'Cadillac Records' Story of Chess

2008-03-25 16:30:00

I came across this blurb about an upcoming movie about the lives of Muddy Waters, Little Walter and other Blues greats who recorded at Chess studios in the 1950s. It is due out in 2009 and I will go see it.

The story is about Leonard Chess, the legendary founder of the South Side Chicago blues label Chess Records. The period piece follows the rise and fall of Chess Records, which launched the careers of such R&B greats as Muddy Waters, Etta James and Chuck Berry. Chess, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, scoured the South, checking out the various blues scenes and selling records from the back of his Cadillac.

According to the book 'Can't Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters' by Robert Gordon, Geneva Wade was Muddy Waters' girlfriend in the late 1940s. She would later become Mrs. Muddy Waters, Geneva Morganfield. Muddy's real name was McKinley Morganfield. Her kids through another relationship were raised by her and Muddy. The song 'Little Geneva' was based on her. The book states that Muddy was quoted as saying 'When I met her, even though I was a recording success, there were still people who scorned my music. Geneva encouraged me to ignore them and fight for what I wanted to accomplish. I'll never be able to put words the way I feel about her.'

Directed by Darnell Martin, the film also stars Adrian Brody as Leonard Chess, Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon, Beyonce Knowles as Etta James, Eamonn Walker as Howlin' Wolf, Columbus Short as Little Walter and Mos Def confirmed as Chuck Berry.

Currently filming in New Jersey, Sony BMG will release 'Cadillac Records' in 2009.