Cab Calloway

• Born: December 25, 1907, Rochester, NY
• Died: November 18, 1994, Hockessin, DE
• Active: '20s, '30s, '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s
• Genres: Jazz
• Instrument: Vocals, Leader
• Representative Albums: "Are You Hep to the Jive?," "Minnie the Moocher," "1930-1931"
• Representative Songs: "Minnie the Moocher," "The Jumpin' Jive," "Everybody Eats When They Come"

Biography

One of the great entertainers, Cab Calloway was a household name by 1932, and never really declined in fame. A talented jazz singer and a superior scatter, Calloway's gyrations and showmanship on-stage at the Cotton Club sometimes overshadowed the quality of his always excellent bands. The younger brother of singer Blanche Calloway (who made some fine records before retiring in the mid-'30s), Cab grew up in Baltimore, attended law school briefly, and then quit to try to make it as a singer and a dancer. For a time, he headed the Alabamians, but the band was not strong enough to make it in New York. The Missourians, an excellent group that had previously recorded heated instrumentals but had fallen upon hard times, worked out much better. Calloway worked in the 1929 revue Hot Chocolates, started recording in 1930, and in 1931 hit it big with both "Minnie the Moocher" and his regular engagement at the Cotton Club. Calloway was soon (along with Bill Robinson, Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington) the best-known black entertainer of the era. He appeared in quite a few movies (including 1943's Stormy Weather), and "Minnie the Moocher" was followed by such recordings as "Kicking the Gong Around," "Reefer Man," "Minnie the Moocher's Wedding Day," "You Gotta Hi-De-Ho," "The Hi-De-Ho Miracle Man," and even "Mister Paganini, Swing for Minnie." Among Calloway's sidemen through the years (who received among the highest salaries in the business) were Walter "Foots" Thomas, Bennie Payne, Doc Cheatham, Eddie Barefield, Shad Collins, Cozy Cole, Danny Barker, Milt Hinton, Mario Bauza, Chu Berry, Dizzy Gillespie, Jonah Jones, Tyree Glenn, Panama Francis, and Ike Quebec. His 1942 recording of "Blues in the Night" was a big hit.

With the end of the big band era, Calloway had to reluctantly break up his orchestra in 1948, although he continued to perform with his Cab Jivers. Since George Gershwin had originally modeled the character Sportin' Life in Porgy and Bess after Calloway, it was fitting that Cab got to play him in a 1950s version. Throughout the rest of his career, Calloway made special appearances for fans who never tired of hearing him sing "Minnie the Moocher." ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

Alternative Takes: 1930-44 Buy this CD	1930-1939 Buy this CD	Who's the Swinginest Man in Town? Buy this CD	Hi-De-Ho [Storyville Video] Buy this CD	Cocktail Hour Buy this CD
Cruisin' with Cab Buy this CD	Planet Jazz Buy this CD	Vol. 1: The Early Years 1930-1934 Buy this CD	Jazz Tribune No. 58: Cab Calloway & Co. Buy this CD	His Best Recordings: 1930-1942 Buy this CD

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• Born: Dec 25, 1907 in Rochester, New York
• Died: Nov 18, 1994 in Hockesin, Delaware
• Occupation: Actor
• Active: '30s-'50s, '80s-'90s
• Major Genres: Music, Musical
• Career Highlights: Stormy Weather, Hi-De-Ho, St. Louis Blues
• First Major Screen Credit: Cab Calloway's Hi-De-Ho (1933)

