AA.VV.: LET'S PLAY CHESS - A CHESS RECORDS ANTHOLOGY

Performer: Various Artists
Composer: Various Artists
Number of discs: 2
Barcode: 0602488033893
Label: Verve By Request
Format: LP
Genre: Blues & Soul
Year: 2025

The history of Chess Records largely coincides with that of American popular music in the second half of the 20th century. Known worldwide and universally acclaimed for popularizing the unmistakable sound of acoustic blues—originating in the Mississippi Delta and later shaped by musicians on Chicago’s South Side—as well as electric jazz and the first exciting rock and roll singles, Chess Records boasts a vast catalog of jazz, R&B, and soul albums. The Chess legacy spans over 75 years of glorious history.

Curated by Steve Jordan—Grammy Award-winning producer, accomplished drummer, and scholar of Chess Records history—the double album Let’s Play Chess (A Chess Records Anthology) features 25 of the label’s most famous tracks, drawn from some of the most electrifying and iconic recordings ever made.

Various Artists

Side A

• (I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man (Muddy Waters)
• Juke (Little Walter)
• Smokestack Lightnin’ (Howlin’ Wolf)
• Maybellene (Chuck Berry)
• Reconsider Baby (Lowell Fulson)
• At Last (Etta James)
• Sincerely (The Moonglows)

Side B

• The ‘In’ Crowd (Ramsey Lewis Trio)
• Rescue Me (Fontella Bass)
• High Heel Sneakers (Tommy Tucker)
• First Time I Met The Blues (Buddy Guy)
• Rocket 88 (Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats)
• Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry)

Side C

• Ground Hog Blues (John Lee Hooker)
• Bo Diddley (Bo Diddley)
• I Do Love You (Billy Stewart)
• Stay In My Corner (The Dells)
• All The Way Down (Etta James)

Side D

• Crazy Mixed Up World (Little Walter)
• Rollin’ Stone (Muddy Waters)
• So Many Roads, So Many Trains (Otis Rush)
• Don’t Start Me To Talkin’ (Sonny Boy Williamson)
• That’s All Right (Jimmy Rogers)
• Spoonful (Howlin’ Wolf)
• My Foolish Heart (Gene Ammons)**