Brewer Phillips is one of the more unique sidemen in Chicago blues history. His guitar playing combines the rhythmic sense of an Eddie Taylor (an early childhood friend and fishing buddy) with the stinging lead work of a Pat Hare. Born on a plantation in Coila, MS, he came under the early tutelage of Memphis Minnie and grew up with the legends of the blues all around him, seeing many of them perform first hand. After leaving Mississippi, he moved to Memphis, becoming a professional musician and making his first recordings as a member of Bill Harvey's band, along with a session behind pianist Roosevelt Sykes that has yet to surface. Best-known for his work as a member of the Houserockers (see Hound Dog Taylor entry), his backup work behind Taylor -- a trio with no bass player -- finds him alternating between the icepick-in-your-ear sheet-metal lead tones produced from his battered Telecaster to comping bass lines while simultaneously combining chords, all of it executed with a thumbpick and bare fingers. It's a sound totally rooted in the juke joint sounds of Phillips's Mississippi upbringing and there's simply no equal to it in the blues today. Since Taylor's death in 1976, he has recorded on his own and worked sporadically with J.B. Hutto, Lil Ed, Cub Koda and others while remaining a largely shadowy figure in Chicago blues circles. ~ All Music Guide, All Music Guide
