Al Benson

First African-American deejay in Chicago and one of the first in the United States. Born in Jackson, Mississippi and started out as a gospel deejay at WGES Chicago in 1943. In 1945, he adopted the pseudonym "Al Benson" and restyled himself as "the Old Swingmaster". From then on he played and promoted music that was popular with African-Americans in Chicago such as blues, rhythm and blues and jazz. His program sometimes broadcasted live shows (including bebop) from Chicago music venues and by 1948 he was Chicago's most popular deejay. He founded a number of record labels: Parrot, Blue Lake, Crash Records (15), Mica Records, and Glow Star Records.