Leonard Chess

Leonard and his brother Phil became involved in the black nightclub scene on the South Side of Chicago in 1938 running a series of jazz clubs, culminating in the Macomba Lounge.

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.

In time, other important artists signed with Chess Records, including Bo Diddley and 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, and Tommy Tucker, as well as with the subsidiary labels Checker, Argo, and Cadet.

... Leonard Chess set new standards for the industry in artist development, deal making, networking, and marketing and promotion…"[12] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, posthumously, in the non-performer category.