Philip Upchurch (born July 19, 1941) is an American jazz and blues guitarist and bassist.

Career

Upchurch started his career working with the Kool Gents,

the Dells The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first r ...

, and the Spaniels, before going on to work with

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

Otis Rush Otis Rush Jr. (April 29, 1934 – September 29, 2018) was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. His distinctive guitar style featured a slow-burning sound and long bent notes. With qualities similar to the styles of other 1950s art ...

, and

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with blues as well as non-blues audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), " ...

. (His association with Kool Gents member

Dee Clark Dee Clark (November 7, 1938 – December 7, 1990) was an American soul singer best known for a string of R&B and pop hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the song "Raindrops", which became a million-seller in the United States in 1 ...

would continue, including playing guitar on Clark's 1961 solo hit "

Raindrops A drop or droplet is a small column of liquid, bounded completely or almost completely by free surfaces. A drop may form when liquid accumulates at the lower end of a tube or other surface boundary, producing a hanging drop called a pendant d ...

".) He then returned to Chicago to play and record with

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre o ...

Groove Holmes Richard Arnold "Groove" Holmes (May 2, 1931 – June 29, 1991) was an American jazz organist who performed in the hard bop and soul jazz genre. He is best known for his 1965 recording of "Misty". Career Holmes's first album, on Pacific Ja ...

, B.B. King, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1961, his record " You Can't Sit Down" by the Philip Upchurch Combo, sold over one million copies and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. "You Can't Sit Down, Part 2" peaked at No. 29 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' charts in the US. And he released his first album. In the 1960s he toured with

Oscar Brown Oscar Brown Jr. (October 10, 1926May 29, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, playwright, poet, civil rights activist, and actor. Aside from his career, Brown ran unsuccessfully for office in both the Illinois state legislature and the U. ...

, appearing on the 1965 live album, '' Mr. Oscar Brown, Jr. Goes to Washington''. In the mid-1960s he was house guitarist of

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and r ...

and he played with

The Dells The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first r ...

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade car ...

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post- war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicag ...

and

Gene Chandler Gene Chandler (born Eugene Drake Dixon; July 6, 1937) is an American singer, songwriter, music producer, and record-label executive. Chandler is nicknamed "the Duke of Earl" or, simply, "the Duke." He is best known for his most successful son ...

. He also played with

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

, Grover Washington, Jr. and

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", wh ...

. Upchurch was part of a group called The Soulful Strings during the 1960s, prior to working with the Rotary Connection on Chess's

Cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

label. In the 1970s, he worked with

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas ...

Harvey Mason Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. Mason, who attended Berklee in the 1960s, received an Honorary Doctorate at Berklee's 2015 Commencement Ceremony ...

Ramsey Lewis Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five gold records and three Grammy Awards in his career. His album '' The ...

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

and led his own quartet with Tennyson Stephens. He met

Bob Krasnow Robert Alan Krasnow (July 20, 1934 – December 11, 2016) was an American record label executive and entrepreneur who had a long and successful career in the music industry. He founded Blue Thumb Records, later became chairman of Elektra Records ...

and Tommy LiPuma, the founders of Blue Thumb Records, and he released ''Darkness Darkness''. Upchurch played on Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas" and "The Ghetto". He also played guitar on Hathaway's ''Live'' album (1972). In the mid 1970s and 1980s, he performed with

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

Mose Allison Mose John Allison Jr. (November 11, 1927 – November 15, 2016) was an American jazz and blues pianist, singer, and songwriter. He became notable for playing a unique mix of blues and modern jazz, both singing and playing piano. After moving to ...

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be h ...

, Lenny Breau,Phil Upchurch, "Companions" - Jam Records, 1984 Joe Williams, Chaka Khan,

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the ...

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental Pop music, pop and R&B. He released his first solo ...

, and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

. In the 1990s he worked with Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff.

Discography

As leader

* '' You Can't Sit Down, Part Two'' (Boyd/

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

#UAL-3162 mono and #UAS-6162 stereo, 1961) * ''The Big Hit Dances: The Twist...'' (United Artists #UAL-3175 mono and #UAS-6175 stereo, 1962) * ''

Feeling Blue ''Feeling Blue'' is an album by jazz and R&B guitarist Phil Upchurch recorded in 1967 and released on the Milestone label. Reception Allmusic reviewed the album awarding it 3½ stars stating "There is more than the seed of genius at work on ''Fe ...

: The Phil Upchurch Guitar Sound'' (

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the rou ...

