<P> Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Jimmy Reed were all born in Mississippi and moved to Chicago during the Great Migration . Their style is characterized by the use of electric guitar, sometimes slide guitar, harmonica, and a rhythm section of bass and drums . The saxophonist J.T. Brown played in bands led by Elmore James and by J.B. Lenoir, but the saxophone was used as a backing instrument for rhythmic support more than as a lead instrument . </P> <P> Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) and Sonny Terry are well known harmonica (called "harp" by blues musicians) players of the early Chicago blues scene . Other harp players such as Big Walter Horton were also influential . Muddy Waters and Elmore James were known for their innovative use of slide electric guitar . Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters were known for their deep, "gravelly" voices . </P> <P> The bassist and prolific songwriter and composer Willie Dixon played a major role on the Chicago blues scene . He composed and wrote many standard blues songs of the period, such as "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You" (both penned for Muddy Waters) and, "Wang Dang Doodle" and "Back Door Man" for Howlin' Wolf . Most artists of the Chicago blues style recorded for the Chicago - based Chess Records and Checker Records labels . Smaller blues labels of this era included Vee - Jay Records and J.O.B. Records . During the early 1950s, the dominating Chicago labels were challenged by Sam Phillips' Sun Records company in Memphis, which recorded B.B. King and Howlin' Wolf before he moved to Chicago in 1960 . After Phillips discovered Elvis Presley in 1954, the Sun label turned to the rapidly expanding white audience and started recording mostly rock' n' roll . </P> <P> In the 1950s, blues had a huge influence on mainstream American popular music . While popular musicians like Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry, both recording for Chess, were influenced by the Chicago blues, their enthusiastic playing styles departed from the melancholy aspects of blues . Chicago blues also influenced Louisiana's zydeco music, with Clifton Chenier using blues accents . Zydeco musicians used electric solo guitar and cajun arrangements of blues standards . </P>

Chess records was instrumental in the development of what style of blues