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name	Cab Calloway
background	solo_singer
birth name	Cabell Calloway III
born	December 25, 1907Rochester, New York, U.S.
died	November 18, 1994Hockessin, Delaware, U.S.
instrument	Vocals
genre	Jazz, blues
occupation	Bandleader, singer-songwriter
years active	1930–1994
website	http://www.cabcalloway.com}}

Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader.

Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States' most popular African American big bands from the start of the 1930s through the late 1940s. Calloway's band featured performers including trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, New Orleans guitar ace Danny Barker, and bassist Milt Hinton. Calloway continued to perform until his death in 1994 at the age of 86.

Biography

Early years

Cab Calloway was born in a middle-class family in Rochester, New York, on Christmas Day in 1907 and lived there until 1918, on Sycamore Street. He was later raised in Baltimore, Maryland. His father, Cabell Calloway II, was a lawyer and his mother, Martha Eulalia Reed, was a teacher and church organist. When Cab was young, he enjoyed singing in church. His parents recognized their son's musical talent and he began private voice lessons in 1922. He continued to study music and voice throughout his formal schooling. Despite his parents' and vocal teachers' disapproval of jazz, Calloway began frequenting and eventually performing in many of Baltimore's jazz clubs, where he was mentored by drummer Chick Webb and pianist Johnny Jones.

After graduating from Frederick Douglass High School Calloway joined his older sister, Blanche, in a touring production of the popular black musical revue ''Plantation Days.'' (Blanche Calloway herself would become an accomplished bandleader before her brother, and he would often credit her as his inspiration for entering show business.) Calloway attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, but left in 1930 without graduating.

When the tour ended in Chicago in the fall, Calloway decided to remain in Chicago with his sister, who had an established career as a jazz singer in that city. His parents had hopes of their son becoming a lawyer like his father, so Calloway enrolled in Crane College. His main interest, however, was in singing and entertaining, and he spent most of his nights at the Dreamland Ballroom, the Sunset Cafe, and the Club Berlin, performing as a drummer, singer and emcee.

At the Sunset Cafe he met and performed with Louis Armstrong who taught him to sing in the "scat" style.

Success

The Cotton Club was the premier jazz venue in the country, and Calloway and his orchestra (he had taken over a brilliant but failing band called "The Missourians" in 1930) were hired as a replacement for the Duke Ellington Orchestra while they were touring. Calloway quickly proved so popular that his band became the "co-house" band with Ellington's, and his group began touring nationwide when not playing the Cotton Club. Their popularity was greatly enhanced by the twice-weekly live national radio broadcasts on NBC at the Cotton Club. Calloway also appeared on Walter Winchell's radio program and with Bing Crosby in his show at New York's Paramount Theatre. As a result of these appearances, Calloway, together with Ellington, broke the major broadcast network color barrier.

Like other bands fronted by a singing bandleader, Calloway initially gave ample soloist space to its lead members and, through the varied arrangements of Walter 'Foots' Thomas, provided much more in the way of musical interest. Many of his records were "vocal specialities" with Calloway's vocal taking up the majority of the record.

In 1931 he recorded his most famous song, "Minnie the Moocher". That song, along with "St. James Infirmary Blues" and "The Old Man Of The Mountain," were performed for the Betty Boop animated shorts ''Minnie the Moocher'', ''Snow White'' and ''The Old Man of the Mountain'', respectively. Through rotoscoping, Calloway not only gave his voice to these cartoons, but his dance steps as well. He took advantage of this and timed his concerts in some communities with the release of the films in order to make the most of the attention. As a result of the success of "Minnie the Moocher," he became identified with its chorus, gaining the nickname "The Hi De Ho Man". He also performed in a series of short films for Paramount in the 1930s. (Calloway and Ellington were featured on film more than any other jazz orchestras of the era.) In these films, Calloway can be seen performing a gliding backstep dance move, the precursor to Michael Jackson's "moonwalk"—Calloway said fifty years later, "it was called The Buzz back then." The 1933 film, International House featured Calloway performing his classic song, "Reefer Man," a tune about a man who favors marijuana cigarettes.