#9010; OJC #1100, 1967) * '' Upchurch'' (Cadet/

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

#LPS-826, 1969) with

on piano. * '' The Way I Feel'' (Cadet/Chess/GRT #LPS-840, 1970) * ''Darkness Darkness'' ( Blue Thumb #BTS-6005, 1972) * ''Lovin' Feeling'' (Blue Thumb #BTS-59, 1973) * ''Upchurch/Tennyson'' with Tennyson Stephens (Kudu/ CTI #KU-22, 1975) * ''Phil Upchurch'' (Marlin/ TK Records #MAR-2209, 1978) produced by John Tropea and

. * ''Free & Easy'' (JAM azz America Marketing#007, 1981) * ''Revelation'' (JAM #011, 1982) * ''Name of the Game'' (JAM #018, 1983) * ''Companions'' (JAM #021, 1984) issued as Paladin/Virgin #PAL-4 for UK market. * ''Phil Upchurch Presents L.A. Jazz Quintet'' (Pro Arte/Intersound #631, 1986) with Brandon Fields,

Bobby Lyle Robert Lyle (born March 11, 1944) is a jazz pianist/organist and educator. Early life Lyle was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 11, 1944 to parents Robert and Elise Lyle. He grew up in a musical household after the family moved from Memphis ...

, Brian Bromberg,

. * ''Dolphin Dance'' (Sound Service #6177, 1987) * ''Midnite Blue'' (Electric Bird/King

apan Apan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 346.9 km². Overview As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,247. It was an important site in the ...

#KICJ-53, 1991) compilation of JAM material. * ''All I Want'' (Ichiban #ICH-1127, 1991) * ''Whatever Happened To The Blues'' (Ridgetop/Bean Bag/Go Jazz #55566; Go Jazz #6006, 1991) issued as Go Jazz #VBR-2066 for Germany market. * ''Love Is Strange'' (Ridgetop/Bean Bag/Go Jazz #55552; Go Jazz #6014, 1995) * ''Rhapsody & Blues'' (Go Jazz #6035, 1999) * ''Tell the Truth!'' (

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, eviden ...

#22222, 2001) produced by

Carla Olson Carla Olson (born July 3, 1952) is a Los Angeles-based songwriter, performer and record producer. Biography Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Olson moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1978 where she formed the Textones, whose debut album ''M ...

. * ''Impressions Of Curtis Mayfield'' by Jazz Soul Seven (BFM Jazz/ Varese Sarabande #62413, 2012) produced by Brian Brinkerhoff; co-produced and arranged by Phil Upchurch; featuring Terri Lyne Carrington, Russ Ferrante, Master Henry Gibson, Bob Hurst, Wallace Roney, Phil Upchurch, Ernie Watts. The album I'm most proud of", Phil Upchurch 2012

With the Soulful Strings

* ''Paint It Black'' (Cadet/Chess #LPS-776, 1966) * '' Groovin' with the Soulful Strings'' (Cadet/Chess #LPS-796, 1967) * ''Another Exposure'' (Cadet/Chess #LPS-805, 1968) * ''The Magic of Christmas'' (Cadet/Chess #LPS-814, 1968) * ''Back by Demand: The Soulful Strings in Concert'' (Cadet/Chess #LPS-820, 1969) * ''String Fever'' (Cadet/Chess #LPS-834, 1969) * ''Play Gamble-Huff'' (Cadet/Chess/GRT #LPS-846, 1971) * ''The Best of the Soulful Strings'' (Cadet/Chess/GRT #2CA-50022, 1972) compilation/2-LP set

As sideman

With

* ''Middle Class White Boy'' (Elektra Musician, 1982) With

Anita Baker Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. She is one of the most popular singers of soulful ballads, especially renowned for her work during the height of the quiet storm Quiet storm is a radio format and ge ...

* '' Christmas Fantasy'' (Blue Note, 2005) With

* ''

Bad Benson ''Bad Benson'' is a 1974 studio album by American guitarist George Benson, released on CTI Records. Track listing # "Take Five" (Paul Desmond) - 7:08 # "Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams" (Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Johnny Mandel) - 2:56 # "My La ...

'' (CTI, 1974) * '' Good King Bad'' (CTI, 1975) * '' Breezin''' (Warner Bros., 1976) * '' In Flight'' (Warner Bros., 1977) * '' Livin' Inside Your Love'' (Warner Bros., 1979) With Oscar Brown Jr. * '' Mr. Oscar Brown Jr. Goes to Washington'' (Fontana, 1965) With

Peabo Bryson Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson (born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the 1983 hit " Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" with Roberta Flack. Bryson ...

and

* ''

We're the Best of Friends ''We're the Best of Friends'' is a 1979 duet album by American vocalists Natalie Cole and Peabo Bryson. It was released on November 2, 1979 by Capitol Records. Reception The album reached peak positions of number 44 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and ...