Biography

Inaugurating his performing career in Baltimore, African-American musical entertainer Cab Calloway organized his first band in New York. Calloway already had a strong following thanks to his recordings, when, in 1931, he replaced Duke Ellington as orchestra leader at Harlem's fabled Cotton Club. His lively, athletic performing style, coupled with his trademarked "Hi De Ho" delivery, was given nationwide exposure via his guest appearances in such Paramount features as The Big Broadcast (1932) and International House (1933). He also appeared in animated form in a cluster of Betty Boop cartoons produced by Max and Dave Fleischer, and it is safe to assume that the youngest cartoon fans in the audiences enjoyed Calloway's renditions of "Minnie the Moocher" and "St. James Infirmary Blues" without fully comprehending those songs' allusions to drug use and sex. George and Ira Gershwin used Calloway as the model for the character of Sportin' Life in their 1935 folk opera Porgy and Bess; though he initially turned down an offer to play the character in the original stage production because of a scheduling conflict, he was able to accept the role for a 1952 revival starring Leontyne Price and William Warfield. He also substituted for Sammy Davis Jr. on the soundtrack recording of the 1959 film version. Newly imposed censorship strictures required the uninhibited Calloway to tone down his performances and the content of his songs in films like The Singing Kid (1936) and Manhattan Merry-Go-Round (1937). The best of his "tame" film performances was in the 1943 20th Century Fox musical Stormy Weather, in which he co-starred with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Lena Horne, and Dooley Wilson. Breaking up his orchestra in 1958, Calloway went solo for several years, notably as Horace Vandergelder in the all-black version of Broadway's Hello Dolly! As ebullient as ever, Calloway was seen fronting a band once more in 1980's The Blues Brothers. In 1976, Calloway wrote his autobiography, an engaging if not entirely candid work, titled Of Minnie the Moocher and Me. Cab Calloway is the father of actor Kirk Calloway. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Harlem Renaissance: The Music & Rhythms That Started a Cultural Revolution Buy this Movie	Music Classics, Vol. 4 Buy this Movie	Harold Arlen: Somewhere Over the Rainbow Buy this Movie	Music Classics, Vol. 7 Buy this Movie
Music Classics, Vol. 8 Buy this Movie	Harlem Globetrotters: 6 Decades of Magic Buy this Movie	A Great Day in Harlem Buy this Movie	Dr. Demento's 20th Anniversary Collection Buy this Movie

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Cab Calloway (1907-1994), blues and scat legend, entertained generations of people with his jazzy big band sounds. Even in his golden years, Calloway still traveled on the road and performed for his fans.

Cab Calloway was a famous singer and bandleader beginning in the lively era of the 1920s, and he remained active in music throughout his golden years. At an age when most people retire and rest on old laurels, Calloway kept a full schedule of touring with a band and singing his signature song, "Minnie the Moocher." Long ago dubbed the "Dean of American Jive," Calloway brought the joys of the jazzy big band sound to many generations, helping to preserve the very style he helped to create.

Calloway was born Cabell Calloway III, in Rochester, New York. When he was six his family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where his father practiced law and sold real estate. Although young Cab enjoyed singing solos at the Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Church, it was assumed that he would follow in his father's footsteps and study law. Cab had other ideas, however. His older sister had found work singing with a show in Chicago, and he appealed to her for advice. Her guidance was substantial - she sent him a train ticket, and when he arrived in Chicago, she set him up as a singer with a quartet. He was still in his teens.

Calloway has noted that his career began in 1925. By that time he had become a talented drummer and secured a position with the Sunset Cafe orchestra in Chicago. He did not hide behind a drum set for long. Within two years - or by his twentieth birthday - he had organized his own orchestra and was singing lead vocals again. The group, Cab Calloway and his Alabamians, became quite popular in Chicago and eventually took a booking at the Savoy Ballroom in New York City. That engagement did not go well, and Calloway dissolved the band. He was about to return to Chicago when he landed a part in a Broadway comedy, Connie's Hot Chocolates. The show was an all-black revue, and Calloway brought the house down with his rendition of "Ain't Misbehavin'."

Broadway manager Irving Mills encouraged Calloway to form another band, so the young musician gathered another orchestra and immediately found work in the well-attended Harlem speakeasies and nightclubs. In 1929 he was invited to fill in for Duke Ellington at the Cotton Club, and thereafter the two band leaders alternated engagements at the prestigious venue. It was during his years at the Cotton Club that Calloway developed his crisp, jazzy song-and-dance style, and it was there that he composed and debuted "Minnie the Moocher."

Calloway was one of the first performers to make deliberate use of scat singing - random use of nonsense syllables - in his act. As with so many others, he began scat singing when he forgot a song's lyrics. Audiences loved the sound, however, so he began to write tunes with scat choruses. "Minnie the Moocher," his best-known song, is one such composition. Its refrain - "hi de hi de hi de ho" - invites the audience to sing along in the old call-and-response style. Recordings of "Minnie the Moocher" have sold in the millions worldwide.

