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In August 1908, a white mob attacked Springfield, Illinois’s Black community, destroying homes and businesses and lynching two Black men. National outrage over the violence helped spur the movement that created the NAACP the following year.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
| Checker Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1952 |
| Founder | |
| Defunct | 1971 |
| Genre | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Chicago, Illinois |
Checker Records is a defunct record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary of Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. The label was founded by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, who ran the label until they sold it to General Recorded Tape (GRT) in 1969, shortly before Leonard's death.
The label released recordings by mostly African American artists and groups. Checker's releases cover a wide range of genres including blues (Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II), rhythm and blues (Sax Mallard, Jimmy McCracklin), doo-wop (The Flamingos, The Moonglows, The Students), gospel (Aretha Franklin, Five Blind Boys of Mississippi), rock and roll (Bo Diddley, Dale Hawkins), and soul (Gene Chandler).
The label was discontinued in 1971 following GRT's consolidation of the Chess catalogs.[1] As with Cadet and Chess, the label's catalog is now owned by Universal Music Group[2] and releases from the Checker catalog are released by Geffen Records and Chess.
Due to the recent expansion of Chess Records, as well as to achieve greater airplay for singles, the Chess brothers opened up a subsidiary label named Checker. The first 45/78 rpm single released by the label was "Slow Caboose" b/w "Darling, Let's Give Love a Chance" by Sax Mallard and his Orchestra, which was released as Checker 750 in April 1952.[3]
The label's most popular artist, in the label's early years, was Little Walter, who had ten songs released by Checker that made the Top Ten of Billboard magazine's Top Rhythm & Blues Records charts.[4] Among those ten was "Juke" which topped the charts[5] and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.[6]
Checker released several singles by well-established blues artists such as Elmore James,[4] Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (credited as Perry Lee Crudup), and Memphis Minnie, none of which sold well.[3][7] One well-established blues artist that did manage to make a hit on Checker was Sonny Boy Williamson II, who charted with "Don't Start Me Talkin'" (number 3) in 1955, "Keep It to Yourself" (number 14) in 1956, and "Help Me" (number 24) in 1963.[5]
On March 2, 1955, the Chess brothers recorded their first rock and roll artist, Bo Diddley. From this session came Bo's self-titled debut single on Checker,[7] which topped the R&B charts[5] and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. Another one of Bo Diddley's Checker singles, "Who Do You Love?", was inducted in 2010.[6] In 1957, Checker cracked into the rockabilly market with Dale Hawkins, who had a crossover hit with "Susie Q", although he could not repeat the single's success.
In 1958, Checker released its first 12" 33⅓ rpm LP record, The Best of Little Walter, which was released as Checker LP-1428.[8]
The original Checker LP series started with six albums released as part of the Chess 1425 album series before switching to the 2970 series in 1959 and continued until 1970.[9][10]
| Catalog No. | Album | Artist | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| LP-1428 | The Best of Little Walter | Little Walter | |
| LP-1429 | Oh! Suzy-Q | Dale Hawkins | |
| LP-1431 | Bo Diddley | Bo Diddley | |
| LP-1433 | The Flamingos | The Flamingos | |
| LP-1436 | Go Bo Diddley | Bo Diddley | |
| LP-1437 | Down and Out Blues | Sonny Boy Williamson | |
| LP-2971 | Keeping Tab | Tab Smith | |
| LP-2973 | Love Those Goodies | Various Artists | |
| LP-2974 | Have Guitar Will Travel | Bo Diddley | |
| LP-2975 | Hits That Jumped | Various Artists | |
| LP-2976 | Bo Diddley in the Spotlight | Bo Diddley | |
| LP-2977 | Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger | Bo Diddley | |
| LP-2978 | Watusi! | The Vibrations | |
| LP-2979 | Sugar Pie DeSanto | Sugar Pie DeSanto | |
| LP-2980 | Bo Diddley Is a Lover | Bo Diddley | |
| LP-2981 | Twist with Steve Alaimo | Steve Alaimo | |
| LP-2982 | Bo Diddley's a Twister | Bo Diddley | |
| LP-2983 | Mashed Potatoes | Steve Alaimo | |
| LP-2984 | Bo Diddley | Bo Diddley | |
| LP-2985 | Bo Diddley & Company | Bo Diddley | |
| LP-2986 | Every Day I Have to Cry | Steve Alaimo | |
| LP-2987 | Surfin' with Bo Diddley | Bo Diddley | |
| LP-2988 | Bo Diddley's Beach Party | Bo Diddley | |
| LP-2989 | Bo Diddley's 16 All Time Greatest Hits | Bo Diddley | |
| LP-2990 | Hi-Heel Sneakers | Tommy Tucker | |
| LP/LPS-2991 | Two Great Guitars | Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry | |
| LP-2992 | Hey Good Lookin' | Bo Diddley | |
| LP-2993 | Hold On! It's Joe Tex | Joe Tex | |
| LP/LPS-2994 | Dance with Daddy "G" | Gene Barge | |
| LP/LPS-2995 | We're Gonna Make It | Little Milton | |
| LP/LPS-2996 | 500% More Man | Bo Diddley | |
| LP/LPS-2997 | The "New" Look | Fontella Bass | |
| LP/LPS-2998 | Sing a Song of Soul | Various Artists | |
| LP/LPS-3000 | Searching for My Love | Bobby Moore & the Rhythm Aces | |
| LP/LPS-3001 | The Originator | Bo Diddley | |
| LP/LPS-3002 | Little Milton Sings Big Blues | Little Milton | |
| LP/LPS-3003 | The Duke of Soul | Gene Chandler | |
