Argo Records

For the British label, see Argo Records (UK).
Argo Records
Parent companyChess Records
Founded1955 (1955)
FounderLeonard Chess
Phil Chess
Defunct1965 (1965)
StatusInactive
GenreJazz, blues
Country of originU.S.
LocationChicago, Illinois

Argo Records was a record label in Chicago that was established in 1955 as a division of Chess Records.[1][2]

Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint was renamed Argo.[3]

Although Chess was a blues label, the Argo division began to record jazz in 1955 and over decades attracted some big names: Gene Ammons, Kenny Burrell, Barry Harris, Illinois Jacquet, Ahmad Jamal, Ramsey Lewis, James Moody, Max Roach, Red Rodney, and Ira Sullivan.[4]

Argo also recorded pop, blues, and calypso. Its first big hit was by Clarence "Frogman" Henry, whose song "Ain't Got No Home" came out in 1956.[5] By 1960, rhythm and blues performers on the label included Etta James and the Dells.[6]

Argo changed its name in 1965 to Cadet Records when the company discovered that an Argo Records already existed in the UK.[7] As with its parent label and British Argo, the catalog is owned by Universal Music Group. Argo was one of several record labels to lose master recordings in the 2008 Universal fire.[8]

  1. ^ Edwards, D & Callahan, M. The Chess Story, accessed September 12, 2012
  2. ^ Cook, Richard (2005). Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia. London: Penguin Books. p. 17. ISBN 0-141-00646-3.
  3. ^ Cohodas, Nadine (2000). Spinning Blues into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records. New York: St. Martins. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ Gardner, Mark (2002). Kernfeld, Barry (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries Inc. p. 65. ISBN 1-56159-284-6.
  5. ^ "Clarence "Frogman" Henry Biography by Bill Dahl". Allmusic.com. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  6. ^ Edwards, D & Callahan, M. Argo Album Discography, Part 2 (1961–1965): Pop/Blues/Folk Series, accessed September 12, 2012
  7. ^ Brack R. Chess 'Withdraws' Argo Name, Billboard, October 9, 1965. pp. 8–10.
  8. ^ Rosen, Jody (June 11, 2019). "The Day the Music Burned". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 2, 2019.