Calloway's fame soared in the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared in such films as International House and Stormy Weather, he helped to popularize the jitterbug with tunes like "Jumpin' Jive," "Reefer Man," "It Ain't Necessarily So," and "If This Isn't Love," and he even wrote a popular book, Hepster's Dictionary, which sold two million copies and ran into six editions. Although Calloway's is not always associated with the big band era, he actually fronted a fine ensemble during the period. His ability to pay top salaries attracted a group of brilliant musicians, including sax players Chu Berry, Ben Webster, and Hilton Jefferson; trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Jonah Jones; bassist Milt Hinton; and drummer Cozy Cole. In his book The Big Bands, George T. Simon noted: "the esprit de corps of the Calloway band was tremendous, and the great pride that the musicians possessed as individuals and as a group paid off handsomely in the music they created."

The years of World War II found Calloway entertaining troops in the United States and Canada. After the war he returned to club work and to the Broadway stage, most notably as Sportin' Life in the George Gershwin operetta Porgy and Bess. In the late 1960s he took another important Broadway role, that of Horace Vandergelder in the all-black version of Hello, Dolly! His work with Pearl Bailey in that show was the culmination of a long friendship - he had helped Bailey get a start in show business in 1945 by hiring her to help him with vocals. Even though he was 60 when he appeared in Hello, Dolly!, Calloway never missed a step in the strenuous show. In fact, he was just hitting his stride.

The energetic performer's career received an enormous boost when he was asked to star in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. The movie, which also starred John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, gave Calloway the opportunity to perform "Minnie the Moocher" for an audience young enough to be his grandchildren - and, clad in a snazzy white zoot suit with tails, he made the number the highlight of the film. Critics who otherwise panned The Blues Brothers singled Calloway out for praise, and his popularity soared.

Into his 80s, Calloway stayed on the road most of the time, sometimes performing with his daughter Chris. Philadelphia Inquirer correspondent John Rogers observed that Calloway strutted around the stage "like some nimble tightrope walker." Rogers added: "[His] moves have slowed a bit since the '30s, a time when Calloway could have danced Michael Jackson or Mick Jagger into the ground. The hair is white and thinner now, the midsection thicker, and that classically handsome face lined and puffy after eight decades of full-throttle living. But every bit of his voice is still there - and every bit of the style and grace that made the legend."

In June of 1994 Calloway suffered a stroke and died that November. He was survived by his wife, Nuffie, whom he married in 1953. When once asked if he has any heroes in the music business, Calloway scoffed at the very idea. It is easy to undersand why he might not idolize Webster or Gillespie - he helped give them their start, along with other notables such as Pearl Bailey and Lena Horne. "I'll tell you who my heroes are," he said. "My heroes are the notes, man. The music itself. You understand what I'm saying? I love the music. The music is my hero."

Further Reading

Calloway, Cab, Of Minnie the Moocher and Me, Crowell, 1976.

Simon, George T., The Big Bands, Macmillan, 1967.

Simon, George T., Best of the Music Makers, Doubleday, 1979.

Los Angeles Times, November 20, 1994, p. A1.

New York Times, November 20, 1994, p. 59.

Philadelphia Inquirer, August 16, 1990.

Times (London), November 21, 1994, p. 21.

Washington Post, November 20, 1994, p. B5.

bandleader; singer; actor

Personal Information

Born Cabell Calloway III, December 25, 1907, in Rochester NY; died on November 18, 1994, in Westchester NY; son of Cabell Calloway II; married Zulme MacNeal; children: Camay, Constance, Eulalie, Chris, and Cabella.
Education: Attended Crane College, Chicago.

Career

Leader of the Alabamians, 1928; leader of the Missourians, 1929; Cab Calloway Band, 1930-48; significant recordings: "Minnie the Moocher," "St.James Infirmary," "Kickin' the Gong Around," "The Scat Song," "The Jumpin' Jive," "Reefer Man," "Lady with the Fan," "Zaz Zuh Zaz," "Are You Hep to the Jive," "Are You All Reet"; appeared in films including: The Big Broadcast, 1932, International House, 1933, The Singing Kid, 1936, Stormy Weather, 1943, Sensations of 1945, 1944, St. Louis Blues, 1958, The Cincinnati Kid, 1965, The Blues Brothers, 1980; starred in stage plays Porgy and Bess, 1952-54, Hello, Dolly; member ASCAP 1942-94.

