Often called the "father" of the studio and his musicians, for the most part, Chess falls into that role. Sure, you could question what appears to be his disproportionate wealth and his occasional (or not so occasional) cooking of the books. But for the most part, Chess is a man who truly stands by and looks after his musicians as if they were his own children. When they inevitably finds themselves hard up for cash, he helps them out. When several of them get in trouble, he backs them up. Like children, each musician is a handful in his or her own way, but while it would be easier to just cut his losses and let them loose, Chess remains.

Particularly illustrative of the family dynamic in Cadillac Records are Etta James' (Beyoncè Knowles) relationship with Chess and Little Walter's relationship with Muddy Waters. For Etta, her past continually leaves her doubting her own worth and turning to self-destructive behavior. But while Etta pushes him away, Chess goes out of his way to show Etta how valuable she is. "You sing the blues, you don't have to live them," he tells her. For Little Walter, difficult times lead to hard living by which he soon becomes consumed. But when a rift forms between Little Walter and Muddy Waters, Geneva tells Little Walter, "He said it felt like someone took away his oxygen." And when Little Walter's hard living eventually catches up with him, we see in Muddy nothing less than a father who has lost his beloved son.

From the effects of Chess Records' music on the world that surrounded it to the individual journeys of the musicians under its label, at the center of Cadillac Records is the message that no song or life is or is meant to be a solo act. Relationships—both good and bad—are very often central to their songs, and thus themselves. As their songs' incorporation into the world reveals, the identity and thoughts inside of us, when expressed and shared, gain meaning and have a power to touch those with whom we never may have imaged we could relate. And while no marriage, friendship, or family will ever be perfect, in the face of lives that may easily come with as many hardships as celebrations, in the relationships of love and loyalty that we forge along its course, we will find more meaning, value, and strength than in even an entire wall of multi-platinum releases

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