Air Week: March 3-9, 2025

“Juke In The Back” continues a behemoth, multi-part series on Chess Records. The Chicago record label, founded by 2 Polish immigrant brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess, proved to be one of the most influential and important labels in not only Blues, but also Rhythm & Blues and its contribution to the birth of Rock n’ Roll. Chess was the musical home of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, The Moonglows, The Flamingos and countless other giants of 20th Century music. In part 7, Matt The Cat finishes up 1955 with a few stragglers and kicks off 1956 with a bang! This was the year of Chuck Berry as he charted 4 singles (5 songs) and we present them in a special Chuck Berry Hits Collage to demonstrate his chart prowess. 1956 was also a solid year for Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf as each released career classics like “Trouble No More” (Muddy) and “Smoke Stack Lighning” (Wolf). We are introduced to future legends, Bobby Charles with “Later, Alligator,” Billy Stewart with “Billy’s Blues Pt. 2” and the Four Tops’ “Could It Be You.” The Moonglows continue to surge while the Flamingos finally score their first of many hits after years of trying on other Chicago Labels. So grab some nickels and get your fix of 1956 in part 7 of our series on Chess Records on this week’s “Juke In The Back.”

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