Life's Work

Looking at the long, rich career of Cab Calloway, a career that spans more than half a century, one is struck not only by his sheer longevity, but also by the vibrant energy and positive attitude he maintained until his death in 1994. Indeed, Calloway stands as a monument against the popular stereotype of the tragic black jazz musician besieged by racism and drug addiction. Although Calloway was exposed to these social ills, he was able to overcome them by focusing on the integrity of his music. As Calloway recounted in a 1990 Chicago Tribune interview, "you tried to concentrate on your performance and tried to forget that there were hardly any blacks in the audience." It was this kind of perseverance, the creation of the charismatic "hipster" image, and a genuine musical talent that made Calloway one of the twentieth century's most popular performers, as well as one of the first to smash racial barriers.

Born on December 25, 1907, Cabell Calloway III was immersed in music from infancy. With his mother performing as a church organist and his siblings Elmer and Blanche as budding professional performers, the course of Calloway's life comes as little surprise. In addition, Calloway was given strong guidance and inspiration from his grandmother, who helped nurture the young Cabell after his father passed away at an early age. Whether working as a stable boy, shining shoes, or hawking newspapers in the streets of his hometown of Baltimore, Calloway possessed a strong desire to succeed. He soon became interested in music and joined the Baltimore Melody Boys, a high school musical group, as a vocalist. As a member of the Baltimore Melody Boys, Calloway developed his distinctive vocal style under the influence of a local jazz singer, William "Chick" Webb.

After completing high school, Calloway briefly put his musical interests on hold to pursue a law degree at Chicago's Crane College. However, he soon realized that the dynamic world of jazz and musical theater was more to his liking. Rather than returning to Baltimore, Calloway abandoned law school and stayed on in the Windy City. Attempting to find his niche, he tried his hand at amateur prize-fighting, drumming, and saxophone playing. Although Calloway did not find success in any of these endeavors, he soon gained renown for his abilities as a scat singer. In 1927, he appeared in the musical stage revue Plantation Days alongside his sister Blanche and, before long, was hired for a debut solo gig at Chicago's Dreamland venue.

As the end of the 1920s drew near, Calloway assembled his first band, the Alabamians. The Alabamians were only a fleeting endeavor, disbanding and re-emerging as the Missourians by the end of the decade. In 1929, the Missourians found great success at Harlem's legendary Savoy Theater and their popularity subsequently led to a string of touring engagements, as well as Calloway's casting in Fats Waller's Hot Chocolates stage revue. In 1931, the Missourians were renamed the Cab Calloway Band and replaced Duke Ellington as the house act at the Cotton Club, an engagement that lasted for the next eight years. Calloway also cut his first recordings in 1931, including "Minnie the Moocher," which became an international hit. The song's repeated nonsense chorus gave Calloway his life-long nickname of the "Hi-De-Ho Man," and served as the perfect vehicle for his newly created hipster image and singing style. Calloway's white tuxedo and tails, his wildly flailed hair, and his frantic stage presence soon became his personal trademarks.

Calloway's music continued to grow in popularity in the 1930s through both live performances and hit records, notably "St. James Infirmary," "The Jumpin' Jive," "Lady with the Fan," and "Zaz Zuh Zaz." Although some critics dismissed Calloway as merely an "entertainer," he made notable contributions to the annals of jazz music and American culture. On one level, Calloway's music was a savvy, slang filled satire of the drug-crazed, mob-controlled lifestyle which surrounded the jazz clubs of the period. In this way, Calloway's songs such as "Minnie the Moocher" and "Reefer Man" gave listeners a candid look into the dark side of jazz without condoning it. In fact, Calloway reportedly fired any band members who were caught with drugs in their possession. In addition, Calloway's singing style was itself a daring blend of vocal effects. While he did not invent scat, a technique involving nonsense syllables and a wildly changing range of pitches and intensities, Calloway's use of scatting was innovative, and was to influence later generations of vocal experimenters. Overall, Calloway presented a sense of style, an attitude of sheer positivity that in itself surely can be hailed as a great contribution. "Through his band leading, singing, dancing, dressing and sense of both humor and nonsense, Mr. Calloway introduced almost single-handedly a new wildness and extravagance to American culture," critic Peter Watrous was quoted as saying in a 1994 Washington Post article. In short, Calloway's perfection of the hipster image added a new character to our popular mythology.

