The Checker label was founded by brothers Leonard and Philip Chess in 1952, along with the famous Chess label that would prove a driving force in the rise of the blues in the Fifties. One of the reasons for opening another label was to maximise the chance of radio airplay, so Checkers, a board game similar to chess, was the logical choice of name. With the likes of Elmore James, Jimmy Witherspoon and Bo Diddley there’s a treasure trove of music to be found on this compilation. Checkers is a board game…you’ll be anything but!