They gathered between jobs to play and refine their new sound, an electrified blues, while picking up some spare change in the process. While Chicago s blues developed in the streets and at local clubs, recording studios such as Chess and VeeJay records picked up the young talents and spread the word and rhythm. A musical revolution like no other was taking hold. Soon the blues would influence rock and roll, span the globe and forever change the sound of popular music. It broke barriers and, in the 1960s, spread to the white, middle-class and crossed the ocean to feed the British blues boom.
Blues is a people s music.
It was a way to relax after working hard all week it still is. It is an honest music that is very connected to the Chicagoan. It has an urban feel. It is what Chicago is. It is our trademark and it is what we ve given to music.