The Rolling Stones named themselves after a Muddy Waters song recorded at Chicago’s Chess Records, the eponymous label started by Leonard and Phil Chess. Leonard’s son Marshall was next in line, the heir apparent to a business famous for its roster of jazz and blues legends like Bo Diddley, Howlin’ Wolf, Chuck Berry, and Etta James. As a kid, Marshall would rock himself to sleep on the studio floor listening to their latest tunes. The Flamingos performed at his bar mitzvah, a rare integrated affair written up in Billboard and Cashbox. It was attended by friends from the the immigrant Polish Jewish synagogue; music legends Sam Phillips, Ahmet Ertegun, and Jerry Wexler; local pols; and friends among the invigorated Black population swelling with new arrivals from the South. While still in his teens, he’d ride in his father’s Cadillac learning the ropes and meeting DJs and record store owners.
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