14] In 1958, Chess began producing their first LP records[15] which included such albums as After School Session by Chuck Berry, The Best of Muddy Waters, The Best of Little Walter, and Bo Diddley.

Chess Records was also known for its regular band of session musicians who played on most of the company's Chicago soul recordings, including the drummer Maurice White and the bassist Louis Satterfield, both of whom later shaped the funk group Earth, Wind & Fire; the guitarists Pete Cosey, Gerald Sims and Phil Upchurch; the pianist Leonard Caston, later a producer for Motown; and the organist Sonny Thompson.

In the 1970s, Chess Records and its publishing arm, Arc Music, were successfully sued by Muddy Waters[18] and Willie Dixon[19] for nonpayment of royalties due to them.

[3] Some of the other artists who contributed to the legacy of Chess Records were the Flamingos, the Moonglows, Fontella Bass, Billy Stewart, the Dells and the Ramsey Lewis Trio.

In the early 1980s, noticing that much of the Chess catalogue was commercially unavailable, Marshall Chess was able to convince Joe and Sylvia Robinson, who ran All Platinum, to reissue the catalogue themselves under his supervision (All Platinum had been licensing selected tracks to other companies, which ultimately resulted in the disappearance of some original master tapes).

[21] In the 2000s, Universal's limited-edition reissue label, Hip-O Select, began releasing a series of comprehensive box sets devoted to such Chess artists as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry.

In addition to the Chess brothers, both films feature portrayals of or characters based on Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf and Etta James.

Cadillac Records was directed by Darnell Martin and features an ensemble cast including Adrien Brody (as Leonard Chess), Mos Def (as Chuck Berry), Beyoncé Knowles (as Etta James) and Jeffrey Wright (as Muddy Waters).