Artist	Song
Muddy Waters	Rock Me
from Muddy Waters the Anthology: 1947-1972 (2001)
Bo Diddley	Mona (A.K.A. I Need You Baby)
from The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection: Bo Diddley - His Best (1997)
Clarence "Frogman" Henry	(I Don't Know Why ) But I Do
from Ain't Got No Home - The Best Of Clarence "Frogman" Henry (1994)
Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats	Rocket 88
from Chess Chartbusters, Vol. 1 (2008)
Little Walter	Mellow Down Easy
from The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection: Little Walter - His Best (1997)
Sugar Boy Crawford	Jock-A-Mo
from The Chess Blues-Rock Songbook (1997)
Jimmy McCracklin	The Walk
from Chess Chartbusters, Vol. 2 (2008)
Ramsey Lewis Trio	Wade In the Water
from Chess Chartbusters, Vol. 2 (2008)
Jackie Ross	Selfish One
from Chess Chartbusters, Vol. 2 (2008)
Jimmy Rogers	That's All Right
from Jimmy Rogers: His Best (2003)
Chuck Berry	Back in the U.S.A.
from Chuck Berry: The Anthology (2000)
Bo Diddley	Say Man
from The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection: Bo Diddley - His Best (1997)
Little Walter	Off the Wall
from The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection: Little Walter - His Best (1997)
Howlin' Wolf	Killing Floor
from His Best (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection) (1997)
Muddy Waters	I'm Ready
from The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection: Muddy Waters - His Best, 1947 to 1955 (1997)
Eddie Boyd	24 Hours
from The Chess Blues-Rock Songbook (1997)
Sonny Boy Williamson II	Bring It On Home
from Sonny Boy Williamson II: His Best (1997)
Muddy Waters	She's Nineteen Years Old
from Muddy Waters: His Best (1956-1964) (1997)
Ahmad Jamal	But Not for Me
from Ahmad Jamal At the Pershing - But Not for Me (Live) (1988)
Muddy Waters	Walkin' Blues
from Muddy Waters the Anthology: 1947-1972 (2001)
Chuck Berry	Memphis
from His Best, Vol. 1 (1997)
Muddy Waters	Got My Mojo Working
from Muddy Waters the Anthology: 1947-1972 (2001)
Bo Diddley	Pretty Thing
from The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection: Bo Diddley - His Best (1997)
Little Walter	Key to the Highway
from The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection: Little Walter - His Best (1997)
Howlin' Wolf	Down in the Bottom
from The Chess Box: Howlin' Wolf (1991)
Bo Diddley	Hey! Bo Diddley
from The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection: Bo Diddley - His Best (1997)
Jaynetts	Sally Go Round the Roses
from Chess Chartbusters, Vol. 4 (2008)
Sonny Boy Williamson II	Keep Your Hands Out of My Pockets
from Sonny Boy Williamson II: His Best (1997)
Chuck Berry	School Days
from Chuck Berry: The Anthology (2000)
Bo Diddley	The Story of Bo Diddley
from The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection: Bo Diddley - His Best (1997)
Howlin' Wolf	Sittin' On Top of the World
from The Real Folk Blues / More Real Folk Blues (Remastered) (2002)
Willie Mabon	Seventh Son
from Chess Chartbusters, Vol. 6 (2008)
Koko Taylor & Willie Dixon	Insane Asylum
from What It Takes: The Chess Years (1991)
Lafayette Leake	Slow Leake
from Chess Blues (1993)
Lowell Fulson	Tollin' Bells
from The Chess Box: Willie Dixon (1988)
Little Walter	Boom, Boom Out Goes the Lights
from The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection: Little Walter - His Best (1997)
The Corsairs & Jay "Bird" Uzzell	Smokey Places
from Chess Chartbusters, Vol. 5 (2008)
Little Walter	Roller Coaster
from The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection: Little Walter - His Best (1997)
Billy Stewart	I Do Love You
from One More Time: The Chess Years (1989)
The Dells	Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation
from Chess Chartbusters, Vol. 6 (2008)
Little Walter	Sad Hours
