Overview
- He played on landmark recordings for Michael Jackson, Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, George Benson, Quincy Jones and Chaka Khan.
- Signature credits include Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman,” Jackson’s “Workin’ Day and Night,” and Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas.”
- Reports note he recorded nearly 30 albums and appeared on more than 1,000 recordings across a six-decade career.
- Born in Chicago in 1941, he served in the U.S. Army in Germany before becoming a mainstay at Chess Records and a go-to studio guitarist.
- He is survived by his wife, Sonya Maddox-Upchurch, and had been working on an autobiography.