Wikipedia's first sentence called it “record company executive”. Today it says “polish-american record company executive and the founder of chess records alongside his brother phil”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Polish-American record company executive Lejzor Szmuel Czyż (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known as”. It now reads “Polish-American record executive (1917–1969)”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Leonard Chess ( March 12 , 1917 - October 16 , 1969 ) was a record company executive, founder of Chess Records .1Born in Poland , Chess was influential in the development of electric blues .2He and his brother, Philip ,were pivotal in the Chicago nightclub scene by 1947 . They soon became associated with Aristocrat Records , and moved the company closer to pure blues music with artists like Muddy Waters , Sunnyland Slim and Willie Dixon . In 1948 , the Chess brothers took control of the company and renamed it Chess Records. "My Foolish Heart" ( Gene Ammons ), "Rollin' Stone" ( Muddy Waters ) and "That's All Right" ( Jimmy Rogers ) showcased the company's new direction. Perhaps most influential of the early signees was Little Walter , whose distinctive harmonica -playing revolutionized the blues. Chess contacted Sam Phillips (of Sun Records ) to help find new artists. Of these, Howlin' Wolf became the most popular and influential on Chess Records at the time. Soon, more legendary artists joined up, including Bo Diddley and Sonny Boy Williamson . In the 1950s , Chess Records' commercial success only grew with artists like The Moonglows , The Flamingos , Chuck Berry , Etta James , Fontella Bass , Koko Taylor , Little Milton , Laura Lee and Tommy Tucker . Leonard Chess died in 1969.3
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16053389.
The opening as it stood in 2010 10 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Leonard Chess (March 12, 1917 - October 16, 1969) was a record company executive and the founder of Chess Records . He was influential in the development of electric blues .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 366351946.
The opening as it stood in 2015
Leonard Chess (March 12, 1917 - October 16, 1969) was a record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records . He was influential in the development of electric blues .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 660879602.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Polish-American record company executive Lejzor Szmuel Czyż (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known as Leonard Chess , was a Polish-born American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records .He was influential in the development of electric blues , Chicago blues , and rock and roll .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963516417.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Polish-American record executive (1917–1969) Lejzor Szmuel Czyż (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known as Leonard Sam Chess and simply Leonard Chess , was a Polish-American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records . He was influential in the development of electric blues , Chicago blues , and rock and roll .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1176139229.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Polish-American record executive (1917–1969) Leonard Samuel Chess (born Lejzor Szmuel Czyż ; March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969) was a Polish-American record company executive and the founder of Chess Records alongside his brother Phil .He was influential in the development of the recording industry, and electric blues , Chicago blues , and rock and roll .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1287335492. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “record company executive”. Today it says “polish-american record company executive and the founder of chess records alongside his brother phil”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Polish-American record company executive Lejzor Szmuel Czyż (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known as”. It now reads “Polish-American record executive (1917–1969)”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
record company executive
Now
polish-american record company executive and the founder of chess records alongside his brother phil
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
