Label: Chess

Reissued 11/14/2025

The story of Chess Records is the story of American popular music in the second half of the twentieth century. Best-known for capturing the sound of acoustic blues, originating from the Mississippi Delta and filtered through Chicago's South Side, going electric and for releasing some of the earliest rock n' roll singles, Chess also has a deep catalog of jazz, R&B and soul recordings. The legacy of Chess Records endures more than 75 years later. Curated by Grammy-winning producer, Chess Records scholar and current Rolling Stones drummer Steve Jordan, Let's Play Chess: A Chess Records Anthology presents 25 of the label's best, some of the most important and thrilling recordings to be found on any label.

Track listing:

1. Muddy Waters - (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man
   
2. Little Walter - Juke
   
3. Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightnin'
   
4. Chuck Berry - Maybellene
   
5. Lowell Fulson - Reconsider Baby
   
6. Etta James - at Last
   
7. The Moonglows - Sincerely
   
8. Ramsey Lewis Trio - the "In" Crowd
   
9. Fontella Bass - Rescue Me
   
10. Tommy Tucker - High Heel Sneakers
    
11. Buddy Guy - First Time I Met the Blues
    
12. Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats - Rocket 88
    
13. Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode
    
14. John Lee Hooker - Ground Hog Blues
    
15. Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
    
16. Billy Stewart - I Do Love You
    
17. The Dells - Stay in My Corner
    
18. Etta James - All the Way Down
    
19. Little Walter - Crazy Mixed Up World
    
20. Muddy Waters - Rollin' Stone
    
21. Otis Rush - So Many Roads, So Many Trains
    
22. Sonny Boy Williamson - Don't Start Me to Talkin'
    
23. Jimmy Rogers - That's All Right
    
24. Howlin' Wolf - Spoonful
    
25. Gene Ammons - My Foolish Heart