Chess, Leonard (1917–1969)

Polish-born US recording executive. He was the founder of Chess Records. Chess featured the major figures of Chicago blues, including Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Willie Dixon. By 1955, it included rock 'n' roll pioneers Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, and in the 1960s featured the soul singer Etta James.

He was raised in Chicago. In 1939 he and his brother Phil Chess opened the Macombo Lounge, a nightclub catering to black American patrons on Chicago's South Side. In 1946, the brothers formed Aristocrat Records and recorded several local blues artists, notably Muddy Waters. In 1950, Aristocrat was succeeded by Chess Records, which they operated until its sale in 1968. In 1963 he purchased radio station WVON (‘Voice of the Negro’) in Chicago, and by the time of his death from a heart attack, his firm, L & P Broadcasting, owned additional stations in Chicago and Milwaukee