| LP-3004 | The Best of Little Walter | Little Walter | reissue of Checker LP-1428 |
| LPS-3005 | The Flamingos | The Flamingos | reissue of Checker LP-1433 |
| LP-3006 | Go Bo Diddley | Bo Diddley | reissue of Checker LP-1436 |
| LP-3007 | Boss Man | Bo Diddley | reissue of Checker LP-1431 |
| LP/LPS-3008 | Super Blues | Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, and Little Walter | |
| LP/LPS-3010 | The Super Super Blues Band | Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley | |
| LPS-3011 | Grits Ain't Groceries | Little Milton | |
| LPS-3012 | If Walls Could Talk | Little Milton | |
| LPS-3013 | The Black Gladiator | Bo Diddley | |
| LPS-3014 | In the Beginning... | Various Artists | |
| LPS-3015 | Hot Wheels | Stan Farlow | |
| LPS-3016 | Born to Love Me | Jimmy Reeves Jr. | |
| CK-3017 | The Prayer | Ray Scott |
Media related to Checker Records at Wikimedia Commons
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Checker Records is a defunct record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary of Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. The label was founded by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, who ran the label until they sold it to General Recorded Tape (GRT) in 1969, shortly before Leonard's death. The label released recordings by mostly African American artists and groups. Checker's releases cover a wide range of genres including blues (Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II), rhythm and blues (Sax Mallard, Jimmy McCracklin), doo-wop (The Flamingos, The Moonglows, The Students), gospel (Aretha Franklin, Five Blind Boys of Mississippi), rock and roll (Bo Diddley, Dale Hawkins), and soul (Gene Chandler). The label was discontinued in 1971 following GRT's consolidation of the Chess catalogs. As with Cadet and Chess, the label's catalog is now owned by Universal Music Group and releases from the Checker catalog are released by Geffen Records and Chess.
Bobbin Records was an American, St. Louis–based independent record label, founded by blues musician Little Milton and KATZ-AM disc jockey Bob Lyons in 1958. The label was instrumental in exposing Milton and other local artist to wider audiences. As the head of A&R, Milton recruited Albert King, Oliver Sain, and Fontella Bass to record for Bobbin. Bobbin was eventually distributed by the Chess Records. The Bobbin catalog consists of 44 records between 1958 and 1963. The first release on the label was Milton's "I'm A Lonely Man" in 1958 which sold 60,000 copies. Altogether Milton released seven singles on the label, including two that were released after Leonard Chess bout out Lyons and signed Milton and other artists on Bobbin to his Checker Records label. In October 1961, Bobbin released Albert King's "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong" which featured musician Ike Turner on piano. The single did well enough locally that King Records leased the recording from Bobbin and released it as a single the next month. It became King's first hit, peaking No.14 on the Billboard R&B chart. In 1996, Ace Records released the compilation CD St. Louis Blues Revue: The Classic Bobbin Sessions.
The Students were an American doo-wop vocal group, which formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, in 1957. Although they only released four sides, two of them – "I'm So Young" and "Every Day of the Week" – became doo-wop standards. "I'm So Young" in particular became popular and durable, and has been covered by the Beach Boys, Rosie and the Originals, The Ronettes and Kid Kyle and "The Students". The Students won the second-place prize at the amateur talent show at the Apollo Theater in New York City in 1956. Their winning song, "Jenny Lee" (composed by “Prez” Tyus, who also wrote “I’m So Young”), was later released as the B-side of a song by the Heartbreakers (which was live at the Apollo, also in 1956) on Fordham Records in 1964. Both "I'm So Young" and "Every Day of the Week" were written by William H. "Prez" Tyus, Jr., a local Cincinnati high schooler. Tyus wrote the songs and gave them to a local African-American vocal group called the D'Italians. After the group secured a recording contract with Checker Records, they renamed themselves the Students, and it was under this name that Tyus's two songs were recorded. On May 29, 1961, the Students original of "I'm So Young" on Argo Records, reached No. 26 on the US Billboard R&B chart. On their recordings, all lead vocal parts were undertaken by Leroy King. William "Prez" Tyus died On December 23, 2022.
Thomasina Winifred Montgomery (April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970), professionally known as Tammi Terrell, was an American singer-songwriter, widely known as a star singer for Motown Records during the 1960s, notably for a series of duets with singer Marvin Gaye. Terrell began her career as a teenager, first recording for Scepter/Wand Records, before spending nearly nine months as a member of James Brown's Revue, recording for Brown's Try Me label. After attending college, Terrell recorded briefly for Checker Records before signing with Motown in 1965. With Gaye, she scored seven Top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "You're All I Need to Get By". Terrell's career was interrupted when she collapsed into Gaye's arms as the two performed at a concert at Hampden–Sydney College on October 14, 1967. Terrell was later diagnosed with a brain tumor and had eight unsuccessful surgeries before dying on March 16, 1970, at age 24.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Joe Louis.
