Chicago Part 1: The Blues; A visit to the Willie Dixon Foundation

For the second year running I have been lucky enough to go to America for work. This year I was due to attend a conference in Albuquerque. That's not Chicago I hear you cry, and yes, you are right it's not even in the right State but there are no direct flights to Albuquerque and one route was to go via Chicago so I dragged OH with me and we set off to the Windy City in attempt to get over my jet lag.

I wasn't sure what to expect in Chicago but I wasn't expecting quite so many old buildings! This incredible structure is the old water tower dating back to 1861 and was the first landmark we saw on our trip. 

When I think of America I don't think old, which is obviously naive of me and in Chicago they celebrate their heritage, nestled next to the new as you can see from another part of the Water Tower above and part of a church close by below. 

You see this is the sort of view I was expecting :) 

Our detour to the Water Tower was to kill time as our destination for day one was a mini pilgrimage for me to the iconic Chess Records Building. 

Chess Records recorded artists such as Bo Diddley, Koko Taylor, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker,  Etta James, Chuck Berry, Sugar Pie Desanto, Howlin' Wolf, Irma Thomas, Fontella Bass.... need I go on! 

I first heard Chicago Blues from my dad when I was a teenager. He had a few records such Howlin Wolf and John Lee Hooker which I listened to but this was way before the internet and living in rural Cumbria I had no avenue to find out more about this genre. 

It wasn't until I started going to a Music Pub Quiz (also where OH and I met) did I revisit my love of the Blues and Chess Records. 

We had seen a few Blues documentaries on BBC4 over the years which featured Chess Records but I never thought I'd actually get to visit. 

This is a cigar box guitar by Bo Diddley. Chess Records also inspired the Rolling Stones who loved the Blues as teenagers. They even got their name from a Muddy Waters song and recorded at Chess Records in the 60s. 

The Chess Records Building is now the Willie Dixon Foundation and they give tours during the afternoon on certain days (if you're going check their opening times). After visiting the office where all the contracts were signed you then went into a kind of Chess Records Hall of Fame. The guide talked about Howlin Wolf, Muddy, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry amongst others and I was getting a little anxious that there was no mention of all of the wonderful women who sang on Chess until he mentioned Koko Taylor. One of my favourite female singers ! But it was sad that only one female singer was mentioned downstairs. 

They then took you upstairs to the recording studios. I got such a buzz going up the stairs as it was the original handrail! I literally got goosebumps soaking in the history! 

 They had a mock up of what the studio could have looked like. So many iconic records were made here - everyone must know 'At Last' by Etta James. 

  The building had been bought by Willie Dixon's family so preserve the heritage of Chess Records. Willie was a song writer, producer, artist and session musician Some of his songs include 'Little Red Rooster, Hoochie Coochie Man, My Babe, Wang Dang Doodle and I Just Want to  Make Love To You. Willie is in the picture above playing the bass with Muddy Waters at the mike. 

We also learnt that he was passionate at ensuring people earned the credit for their music taking lots of people to court for copyright infringements, representing himself and winning 100% of his cases. 

If you don't know anything about Chess Records check out their back catalogue. You won't be disappointed. And if you are in Chicago spend a couple of hours in this wonderful building learning about a key part of Chicago and America's heritage. I was certainly in Blues Heaven and it was literally a dream come true for me!