Argo Records was a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

that was established in 1955 as a division of Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader

Ralph Marterie Ralph Marterie (24 December 1914 – 10 October 1978) was an Italian big-band leader born in Acerra (near Naples), Italy. Life and career Marterie first played professionally at age 14 in Chicago. In the 1940s, he played trumpet for various b ...

objected, and within a couple of months the imprint was renamed Argo.Cohodas, Nadine (2000). ''Spinning Blues into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records''. New York: St. Martins. 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 Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Life and career Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December ...

Illinois Jacquet Jean-Baptiste "Illinois" Jacquet (October 30, 1922 – July 22, 2004) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on " Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo. Although he was a pioneer of ...

, Ahmad Jamal,

Ramsey Lewis Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five gold records and three Grammy Awards in his career. His album '' The ...

, James Moody,

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He work ...

Red Rodney Robert Roland Chudnick (September 27, 1927 – May 27, 1994), known professionally as Red Rodney, was an American jazz trumpeter. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he became a professional musician at 15, working in the mid-1940 ...

, and Ira Sullivan. Argo also recorded pop, blues, and calypso. Its first big hit was by

Clarence "Frogman" Henry Clarence Henry II (born March 19, 1937), known as Clarence "Frogman" Henry, is an American rhythm and blues singer and pianist, best known for his hits " Ain't Got No Home" (1956) and " (I Don't Know Why) But I Do" (1961). Career Clarence Henry ...

, whose song " Ain't Got No Home" came out in 1956. By 1960, rhythm and blues performers on the label included Etta James and

the Dells The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first r ...

. Argo changed its name in 1965 to

Cadet Records Cadet Records was an American record label that began as Argo Records in 1955 as the jazz subsidiary of Chess Records. Argo changed its name in 1965 to Cadet to avoid confusion with the similarly named label in the UK. Cadet stopped releasing r ...

when the company discovered that an

Argo Records Argo Records was a record label in Chicago that was established in 1955 as a division of Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint was renamed Arg ...

already existed in the UK. 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.

Discography

Jazz Series (1956-1965)

Pop/Blues/Folk Series (1961-1965)

References

External links

Argo discography
{{Authority control American record labels Defunct record labels of the United States Jazz record labels Record labels established in 1956 Record labels disestablished in 1965

Discography

Jazz Series (1956-1965)

Pop/Blues/Folk Series (1961-1965)

See also

References

External links