Blue Lake Records
Encyclopedia
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. Many of the Blue Lake recordings were later acquired by Chess Records
.
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 record label founded in 1954 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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....
. A subsidiary of Benson's Parrot
Parrot Records (blues label)
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...
operation, it lasted until mid-1956. Many of the Blue Lake recordings were later acquired 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....
.
Releases
- Blue Lake 101 Red SaundersRed Saunders (musician)Theodore Dudley "Red" Saunders was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He also played vibraphone and timpani....
and his Orchestra - "Summertime" b/w "Riverboat" - Blue Lake 102 Joe WilliamsJoe Williams (jazz singer)Joe Williams was a well-known jazz vocalist, a baritone singing a mixture of blues, ballads, popular songs, and jazz standards.-Early life:...
- "In the Evening" b/w "Tired of Moving" - Blue Lake 103 Ann Carter - "You Oughta Quit It" b/w "Lovin Daddy Blues"
- Blue Lake 104 King FlemingKing FlemingWalter "King" Fleming is an American jazz pianist and bandleader.A classmate of Sonny Cohn, after playing trombone in the McKinley High School band, Fleming went on to study at the Midwest College of Music. He had already led several informal bands before King Fleming and His Swing Band first...
's Quintette - "One O'Clock Jump" b/w "William's Blues - Blue Lake 105 Sunnyland SlimSunnyland SlimAlbert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew was an American blues pianist, who was born in the Mississippi Delta, and later moved to Chicago, Illinois, to contribute to that city's post-war scene as a center for blues music...
- "Going Back to Memphis" b/w "Devil Is a Busy Man" - Blue Lake 106 Baby Boy WarrenBaby Boy WarrenBaby Boy Warren was an American blues singer and guitarist, who was a leading figure on the Detroit blues scene in the 1950s.-Early life:...
- "Mattie Mae" b/w "Santa Fe" - Blue Lake 107 Sunnyland SlimSunnyland SlimAlbert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew was an American blues pianist, who was born in the Mississippi Delta, and later moved to Chicago, Illinois, to contribute to that city's post-war scene as a center for blues music...
- "Shake It Baby" b/w "Bassology" - Blue Lake 108 Lou Mac - "Come Back Little Daddy" b/w "Hard to Get Along With"
- Blue Lake 109 Walter Spriggs - "I'm Not Your Fool Anymore" b/w "Week End Man"
- Blue Lake 111 The Maples, Von FreemanVon FreemanEarle Lavon Freeman Sr. is an American hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist. He is the father of jazz saxophonist Chico Freeman.-Biography:...
Combo - "99 Guys" b/w "I Must Forget You" - Blue Lake 112 The Fascinators - "Can't Stop" b/w "Don't Give My Love Away"
- Blue Lake 113 Little Willy Foster - "Falling Rain Blues" b/w "Four Day Bounce" (also released on ParrotParrot Records (blues label)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...
813) - Blue Lake 114 Lou Mac - "Slow Down" b/w "Baby"
- Blue Lake 115 The Five Chances - "Shake-a-Link" b/w "All I Want"
- Blue Lake 116 Little Papa JoeJody Williams (blues musician)Joseph Leon Williams , better known as Jody Williams, is an American blues guitarist and singer. His singular guitar playing, marked by flamboyant string-bending, imaginative chord changes and a distinctive tone, was influential in the Chicago blues scene of the 1950s.-Career:In the mid 1950s,...
- "Looking for My Baby" b/w "Easy Lovin'" - Blue Lake 117 Lu Mac - "I'll Never Let Him Know" b/w "Albert Is His Name"
- Blue Lake 118 Leon Tarver - "Somebody Help Me" b/w "Oh Baby I'm Blue"
- Blue Lake 119 Lou Mac - "Move Me" b/w "Take Your Trouble to a Friend"
- Blue Lake 1001 Veteran Singers - "Give It Up" b/w "The Old Account Was Settled" (also released on ParrotParrot Records (blues label)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...
1001)
External links
- The Parrot and Blue Lake Labels. http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/parrot.html Accessed August 3, 2009.