Yesterday wednesday died on his ranch in Tucson, Arizona, Phill Chess, the legendary co-founder of the well-known Chicago blues and rhythm and blues label, ChessRecords.
Chess died at the age of 95, in his sleep, and without suffering any disease.
The other cofounder of the label, his brother Leonard died younger, at age 52 in 1969. They were both two Polish Jewish emigrants who moved to the United States in the 1950s and they eventually became the original "Blues Brothers", beginning with the founding of Chess Records in XNUMX.
phil chess is best known for having worked together with his brother Leonard to create ChessRecords in 1950, a legendary record label that hosted great voices like Muddy Waters, Etta James,Buddy Guy and the great chuck berry, With whom they would record some well-known songs in the history of music over 7 years, such as “Johnny B. Goode”.
Throughout the 25 years that ChessRecords was operating in Chicago, they established themselves as one of the most important labels in the great wave of R&B, and thanks to this some of the songs created in these studios were covered by great musical legends such as The Beatles y The Rolling Stones.
Part of his success was realizing that the blues was emerging, despite the fact that no one was paying much attention to it. So they turned Chicago into the capital of the blues (although they were not born there, since both came seeking refuge from their country as they were Jews), also taking a relevant role in the creation of Rock and Roll.
Near the end of their partnership, and just after Leonard's death, the Chess brothers entered the Blues Hall of Fame and his legend was immortalized in the 2008 movie "Cadillac Records."