Phil Chess

born on 27/3/1921 in Motal, Poland

died on 18/10/2016 in Tucson, AZ, United States

Alias Fiszel Czyz

Phil Chess

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Philip Chess (born 1921) is an American record producer and company executive, the co-founder of Chess Records.

He was born Fiszel Czy in a Jewish community in Czstochowa, Poland. He and his brother Lejzor, sister Malka and mother followed their father to Chicago in 1928. The family name was changed to Chess, with Lejzor becoming Leonard and Fiszel becoming Philip.[1]

In 1946, after leaving the Army, Phil joined Leonard in running a popular club, the Macomba Lounge. Two years later, Leonard became a partner in Aristocrat Records, a local company that recorded a wide range of music,[2] and Phil joined in 1950. The company then changed its name to Chess Records, and began concentrating on R&B music, signing and recording artists such as Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, "Sonny Boy Williamson" (Rice Miller), Robert Lockwood Jr., Etta James and Chuck Berry. Phil Chess was actively involved in producing many of their seminal blues and rock and roll recordings. The company expanded successfully through the 1950s and early 1960s, until it was sold to GRT in 1968.

Phil Chess retired to Arizona in 1972. Phil and Leonard Chess were both inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame as non-performers in 1995. In February 2013, Phil Chess attended the ceremony to receive one of The Recording Academy's Trustees Awards for non-performers presented to him and his brother.[3]

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This page was last modified 20.09.2013 23:10:24

This article uses material from the article Phil Chess from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.