'' (Capitol, 1979) With

* ''

'' (Vee Jay, 1961) With

* '' Unpredictable'' (Capitol, 1977) * '' I Love You So'' (Capitol, 1979) * ''

Holly & Ivy ''Holly & Ivy'' is a 1994 Christmas album and 16th overall studio album by American singer Natalie Cole. Released on October 4, 1994, by Elektra, it is Cole's first album featuring Christmas music and serves as a follow-up to '' Take a Look'' (1 ...

'' (Elektra, 1994) With

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

* '' Christmas in the Heart'' (Columbia, 2009) With

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

* '' No Strings'' (MCA, 1993) With

* '' What the World Needs Now: Stan Getz Plays Burt Bacharach and Hal David'' (Verve, 1968) With Dizzy Gillespie * '' The Real Thing'' (Perception, 1969) With

* '' Everything Is Everything'' (Atco, 1970) * ''

'' (Atco, 1971) * ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music * Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of album ...

'' (Atco, 1972) * '' Extension of a Man'' (Atco, 1973) With Red Holloway * ''Standing Room Only'' (

Chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrast (vision), contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts ...

, 2000) With

* '' The Howlin' Wolf Album'' (Cadet Concept, 1969) * '' The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions'' (Chess, 1971) with Eric Clapton,

Bill Wyman William George Wyman ( né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who achieved international fame as the bassist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a membe ...

Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an ...

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his distin ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

, and others... With

* ''

Off the Wall ''Off the Wall'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released on August 10, 1979, by Epic Records. It was Jackson's first album released through Epic Records, the label he recorded under until his death in 2009, and ...

'' (Epic, 1979) With Chaka Khan * '' Chaka'' (Warner Bros., 1978) * '' Naughty'' (Warner Bros., 1980) With

Hubert Laws Hubert Laws (born November 10, 1939) is an American flutist and saxophonist with a career spanning over 40 years in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Laws is one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop, and rhyth ...

* '' The Chicago Theme'' (CTI, 1974) With

* '' Them Changes'' (Cadet/GRT, 1970) With Jack McDuff * '' The Natural Thing'' (Cadet, 1968) * ''

The Heatin' System ''The Heatin' System'' is a double album by organist Jack McDuff recorded in 1971 which was his fourth release on the Cadet Records, Cadet label and the first following his stint with Blue Note Records, Blue Note.Magnetic Feel ''Magnetic Feel'' is an album by organist Jack McDuff recorded in 1975 and released on the Cadet label.Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...

* '' Fine and Mellow: Live at Birdland West'' (Concord, 1987) With

* '' Soulin''' (BluesWay, 1967) * ''

Big Boss Man Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American professional wrestler best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Big Boss Man, as well as for his appearances wit ...

'' (BluesWay, 1968) * '' Down in Virginia'' (BluesWay, 1969) With

Minnie Riperton Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use o ...

* ''

Come to My Garden ''Come to My Garden'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton which was produced, arranged and orchestrated by Charles Stepney and released in 1970 under '' GRT Records''. It was re-released in 1974 on the Janus l ...

'' (GRT, 1970; Janus, 1974) * ''

Minnie As a first name, Minnie is a feminine given name. It can be a diminutive (hypocorism) of Minerva, Winifred, Wilhelmina, Hermione, Mary, Miriam, Maria, Marie, Naomi, Miranda, Clementine or Amelia. It may refer to: People with the given name * M ...

'' (Capitol, 1979) With Rotary Connection * '' Rotary Connection'' (Cadet Concept, 1968) With Ben Sidran * '' Don't Let Go'' (Blue Thumb, 1974) With Jimmy Smith * ''Stay Loose'' (Verve, 1968) * ''Prime Time'' (Milestone, 1989) * ''Sum Serious Blues'' (Milestone, 1993) * '' Dot Com Blues'' (Blue Thumb, 2000) * ''Black Cat'' (Castle Pie, 2001) With

* '' Electric Mud'' (Cadet Concept, 1968) * ''

After The Rain After the Rain may refer to: Film and television * ''After the Rain'' (film), a 1999 film by Takashi Koizumi * ''After the Rain'' (TV series), a 2000 Iranian series * ''After the Rain'' (TV special), a 2009 Christmas special by Regine Velasquez * A ...

'' (Cadet Concept, 1969)

References

External links

Phil Upchurch official sitePhil Upchurch Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2015) {{DEFAULTSORT:Upchurch, Phil 1941 births Living people American rhythm and blues bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American rhythm and blues guitarists American jazz bass guitarists American jazz guitarists Jazz-blues guitarists American session musicians Milestone Records artists Guitarists from Chicago 20th-century American bass guitarists Jazz musicians from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Blue Thumb Records artists CTI Records artists