The year 2004, the twentieth year since Fankhausers stage debut, was a very exciting one. Not only did he sign with "Memphis International Records" and released his ninth album "Talk To Me" world wide. He was invited to perform at the worlds largest blues festival, the Chicago Blues Festival in June 2004. Fankhauser lived and worked in the USA from 1993 to the year 2000, touring with the great Johnny Copeland to his untimely death in July of 1997. After his return to Switzerland in late 2000 he founded the Philipp Fankhauser Blues Band, a trio with whom he's working a strong hundred dates a year.

It must have been the greatest compliment Fankhauser has ever gotten! Dennis Walker, songwriter and producer for Robert Cray, B.B. King, and countless others, was working with Philipp Fankhauser on his album "On Broadway" in 1995. After the work was completed, the whole crew sat down for dinner at B.B. King's Blues Club In Memphis and ate baby back spare ribs. Walker looked up and said to Philipp:" "There's only one guitar player I know that plays worse than you do, and that's Lowell Fulson!" That's been the day that Fankhauser realized that, although his technical skills are by no means the greatest, his guitar playing is at leat authentic! To be compared to one of the giants of the Blues feel meant a lot. All Fankhauser wants to do is perform straight forward, easy, laid back and authentic Blues.

Philipp Fankhauser was born and raised in beautiful Thun, a little city sitting on the lake of Thun, just at the beginning of the Bernese Oberland. Between 1964 - 1981 there were no real indications, that he would later become a Blues singer.

He had his start between 1982 - 1986.

The success of the Checkerboard Blues Band came 1987 - 1993.

Then, in the nineties, he moved to the USA, following the call of his long time friend and mentor, Texas Blues man Johnny Copeland, 1994 -2000.

The year 2000 saw Fankhauser return to his homeland Switzerland, and he is now living in Bern, 2001 - 2003.

Europa - the safe side? Or: Watching from the safe side 2004 -2008.