from The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection: Little Walter - His Best (1997)
Muddy Waters	She Moves Me
from Muddy Waters the Anthology: 1947-1972 (2001)
Fontella Bass & Bobby McClure	Don't Mess Up a Good Thing
from Chess Chartbusters, Vol. 3 (2008)
Memphis Slim	Mother Earth
from The Chess Blues-Rock Songbook (1997)
Willie Mabon	I'm Mad
from Chess Blues (1993)
Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces	Searching for My Love
from Chess Soul: A Decade of Chicago's Finest (1997)
Muddy Waters	I Feel Like Going Home
from The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection: Muddy Waters - His Best, 1947 to 1955 (1997)
Mitty Collier	I Had a Talk with My Man Last Night
from Chess Soul: A Decade of Chicago's Finest (1997)
Elmore James	I Can't Hold Out
from Chess Chartbusters, Vol. 4 (2008)
John Lee Hooker	One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
from Chess Chartbusters, Vol. 4 (2008)
Lee Andrews	Teardrops
from Vintage (2005)
Bo Diddley	Crackin' Up
from Bo Diddley: The Chess Box (Box Set) (1990)
Danny Overbea	Forty Cups of Coffee
from Chess Chartbusters, Vol. 6 (2008)
Elmore James	Whose Muddy Shoes
from Chess Blues (1993)
Robert Nighthawk	Sweet Black Angel
from Chess Blues (1993)
Sonny Boy Williamson II	Nine Below Zero
from Sonny Boy Williamson II: His Best (1997)
Otis Spann	I'm Leaving You
from Chess Blues (1993)
The Tune Weavers	Happy, Happy Birthday Baby
from Big Hits & Highlights of 1957, Vol. 7 (2008)
Etta James	Don't Cry Baby
from The Essential Etta James (1993)
Chuck Berry	Carol
from The Definitive Collection (2006)
Little Walter	You're so Fine
from The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection: Little Walter - His Best (1997)
Rosco Gordon	Booted
from Chess Chartbusters, Vol. 4 (2008)
Tony Clarke	The Entertainer
from Chess Chartbusters, Vol. 6 (2008)
Sonny Boy Williamson II	One Way Out
from The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues: Sonny Boy Williamson (2002)
Eddie Boyd	Third Degree
from The Chess Box: Willie Dixon (1988)
Baby Face Leroy	My Head Can't Rest Anymore
from Chess Blues (1993)
The Knight Brothers	Temptation 'Bout to Get Me
from Chess Soul: A Decade of Chicago's Finest (1997)
Memphis Minnie	Conjur Man
from Chess Blues (1993)
Little Johnny Jones	Big Town Playboy
from Chess Blues Classics 1947 - 1956 (1997)
Jimmy Witherspoon	When the Lights Go Out
from The Chess Box: Willie Dixon (1988)
J.B. Lenoir	Eisenhower Blues
from Chess Blues Classics 1947 - 1956 (1997)
Billy Stewart	Billy's Blues, Pt. 2
from One More Time: The Chess Years (1989)
Ramsey Lewis Trio	Hang on Sloopy
from 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Ramsey Lewis (2002)
Chuck Berry	My Ding-A-Ling
from Chuck Berry: The Anthology (2000)
Muddy Waters	All Aboard
from Fathers and Sons (Expanded) (2001)

Comment:

Just about everybody who knows anything about music — or who's seen [i]either[/i] of the recent movies about its history — knows Chess Records as Chicago's home base for the blues. Its roster — featuring Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James, Willie Dixon, Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Little Walter — reads like the inaugural class for the Blues Hall of Fame, and the label boasted its fair share of world-class rockers, including Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, and more. But standing in the shadows of those giants, and hidden behind their massive mountain of hits, are a boatload of artists you [i]need[/i] to hear, and songs by your favorite artists you probably never knew existed. We've been diggin' through the South Side crates and workin' our music-detecting mojo to bring you all the pieces you'll need to make your Chess collection reel, rock, and roll 'til the break of dawn.

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