CultureTechLens logoCULTURETECHLENS

“Culture, Clearly Seen.” Black Cultural Intelligence

Subscribe to CTL 10
14 flagships · 25 briefs · 8 dossiers · 1,441 entities — record updated October 4, 2026

Parrot Records

CTL-E-1196 · Institution · label · unspecified

PROVISIONAL evidence grade of this record

Chicago label founded 1952 by disc jockey Al Benson (Black radio pioneer); began operating mid-1953; lasted until mid-1956; specialized in blues, jazz, doo-wop, gospel; sister label Blue Lake operated 1954–1956 (Eagle subsidiary planned but scrapped); several Parrot recordings later released by Chess Records.

Notes

Merged into canonical KG 2026-10-03 from BMI-002; source entity IDs: CTL-DR-BMI-002:parrot-records; source research type(s): label. 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-1196 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: PROVISIONAL · 3 sources · CTL research: BMI-002.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

Cite this record

Cite as: CultureTechLens, “Parrot Records (CTL-E-1196),” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, October 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1196/

Chicago: CultureTechLens. “Parrot Records (CTL-E-1196).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1196/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). Parrot Records (CTL-E-1196) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1196/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “Parrot Records (CTL-E-1196).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1196/

Citation guidance for teachers, journalists, and funders: How to Cite Us.

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.

Entertainers in white jackets at a tavern piano, Chicago, 1941
Entertainers in white jackets at a tavern piano, Chicago, 1941Photo: Russell Lee, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress
A singer with the band at a South Side tavern, Chicago, 1941
A singer with the band at a South Side tavern, Chicago, 1941Photo: Russell Lee, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress
Having fun at rollerskating rink of Savoy Ballroom. Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941
Having fun at rollerskating rink of Savoy Ballroom. Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941Photo: Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress

Trust & evidence

Evidence before authority. CultureTechLens publishes its methods, its limits, and its corrections alongside its findings. Claims carry grades — VERIFIED, SUPPORTED, PROVISIONAL, DISPUTED, UNRESOLVED — and unknowns are never reported as zero.

Every claim graded. Every source named. Every correction public — none to date.