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Philip Chess (born 1921) is a American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 record producer and company executive, the co-founder of Chess Records
Chess Records

Chess Records was an United States record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
.

He was born Fiszel Czyz in a Jewish community in Motal, Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
 (now Belarus
Belarus

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north....
). He and his brother Lejzor, sister Malka and mother followed their father to Chicago, Illinois in 1928. The family name was changed to Chess, with Lejzor becoming Leonard
Leonard Chess

Leonard Chess was a record company executive, founder of Chess Records. Chess was influential in the development of electric blues.He was born Lejzor Czyz in a Jewish community in Motal, Poland ....
 and Fiszel becoming Philip.

In 1946, after leaving the Army, Phil joined Leonard in running a popular club, the Macomba Lounge.






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Philip Chess (born 1921) is a American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 record producer and company executive, the co-founder of Chess Records
Chess Records

Chess Records was an United States record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
.

He was born Fiszel Czyz in a Jewish community in Motal, Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
 (now Belarus
Belarus

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north....
). He and his brother Lejzor, sister Malka and mother followed their father to Chicago, Illinois in 1928. The family name was changed to Chess, with Lejzor becoming Leonard
Leonard Chess

Leonard Chess was a record company executive, founder of Chess Records. Chess was influential in the development of electric blues.He was born Lejzor Czyz in a Jewish community in Motal, Poland ....
 and Fiszel becoming Philip.

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
Aristocrat Records

Aristocrat Records was started in April 1947 in music by Charles and Evelyn Aron, together with their partners Fred and Mildred Brount and Art Spiegel....
, a local company specialising in jazz records, 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
Muddy Waters

McKinley Morganfield , better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered "the Father of Chicago blues"....
, Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley

Bo Diddley , was an original and influential American rock and roll singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was known as "The Originator" because of his key role in the transition from blues music to rock & roll, influencing a host of legendary acts including Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton....
, "Sonny Boy Williamson" (Rice Miller)
Sonny Boy Williamson II

Aleck "Rice" Miller , a.k.a. Aleck Ford, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Willie Williamson, Willie Miller, "Little Boy Blue", "The Goat" and "Footsie," was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter....
, Etta James
Etta James

Etta James is an American blues, soul music, rhythm and blues, rock & roll, gospel and jazz singer and songwriter. James is the winner of four Grammys and seventeen Blues Music Awards....
 and Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter.Chuck Berry is an influential figure and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music....
. Phil Chess was actively involved in producing many of their seminal blues and rock and roll
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
 recordings. The company expanded successfully through the 1950s and early 1960s, until it was sold to GRT
GRT

GRT may refer to:* Grease Removal Technology, or GRT- Lipase enzyme* General Recorded Tape, aka GRT Corporation, a defunct corporation that owned Chess Records and Janus Records as well as being a label in its own right...
 in 1968.

Phil Chess retired to Arizona in 1972. Phil and Leonard Chess were both inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame
Blues Hall of Fame

The Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues....
 as non-performers in 1995.

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