Parrot Records (blues label)
Encyclopedia
Parrot Records was a Chicago
-based label founded in 1952 by disc jockey
Al Benson. It specialized in blues
, jazz
, doo-wop
, and gospel
. The company began operating in earnest in the summer of 1953, and lasted till the middle of 1956. Several Parrot recordings were later released by Chess Records
. Parrot's sister label Blue Lake
operated from 1954 to 1956. There were plans for another subsidiary, to be called Eagle, but these were scrapped.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based label founded in 1952 by disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Al Benson. It specialized in blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
, and gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
. The company began operating in earnest in the summer of 1953, and lasted till the middle of 1956. Several Parrot recordings were later released by Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
. Parrot's sister label Blue Lake
Blue Lake Records
Blue Lake was a Chicago-based record label founded in 1954 by disc jockey Al Benson. It specialized in blues, doo-wop, jazz, and gospel. A subsidiary of Benson's Parrot operation, it lasted until mid-1956...
operated from 1954 to 1956. There were plans for another subsidiary, to be called Eagle, but these were scrapped.
Releases on 78 and 45 rpm Singles
- Parrot 1050 Willie MabonWillie MabonWillie Mabon was an American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist.-Career:Born Willie James Mabon, and brought up in Hollywood, Memphis, Tennessee, he had become known as a singer and pianist by the time he moved to Chicago in 1942. He formed a group, the Blues Rockers, and in 1949 began recording...
and his Combo - "I Don't Know" b/w "Worry Blues"
- Parrot 772 The Parrots - "Weep, Weep, Weep" b/w "Please Don't Leave Me"
- Parrot 775 Herbie FieldsHerbie FieldsHerbie Fields was a jazz musician. He attended New York's famed Juilliard School of Music and served in the U.S. Army from 1941–1943.-Career:...
and Orchestra - "Harlem Nocturne" b/w "Things Ain't What They Used to Be"
- Parrot 780 Mable (sic) ScottMabel ScottMabel Scott, was an American gospel music and R&B vocalist. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Mabel Scott resided in New York and Cleveland before arriving on the West Coast blues scene in 1942...
- "Mr. Fine" b/w "Mable Blues" - Parrot 781 Chocolateers - "Peckin'" b/w "Bartender Blues"
- Parrot 782 Curtis JonesCurtis Jones (pianist)Curtis Jones was an American blues pianist.-Biography:Jones played guitar whilst young but switched to piano after a move to Dallas. In 1936 he relocated to Chicago, where he recorded between 1937 and 1941 on Vocalion, Bluebird, and OKeh...
- "Wrong Blues" b/w "Cool Playing Bliues" - Parrot 783 Coleman HawkinsColeman HawkinsColeman Randolph Hawkins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn"...
and Orchestra - "I'll See You Later" b/w "What a Difference a Day Made" - Parrot 784 Coleman Hawkns and Orchestra - "I'll Follow My Secret Heart" b/w "Blue Blue Days"
- Parrot 785 Playboy Thomas - "Too Much Pride" b/w "No Doubt about It"
- Parrot 786 Marvin Phillips - "Salty Dog" b/w "Sweetheart, Darling"
- Parrot 787 Lowell FulsonLowell FulsonLowell Fulson was a big-voiced blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. Fulson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He also recorded for business reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom...
and Orchestra - "I've Been Mistreated" b/w "Juke Box Shuffle" - Parrot 788 Jo Jo Adams - "Call My Baby" b/w "Rebecca"
- Parrot 789 The Rockettes - "Love Nobody" b/w "I Can't Forget"
- Parrot 790 Lonnie SimmonsLonnie SimmonsLonnie Simmons is an American record producer from Los Angeles, California. He is founder and president of the now-defunct Total Experience Records. As a composer, he wrote several #1 R&B songs for his label's major acts, The Gap Band and Yarbrough and Peoples....
Quartet - "Black Orchid" b/w "I Can't Get Started" - Parrot 791 Ernest Lewis - "No More Lovin'" b/w "West Coast Blues"
- Parrot 792 Paul BascombPaul BascombPaul Bascomb was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, noted for his extended tenure with Erskine Hawkins. He is a 1979 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame....
and his Orchestra - "Jan (Part I)" b/w "Jan (Part II)" - Parrot 793 The Pelicans - "Aurelia" b/w "White Cliffs of Dover"
- Parrot 794 Mable (sic) ScottMabel ScottMabel Scott, was an American gospel music and R&B vocalist. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Mabel Scott resided in New York and Cleveland before arriving on the West Coast blues scene in 1942...
- "Do the Thing" b/w "Fool Burro" - Parrot 795 Marvin Phillips - "Ann Marie" b/w "Honey Baby"
- Parrot 796 Five Thrills - "Feel So Good" b/w "My Baby's Gone"
- Parrot 797 Jimmy RushingJimmy RushingJames Andrew Rushing , known as Jimmy Rushing, was an American blues shouter and swing jazz singer from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948.Rushing was known as "Mr...
with Frank Culley Combo - "Mr. 5 x 5" b/w "Clothes Pin Blues" - Parrot 798 Albert KingAlbert KingAlbert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
- "Be on Your Merry Way" b/w "Bad Luck Blues" - Parrot 799 John BrimJohn BrimJohn Brim was an American Chicago blues guitarist, songwriter and singer. He wrote and recorded the original "Ice Cream Man" that Van Halen covered on their first album and David Lee Roth also covered on Diamond Dave...
and his Stompers - "Tough Times" b/w "Gary Stomp" - Parrot 800 Five Thrills - "Gloria" b/w "Wee Wee Baby"
- Parrot 802 J. B. LenoirJ. B. LenoirJ. B. Lenoir /ləˈnɔːr/ was an African American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter, active in the 1950s and 1960s Chicago blues scene....
