Phil Chess, who co-founded the legendary label Chess Records with his brother Leonard and helped make Chicago the epicenter of the blues, died Wednesday at his home in Tucson, Arizona. He was 95.
The Chess brothers' specialty was blues and R&B – "race music" as it was called at the time – with Chess Records signing legendary artists like Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Sonny Boy Williamson, Etta James, John Lee Hooker, Elmore James and Buddy Guy. The Chess brothers often served as producers for their artists' recordings.
Following news of Phil Chess' death, Guy told the Sun-Times, "Phil and Leonard Chess were cuttin' the type of music nobody else was paying attention to – Muddy, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Sonny Boy, Jimmy Rogers, I could go on and on – and now you can take a walk down State Street today and see a portrait of Muddy that’s 10 stories tall. The Chess Brothers had a lot to do with that. They started Chess Records and made Chicago what it is today, the Blues capital of the world. I'll always be grateful for that."
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