Phil Upchurch
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Biography
Philip Upchurch, bornâ¯19 Julyâ¯1941 in Chicago, Illinois, was an American guitarist, bassist, and songwriter whose career spanned soul, R&B, jazz, and blues. Upchurch began his professional work in the early 1960s with The Kool Gents, The Dells, and The Spaniels, and gained early recognition when his single "You Can't Sit Down" with the Philip Upchurch Combo sold over one million copies and earned a gold disc in 1961; the followâup "You Can't Sit Down, Partâ¯2" peaked at Numberâ¯29 on the Billboard charts. He released a succession of albums under United Artists, Cadet, and Blue Thumb, including Feeling Blue (1968), Upchurch (1969), The Way I Feel (1970), Darkness Darkness (1972), Lovin' Feeling (1973), and Phil Upchurch (1978), while collaborating with artists such as Curtis Mayfield, B.B.â¯King, Dizzy Gillespie, Donny Hathaway, and George Benson. Upchurchâs work as a house guitarist for Chess Records in the midâ1960s saw him contribute to recordings by Howlin'â¯Wolf, Muddy Waters, and The Dells, and he later toured with Oscar Brown Jr. and appeared on Mr. Oscar Brown Jr. Goes to Washington (1965). Throughout the 1970s and 1980s he recorded with Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole, and Michael Jackson, and in the 1990s he worked with Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff, releasing Midnite Blue (1991) and Love Is Strange (1995). Upchurch passed away in Los Angeles, California, on 23 November â¯2025, leaving a legacy of versatile musicianship across multiple genres.
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Albums
Top Tracks
- Track Popularity
- Darkness, Darkness
- Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
- Going Down Slow
- Love And Peace
- You've Got A Friend
- Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
- Please Send Me Someone To Love
- Cold Sweat
- What We Call The Blues
- Fire & Rain
- I Don't Know
- You Don't Have To Know
- Bacn' Chips
- The Way I Feel
- Time For Love (Is Any Time)
- Wild Wood
- Peter, Peter
- Sausalito Blues
- Electrik Head
- Pretty Blue
- Softly
- Sitar Soul
- Stop And Listen
- Being At War With Each Other
