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14 flagships · 25 briefs · 8 dossiers · 1,441 entities — record updated October 4, 2026

Chess Records Masters (destroyed)

CTL-E-0778 · Archive · collection · unspecified

PROVISIONAL evidence grade of this record

The master recordings of Chess Records (Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, et al.), destroyed in the July 2008 Universal Studios vault fire; exact Chess title-by-title losses contested.

Notes

Merged into canonical KG 2026-10-03 from PRESERVE-001; source entity IDs: CTL-DR-PRESERVE-001:CTL-PRESERVE-E-027; source research type(s): collection. Era not present in source research record(s); marked unspecified pending human review.

Sources

Record CTL-E-0778 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: PROVISIONAL · 1 source · CTL research: PRESERVE-001.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

Cite this record

Cite as: CultureTechLens, “Chess Records Masters (destroyed) (CTL-E-0778),” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, October 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-0778/

Chicago: CultureTechLens. “Chess Records Masters (destroyed) (CTL-E-0778).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-0778/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). Chess Records Masters (destroyed) (CTL-E-0778) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-0778/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “Chess Records Masters (destroyed) (CTL-E-0778).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-0778/

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From the Archive

The archive in pictures

Black Chicago’s musical record, kept frame by frame. Photographs from the CultureTechLens research record — rights-cleared, credited, and cited like everything else here.

Chuck Berry, publicity photo, 1957
Chuck Berry, publicity photo, 1957Photo: Universal Attractions (publicity photo), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
In a booth at a South Side tavern, Chicago, 1941
In a booth at a South Side tavern, Chicago, 1941Photo: Russell Lee, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress
Musicians performing in a South Side tavern, Chicago, 1941
Musicians performing in a South Side tavern, Chicago, 1941Photo: Russell Lee, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress

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