Who Do You Love? Chess Records!

by Chad Campbell, senior producer

A “publicity still” from the new movie “Who Do You Love?” starring Jon Abrahams and Alessandro Nivola as Phil and Leonard Chess. In the photo the actors are standing behind Chess Records’ first star Muddy Waters, played by David Oyelowo.

Music scholars have argued about the father of rock and roll for decades. Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley have all taken a paternity test, but there’s little question that the mother of rock and roll is the Blues. This quote by Muddy Waters – “the Blues had a baby and they named it Rock and Roll” ends the latest movie about Chess Records, the Chicago label which brought the music of Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Etta James and many, many others to the masses in the 1950s and 60s. The title of “Who Do You Love?” is taken from the Bo Diddley song recorded for the label and the movie tells the story of Polish immigrant brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. It follows their story from running the family junkyard, to opening a swinging club on Chicago’s south side, to becoming “record men” and learning the music business as they launch and grow Chess Records. Bob talks with Leonard’s son, Marshall Chess, who served as an advisor to this movie and to 2008’s “Cadillac Records.” Marshall worked with his dad and uncle at Chess Records in every possible job beginning when he was 13 years old.

Click here to read more about Marshall Chess

Click here to watch the trailer for “Who Do You Love?”

The movie opens in New York City tomorrow, Los Angeles next weekend, and across the country at the end of April.

One Reply to “Who Do You Love? Chess Records!”

  1. There are so many children who still do not know who their fathers are. There are also some fathers who are very busy looking for their children. It is not easy to look for one’s father or one’s child. But with DNA testing, nothing is possible. I have a friend who is going to go through a court ordered paternity test. He hopes to identify who his children really are. I do hope that the test will be successful. I want him to have a better life, and I know that it will be possible if he finds his biological child.

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