New News - Chess Records

One of America’s most iconic labels, Chess Records helped define modern music as we know it producing a dizzying array of artists that include Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Howlin’ Wolf, Etta James and Bo Diddley. And now the label, established by brothers Leonard and Phil Chess at the dawn of the ‘50s, is set to be immortalized in a Hollywood blockbuster.

The movie, entitled Cadillac Records (its title echoing the period during the birth of the label that saw the Chess brothers famously selling records from the trunk of their car), will see Beyoncé return to the big screen following her appearance in the 2006 Supremes-inspired Dreamgirls.

The former Destiny’s Child singer will play the role of Etta James, the Grammy-award winner whose Chess hits included Tell Mama and I’d Rather Go Blind. Elsewhere, Adrien Brody will play the role of Leonard Chess and Jeffrey Wright that of legendary bluesman Muddy Waters.

Written by Darnell Martin (famed for her work on 2001’s Prison Song, starring Qtip and Elvis Costello), Cadillac Records will start filming in March in New Jersey and Mississippi, with the film expected to be released next year via Sony BMG Film – a new wing of the Sony organization which is dedicated solely to music-led films.