Chief Records, together with its Profile and Age subsidiaries, was an independent record label that operated from 1957 to 1964. Best known for its recordings of Chicago blues artists Elmore James, Junior Wells, Magic Sam, and Earl Hooker, the label had a diverse roster and included R&B artists Lillian Offitt and Ricky Allen.
Chief Records was founded in Chicago in 1957 by Mel London, a 25-year-old R&B entrepreneur. London served as producer and wrote several of the label's best-known songs. Earl Hooker, one of the most well-regarded blues guitarists of his era, was an important contributor to the label. He worked closely with London and "was involved in over a dozen recording sessions, and his playing was featured on some forty titles and twenty-five singles, a dozen of which were released under his own name, the rest being ascribed to Junior Wells, A.C. Reed, Lillian Offitt, and Ricky Allen". Among Hooker's recordings are several slide-guitar instrumentals, including the 1961 Age single "Blue Guitar", which Muddy Waters later overdubbed a vocal and titled it "You Shook Me".
"Little by Little", written by Mel London, was a hit for Junior Wells, reaching number 23 in the Billboard R&B chart in 1960. Wells continued to perform and record several of his Chief and Profile songs ("Messin' with the Kid", "Come on in This House", and "It Hurts Me Too") during his career. "Cut You Loose", another London composition, was a hit for Ricky Allen; the song reached number 20 in 1963. Next to Wells, Allen had the most singles on the label (all on Age).
As with many independent blues labels in the early 1960s, Chief was plagued by financial problems. First to be discontinued were the Chief and Profile labels; finally the Age label was discontinued in 1964 and the company went out of business. During its seven years of operation, Chief/Profile/Age released about 80 singles (including reissues) from approximately 37 artists. Later, various singles (including reissues) by Chief artists were released by All-Points Records, Mel/Mel-Lon Records, Bright Star Records, and Starville Records, but none had the impact of the originals.
Partial discography +List of releases with year, artist, title, label, and catalogue numberYearArtistTitle (A-side / B-side)Label 1957 "Man from the Island" / "Doggin' Me Around" Chief 7000 "Coming Home" / "The Twelve Year Old Boy" Chief 7001 "It Hurts Me Too" / "Elmore's Contribution to Jazz" Chief 7004 "Two Headed Woman" / "Lovey Dovey Lovely One" Chief 7005 "Cry for Me" / "Take Me Where You Go" Chief 7006 1958 "I Could Cry" / "Cha Cha Cha in Blue" Chief 7008 1960 "Little By Little" / "Come on in This House" Profile 4011 "Will My Man Be Home Tonight" / "The Man Won't Work" Chief 7012 Magic Sam & the Ammons Sisters "Mister Charlie" / "My Love Is Your Love" Chief 7013 "Oh Mama" / "My Man Is a Lover" Chief 7015 (A) / Earl Hooker (B) "Galloping Horses A Lazy Mule" (A) / "Blues in D Natural" (B) Chief 7016 Magic Sam "Square Dance Rock Part 1" / "Square Dance Rock Part 2" Chief 7017 (A) / Earl Hooker (B) "Knocking at Your Door" (A) / "Calling All Blues" (B) Chief 7020 "Messin' with the Kid" / "Universal Rock" Chief 7021 "You Don't Care" / "Prison Bars All Around Me" Profile 4013 1961 Magic Sam "Every Night About This Time" / "Do the Camel Walk" Chief 7026 "I'm a Stranger" / "Things I'd Do for You" Chief 7030 "Rockin' with the Kid" / "Rockin' Wild" Chief 7031 Magic Sam "You Don't Have to Work" / "Blues Light Boogie" Chief 7033 "You Sure Look Good to Me" / "Lovey Dovey Lovely One" Chief 7034 "It Hurts Me Too" / "Cha Cha Cha in Blue" Chief 7035 "So Tired" / "Love Me" Chief 7037 "I Need Me a Car" / "I Could Cry" Chief 7038 (A) / Earl Hooker (B) "This Little Voice" (A) / "Apache War Dance" (B) Age 29101 "You'd Better Be Sure" / "You Were My Teacher" Age 29102 "Blue Guitar" / "Swear to Tell the Truth" Age 29106 1962 "Nothing but Poison" / "Nothing but Good" Age 29110 "How Long Can This Go On" / "These Cotton Pickin' Blues" Age 29111 "Mean Cop" / "That Ain't Right" Age 29112 Big Moose & the Jams "The Bright Sound" "Bright Sounds" / "Off the Hook" Age 29113 & the Earlettes "Win the Dance" "Crying Blues" / "That Man" Age 29114 1963 "Cut You A-Loose" / "Faith" Age 29118 with Earl Hooker Band "Want You to Rock Me" / "Down in My Heart" Mel-Lon 1000 / "Blues in D Natural" Mel-Lon 1001 1964 "Lotta Loving" / "I Stay Mad" Age 29123 1964 "Help Me Mama" / "The Big Fight" Age 29125
References
Sources
External links