Phil Upchurch: R.I.P.

[Dr. Cheese]

The great ones are leaving us at a rapid pace. Upchurch was great on bass too. Here is with George Benson and Chic Corea. Upchurch played the album version too.

 

[JRA]

such a great instrumentalist/writer. another sad one.

R.I.P., phil upchurch.


killer track!

 

[57pbass]

His bass performance on Breezin is just great.. and what a great tone.
RIP and thanks for the great music.

 

[Father Gino]

He can sit down now.
RIP

 

[brianrost]

Phil recorded his own LPs, playing guitar. His first was in 1961...

Rocking a T-60!!! 1984

A cover of a Youngbloods song (Mott the Hoople covered it, too). Title track from a 1972 Blue Thumb release.



Covering Cream!!! Jack Bruce wrote the song. 1969 album for Cadet (a Chess subsidiary).



Spotify playlist

 

[Steve59]

R.I.P

 

[Mister Magic]

Phil Upchurch was extremely badass on both bass and guitar. Wouldn't surprise me if he was fluid on other instruments. What a career!

 

[jerry]

One of the my favorite guitar masters that also double on bass, so funky! So many of my favorite soul-jazz recordings of the 70's, he is a big part of.
Fly on Phil.................................

Phil funking up the blues:

 

[Neck Diver]

Thanks for posting, for some reason I thought he had previously passed away. We are loosing so many of the great foundational players that inspired me and provided the soundtrack to my life.
RIP Phil Upchurch and Steve Cropper.

 

[Low Main]

At one point, he and Cornell Dupree seemed to rule the roost.

So great to see all the tunes posted above. Here's a solo he played live with Carmen McRae that lifted me out of my chair when I first heard it.

 

[Fender1980]

Here's Phil on bass.

He was on a ton of Chicago soul recordings of the 1960s on both guitar and sometimes bass.

 

[Mister Magic]

His bass performance on Breezin is just great.. and what a great tone.
RIP and thanks for the great music.

Completely agree.

"Breezin'" is the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread. The bass tone is gritty and his touch and note choices are perfect.

Yeah, t's just i-vi-ii-V (though Phil makes it a i-v) but there are infinite ways to screw up that bass line and Phil kills it.

 

[REV]

Godspeed my brother.

 

[Michedelic]

The Electric Mud album was derided in its time as a bungled move to psychedelicize Muddy Waters, which came about as so many then-newer rock bands were doing his songs in a heavy or acidic style. Some of his older material and a Rolling Stones tune were revisited. Upchurch, on guitar, and Louis Satterfield on bass, were part of the backing band(Rotary Connection)…

 

[staccatogrowl]

Unsung hero as side and front man, guitar and bass. RIP, Phil

 

[jerry]

The Electric Mud album was derided in its time as a bungled move to psychedelicize Muddy Waters, which came about as so many then-newer rock bands were doing his songs in a heavy or acidic style. Some of his older material and a Rolling Stones tune were revisited. Upchurch, on guitar, and Louis Satterfield on bass, were part of the backing band(Rotary Connection)…

Pete Cosey is on that album as well, I dig that album still.

 

[Fender1980]

So I saw a cool image of young Phil Upchurch at Universal Recording with a Strat on Facebook I reversed the image and found a low quality contact sheet on the website with a few INTERESTING images:
Phil Upchurch

Darn if that doesn't look like James Jamerson with that black refinished P-Bass with maple neck he owned prior to the sunbursts.

And rare as hen's teeth if that isn't similar to the few published images of drummer Benny Benjamin.

 

[jerry]

......with Cropper and Duck Dunn:

 

[pepj]

Sorry to hear. Mainstay musician when I bought albums by Credited players.
Basically he was one of the guys that I looked for..