Throughout the 1930s and the early 1940s the popularity of the Big Band sound held fast, and Calloway remained one of its mainstays. In 1934 he embarked on the first of many European tours, a tradition that would last for the rest of his life. This period also marked the beginning of Calloway's appearance in many Hollywood films, including The Big Broadcast (1932), International House (1936), and Stormy Weather (1943). Motion pictures may have helped to foster Calloway's image, as his frenetic performance and exuberant presence lent themselves perfectly to the medium. In between the filming, recording, and touring, Calloway also made many friendships with future jazz greats, acting as a mentor to many. Saxophonists Ben Webster and Chu Berry, trumpet players Jonah Jones and Dizzy Gillespie, bassist Milt Hinton, and vocalists Lena Horne and Pearl Bailey were all proteges of Calloway.

Although waning interest in the Big Band sound during the late 1940s reduced his popularity, Calloway's energy and devotion to performing remained strong. He disbanded his orchestra in 1948 and performed as a soloist before embarking on a European tour. In 1952, Calloway returned to his roots in musical theater in a road version of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess in the role of Sportin' Life. Although he had turned down the role two decades earlier, Calloway claimed that Gershwin tailored Sportin' Life especially to fit his style, and indeed his natural grace in the role led to his appearance in several revivals. Meanwhile, Calloway maintained his touring, although more sporadically, in both the United States and abroad, notably as a halftime performer for the Harlem Globetrotters in the 1960s. By the 1970s, a revived interest in Big Band music helped put Calloway back in the spotlight, resulting in several tours including the nostalgic "Sounds of the Forties" series. Calloway also returned to the stage, this time in an all- black performance of Hello Dolly in 1974. Rather than fade away into retirement, Calloway had made a remarkable comeback.

Calloway's show stopping performance of "Minnie the Moocher" in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers exposed the singer to younger audiences once again. That same year, he was presented with the Ebony Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding career. For audiences young and old, Calloway had in fact become more than just a performer. "I'm a legend", he smilingly admitted to the New York Times in 1988. "You can't be in show business for sixty years and not be a legend." He continued to play a number of engagements, including a Cotton Club revival series and a performance accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra when he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton in 1992. Although a stroke and other health problems reduced Calloway's performing schedule, his attitude remained positive. On November 18, 1994, Calloway passed away at the age of eighty-six. The world had lost not only a singer, a survivor, and a legend, but also a living embodiment of the joy of performing.

Awards

Received Ebony Lifetime Achievement Award, 1980, National Medal of Arts, 1992.

Further Reading

Books

• Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians, edited by Eileen Southern, Glenwood Press, 1982, pp. 61-62.
• Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, Vol. 7, edited by Jack Salzman, David Lionel Smith, and Cornel West, Simon & Schuster, 1996, pp. 487-488.

Periodicals

• Chicago Tribune, July 29, 1990, Section 13, pp. 12.
• New York Times, January 7, 1988, Section C, pp. 18.
• Washington Post, November 20, 1994, Section B, pp.5.

— Shaun Frentner

For more information on Cab Calloway, visit Britannica.com.

Calloway, Cab (Cabell Calloway) (kăl'əwā'), 1907–94, jazz singer and band leader, b. Rochester, N.Y. Known for his inventive creativity, he hired some of the top musicians of his day for his jazz orchestra, including Dizzy Gillespie and Milt Hinton; he also promoted singers Pearl Bailey and Lena Horne. Cab Calloway and his band became famous as a result of radio broadcasts (1931–32) from New York City's Cotton Club and was one of the highest earning bands of the 1930s and 40s. His hits included “Minnie the Moocher” (1931) and “Blues in the Night” (1942). He also appeared in several films.

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