- "Eisenhower Blues" b/w "I'm in Korea" - Parrot 802 J. B. Lenoir - "Tax Paying Blues" b/w "I'm in Korea"
- Parrot 806 Herbie Fields and Orchestra - "I Love You" b/w "Mr. Jump"
- Parrot 807 Snooky Pryor - "Crosstown Blues" b/w "I Want You for Myself"
- Parrot 808 The FlamingosThe FlamingosThe Flamingos were a doo wop group from the United States, most popular in the mid to late 1950s and best known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You".-Early quintet:...
- "On My Merry Way" b/w "Dream of a Lifetime" - Parrot 809 J. B. Lenore (sic)J. B. LenoirJ. B. Lenoir /ləˈnɔːr/ was an African American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter, active in the 1950s and 1960s Chicago blues scene....
- "Mamma Talk to Your Daughter" b/w "Man Watch Your Woman" - Parrot 810 Ahmad JamalAhmad JamalAhmad Jamal is an innovative and influential American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. According to Stanley Crouch, Jamal is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Charlie Parker...
- "But Not for Me" b/w "Seleritus" - Parrot 811 The FlamingosThe FlamingosThe Flamingos were a doo wop group from the United States, most popular in the mid to late 1950s and best known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You".-Early quintet:...
- "Get with It" b/w "I Really Don't Want to Know" - Parrot 812 The FlamingosThe FlamingosThe Flamingos were a doo wop group from the United States, most popular in the mid to late 1950s and best known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You".-Early quintet:...
- "Ko-Ko-Mo" b/w "I'm Yours" - Parrot 813 Little Willy Foster - "Falling Rain Blues" b/w "Four Day Jump" (also released as Blue LakeBlue Lake RecordsBlue Lake was a Chicago-based record label founded in 1954 by disc jockey Al Benson. It specialized in blues, doo-wop, jazz, and gospel. A subsidiary of Benson's Parrot operation, it lasted until mid-1956...
113) - Parrot 814 J. B. LenoreJ. B. LenoirJ. B. Lenoir /ləˈnɔːr/ was an African American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter, active in the 1950s and 1960s Chicago blues scene....
- "Mama Your Daughter Is Going to Miss Me" b/w "What Have I Done" - Parrot 815 The Orchids - "Newly Wed" b/w "You're Everything to Me"
- Parrot 816 Paul BascombPaul BascombPaul Bascomb was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, noted for his extended tenure with Erskine Hawkins. He is a 1979 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame....
and his Orchestra / The Five Arrows - "You've Got Me Losing My Mind" b/w "Pretty Little Thing" - Parrot 817 Paul Bascomb and his Orchestra - "Alley B on Fifth Avenue" b/w "Jumping at the El Cino"
- Parrot 818 Ahmad JamalAhmad JamalAhmad Jamal is an innovative and influential American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. According to Stanley Crouch, Jamal is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Charlie Parker...
- "It Could Happen to You" b/w "Excerpts from the Blues" - Parrot 819 The Orchids - "You Said You Loved Me" b/w "I Can't Refuse"
- Parrot 820 Dusty Brown - "Yes She's Gone" b/w "He Don't Love You"
- Parrot 821 J. B. LenoreJ. B. LenoirJ. B. Lenoir /ləˈnɔːr/ was an African American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter, active in the 1950s and 1960s Chicago blues scene....
- "Fine Girls" b/w "I Lost My Baby' - Parrot 822 Benson-Ogletree - "Tell It like It Is" b/w "Uptown Stomp"
- Parrot 823 St. Louis JimmySt. Louis Jimmy OdenJames Burke "St. Louis Jimmy" Oden was an American blues vocalist and songwriter.Born in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, Oden sang and taught himself to play the piano in childhood. In his teens, he left home to go to St. Louis, Missouri where piano-based blues was prominent...
- "Going Down Slow" b/w "Murder in the First Degree"
- Parrot 105 The Willie Webb Singers - "Climbing High Mountains" b/w "God Is Good to Me"
- Parrot 106 The Willie Webb Singers - "He Will Be There" b/w "He's a Wonder"
- Parrot 107 The Victorettes - "Jesus Has Promised" b/w "When Night Comes"
- Parrot 109 The Peace Makers - "When I Go" b/w "I Know What I Believe'
- Parrot 1000 Bessie Griffen (sic)Bessie GriffinBessie Griffin was an African American gospel singer.Born Arlette B. Broil in New Orleans, Louisiana, she was steeped in church music as a child...
- "Story of Job" b/w "What Jesus Means to Me" - Parrot 1001 Veteran Singers - "Give It Up" b/w "The Old Account Was Settled" (also released on Blue LakeBlue Lake RecordsBlue Lake was a Chicago-based record label founded in 1954 by disc jockey Al Benson. It specialized in blues, doo-wop, jazz, and gospel. A subsidiary of Benson's Parrot operation, it lasted until mid-1956...
1001)
- Parrot 6000 The Leon AbbeyLeon AbbeyLeon Abbey was an American jazz violinist and bandleader.In the 1920s his eleven-piece band, known successively as the Charleston Bearcats, the Savoy Bearcats, and Leon Abbey's Band, was considered one of the best in jazz....
Trio, Al Benson - "If You Were the Only Girl" b/w "Abbey's Boogie"
External links
- The Parrot and Blue Lake Labels. http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/parrot.html Accessed August 3, 2009.