Cadillac Records – (Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyonce Knowles, Mos Def) – Before rock ‘n roll and way before Motown, black musicians had few, if any, avenues for mass distribution of their music. Jazz and gospel enjoyed popularity in clubs in the big cities and in all-black establishments in the South. There were some exceptions, such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Billie Holliday, some of whom came out of the big band era. But what was called “race music” in those days rarely hit the airwaves before the mid-1950s. Until Leonard Chess. Chess was an underemployed Jewish junk man who followed his dream to own his own club in the inner city. He had an eye for talent – black talent. And his first true “find” was a guitarist, songwriter and lyricist named Muddy Waters. Waters would become a pioneer of the music business, not only for his own music – a combination of jazz, soul, rhythm and blues – but because he and his protégés set the foundational sound for what later morph into rock ‘n roll. Cadillac Records is the story of Chess and his label, Chess Records, and his partnership with Waters. Well, it wasn’t a legal partnership because Chess was the owner and Waters the client, but it was a lasting relationship and a precedent-setting amalgamation of black and white. The name of the film comes from the fact that Chess loved Cadillacs and bought all of his clients and himself new Caddies, often with their royalty money.
Chess Records eventually recorded Waters, Etta James, Little Walter, Howlin’ Wolf, and its first artists to cross over to the pop charts, Chuck Berry. All, including Chess, are members of the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame. This is a little-known story outside the music business, meaning that most novices attribute the rise of African Americans in music to Barry Gordy and Motown. But that was a good decade later. Waters and his protégés became the inspiration for the Rolling Stones (as depicted in the movie), the Beatles and much of rock and roll.
The acting here is very impressive as Oscar winner Adrien Brody (The Pianist, Hollywoodland) plays Chess and Jeffrey Wright (W., Syriana, and Felix of the recent James Bond movies) portrays Waters. Beyonce, who produced the film, is fantastic as Etta James, Chess’ first female star. This is a wonderful story with plenty of music and lots of riveting drama. It’s too bad most people are skipping this film.