
Chess Records was an American record company based in Chicago, founded and run by Polish immigrant brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz recordings, released on several labels including Chess, Checker, Argo and Cadet.
The history of Chess began when Leonard Chess bought a stake in a record company called Aristocrat Records in 1947. In 1950, Leonard and his brother Phil became sole owners of the company, renaming it as Chess Records. Chess began producing their first LP records in 1958, and the label preserved its independence until the end of the 1960s.
In 1969, the Chess brothers sold the label to General Recorded Tape (GRT), and Leonard's son Marshall became president of Chess Records. Marshall Chess later went on to found Rolling Stones Records. GRT operated the label as a division of Janus Records, and Chess quickly vanished as an important force in the recording industry. In August 1975, GRT sold the remnants of Chess Records to New Jersey-based All Platinum Records.
In the early 1980s, All Platinum re-released much of the Chess catalogue under the supervision of Marshall Chess, but when All Platinum fell into financial difficulties the Chess master recordings were acquired by MCA Records, which itself was later merged into the Universal Music imprint, Geffen Records.