THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING
Movie Review

Muddying the waters

In 'Cadillac Records,' the music's electrifying but the details are murky

Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, Adrien Brody as record executive Leonard Chess, Beyonce Knowles as Etta James From left: Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, Adrien Brody as record executive Leonard Chess, Beyonce Knowles as Etta James. (Photos by Eric Liebowitz)
By Ty Burr
Globe Staff / December 5, 2008

E-mail this article

Invalid E-mail address
Invalid E-mail address

Sending your article

Your article has been sent.

Text size +

If, as Muddy Waters once sang, the blues had a baby and they named it rock and roll, then Chess Records was the delivery room. The little record label birthed the overamped all-American yawp known as Chicago blues, exemplified by Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and other impolite black men with harmonicas and guitars. Then, just as that sound was ... (Full article: 652 words)

This article is available in our archives:

Globe Subscribers

FREE for subscribers

Subscribers to the Boston Globe get unlimited access to our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Non-Subscribers

Purchase an electronic copy of the full article. Learn More

  • $4.95 1 article
  • $9.95 4 articles
  • $25.95 Monthly

Movie listings search

Movie times  Globe review archive