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14 flagships · 25 briefs · 8 dossiers · 965 entities — record updated October 4, 2026

Argo Records → Cadet Records

CTL-E-1194 · Institution · label · unspecified

PROVISIONAL evidence grade of this record

Launched December 1955 by the Chess brothers as a jazz/pop label — first named Marterry (from sons Marshall + Terry), renamed Argo within months after bandleader Ralph Marterie objected. Argo recorded jazz from 1955: Gene Ammons, Kenny Burrell, Ahmad Jamal, Ramsey Lewis, James Moody, Max Roach, Illinois Jacquet, Barry Harris; first big hit was Clarence "Frogman" Henry's "Ain't Got No Home" (1956); R&B performers included Etta James and the Dells by 1960.

Notes

Merged into canonical KG 2026-10-03 from BMI-002; source entity IDs: CTL-DR-BMI-002:argo-records-cadet-records; source research type(s): label — Chess subsidiary. Description completed 2026-10-03 from the source research record (claims) during the KG completion pass. Era not present in source research record(s); marked unspecified pending human review.

Sources

Record CTL-E-1194 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: PROVISIONAL · 4 sources · CTL research: BMI-002.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

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Cite as: CultureTechLens, “Argo Records → Cadet Records (CTL-E-1194),” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, October 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1194/

Chicago: CultureTechLens. “Argo Records → Cadet Records (CTL-E-1194).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1194/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). Argo Records → Cadet Records (CTL-E-1194) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1194/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “Argo Records → Cadet Records (CTL-E-1194).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1194/

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From the Archive

The archive in pictures

Black Chicago’s musical record, kept frame by frame. Photographs from the CultureTechLens research record — rights-cleared, credited, and cited like everything else here.

Girl listening to music at dance. Chicago, Illinois, Chicago
Girl listening to music at dance. Chicago, Illinois, ChicagoPhoto: Russell Lee, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress
The band at the Savoy Ballroom. Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941
The band at the Savoy Ballroom. Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941Photo: Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress
Muddy Waters performing, 1976
Muddy Waters performing, 1976Photo: Lionel Decoster, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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