Episode
Ep534: Celebrating Chess Records with Steve Jordan
- Published
- Feb 2, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3671
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Summary
Legendary drummer & producer Steve Jordan (The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Batiste, SNL & more), discusses the history and deep personal reverence for the music of Chess Records and the 75th vinyl reissue series . Topics Include: Steve Jordan discusses touring with John Batiste at Davos Economic Summit He's producing Robert Cray's new album at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals JayVee Records finishing Willie Mitchell documentary, The Verbs album, and Tony Joe White posthumous record Chess Records called arguably the cornerstone of modern music New vinyl reissue campaign marks first proper Chess reissues in decades Steve's compilation "Let's Play Chess" features personally meaningful recordings The Dells were his first Chess records—Chicago's hardcore R&B answer to Motown Tommy Tucker's "High Heel Sneakers" on Checker was childhood obsession British Invasion reintroduced American blues that establishment had suppressed racially Etta James "At Last" originals fetch four to five hundred dollars Universal fire destroyed masters; some duplicates recovered from Europe thankfully Early stereo versions often poorly done with hard-panned instruments and fake echo Chess building preserved physically but control room was completely stripped of gear Steve brought API console and ribbon mics for 2010 session there Correctly guessed drum placement; Hubert Sumlin confirmed the next day Otis Spann's piano still vibrates sympathetically when musicians play the room Jack Wiener designed Chess gear and later mastered recordings in basement Mastering represents twenty-five percent of the mix, often overlooked historically Jamie Krentz alerted Universal to Chess catalog's 75th anniversary reissue potential Rarities campaign revealed extraordinary alternate takes including deep L…