Buch - Spinning Blues Into Gold

358 pages
The greatest artists who sang the blues made their mark with Leonard and Phil Chess, whose Chess Records was synonymous with the sound that swept up from the south, embraced Chicago and spread out into mid-century America. SPINNING BLUES INTO GOLD is the impeccably researched story of the men behind the music and the remarkable company they created. Chess Records - and later Checkers, Argo and Cadet - was built by Polish immigrant Jews, brothers who saw the blues as a unique business opportunity. From their first ventures, a liquor store and then a nightclub, they promoted live entertainment. And parlayed that into the first pressings sold out of car trunks on long junkets through the midsection of the country, ultimately expanding their empire to include influential radio stations.