Phil Chess
Phil Chess was a Polish-born record executive and producer best known for co-founding Chess Records with his brother and introducing Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley and Etta James to mainstream music.
The music released through their label included Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" and "Roll Over Beethoven," Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats' "Rocket 88," Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy" and "Rollin' Stone," Bo Diddley's "Bo Diddley" and "I'm a Man" and Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning."
Chess also appeared in the television documentaries Rock & Roll and Record Row: Cradle of Rhythm and Blues.
Phil Chess was a Polish-born record executive and producer best known for co-founding Chess Records with his brother and introducing Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley and Etta James to mainstream music.
The music released through their label included Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" and "Roll Over Beethoven," Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats' "Rocket 88," Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy" and "Rollin' Stone," Bo Diddley's "Bo Diddley" and "I'm a Man" and Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning."
Chess also appeared in the television documentaries Rock & Roll and Record Row: Cradle of Rhythm and Blues.
Additionally, Phil and his brother Leonard were both inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1995, and in 2013, Phil attended the Grammy Awards to receive the Recording Academy's Trustees Awards for non-performers, presented to him and his brother.
Chess died October 18, 2016, in Tucson, Arizona. He was 95.
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