Calloway made his "first proper Hollywood movie appearance" opposite Al Jolson in ''The Singing Kid'' in 1936. He sang a number of duets with Jolson, and the film included Calloway's band and cast of twenty-two Cotton Club dancers from New York. According to music historian Arthur Knight, the film aimed in part "to both erase and celebrate boundaries and differences, including most emphatically the color line." He also notes that "when Calloway begins singing in his characteristic style – in which the words are tools for exploring rhythm and stretching melody – it becomes clear that American culture is changing around Jolson and with (and through) Calloway. . ."

Calloway's was one of the most popular American jazz bands of the 1930s, recording prolifically for Brunswick and the ARC dime store labels (Banner, Cameo, Conqueror, Perfect, Melotone, Banner, Oriole, etc.) from 1930–1932, when he signed with Victor for a year. He was back on Brunswick in late 1934 through 1936, when he signed with manager Irving Mills's short-lived Variety in 1937, and stayed with Mills when the label collapsed and the sessions were continued on Vocalion through 1939, and then OKeh through 1942. After the recording ban due to the 1942-44 musicians' strike ended, he continued to record prolifically.

Calloway's vocal style is a blend of hot scat singing and improvisation coupled with a very traditional vaudeville-like singing style. Many of his ballads are devoid of tone bending jazz styling.

In 1941 Calloway fired Dizzy Gillespie from his orchestra after an onstage fracas erupted when Calloway was hit with spitballs. He wrongly accused Gillespie, who stabbed Calloway in the leg with a small knife.

In 1943 Calloway appeared in the high-profile 20th Century Fox musical film, ''Stormy Weather''.

In 1944 ''The New Cab Calloway's Hepsters Dictionary: Language of Jive'' was published, an update of an earlier book in which Calloway set about translating jive for fans who might not know, for example, that "kicking the gong around" was a reference to smoking opium.

Later years

In the 1950s Calloway moved his family from Long Island, New York to Greenburgh, New York, to raise the three youngest of his five daughters.

In his later career Calloway appeared in a number of films and stage productions that utilized both his acting and singing talents. In 1952 he played the prominent role of "Sportin' Life" in a production of the Gershwin opera ''Porgy and Bess'' with William Warfield and Leontyne Price as the title characters. Another notable role was "Yeller" in ''The Cincinnati Kid'' (1965), with Steve McQueen, Ann-Margret and Edward G. Robinson. Calloway appeared on the ''Ed Sullivan Show'' on March 19, 1967 with Chris Calloway. In 1967, Calloway co-starred opposite Pearl Bailey as Horace Vandergelder in an all-black cast change of ''Hello, Dolly!'' on Broadway during its original run. It revived flagging business for the show and RCA released a new cast recording, rare for the time. In 1973–1974, Calloway was featured in an unsuccessful Broadway revival of ''The Pajama Game'' alongside Hal Linden and Barbara McNair.

1976 saw the release of his autobiography, ''Of Minnie The Moocher And Me'' (Crowell). It included his complete ''Hepsters Dictionary'' as an appendix.

Calloway attracted renewed interest in 1980 when he appeared as a supporting character in the film ''The Blues Brothers'', performing "Minnie the Moocher", and again when he sang "The Jumpin' Jive" with the Two-Headed Monster on ''Sesame Street''. This was also the year the cult movie ''Forbidden Zone'' was released, which included rearrangements of, and homages to, Calloway songs written by Danny Elfman, a Calloway fan.

Calloway helped establish the Cab Calloway Museum at Coppin State College (Baltimore, Maryland) in the 1980s, and Bill Cosby helped establish a scholarship in Calloway's name at the New School for Social Research New York City. In 1994, a creative and performing arts school, the Cab Calloway School of the Arts, was dedicated in his name in Wilmington, Delaware.

In 1986, Calloway appeared at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s ''WrestleMania 2'' as a guest judge for a boxing match between Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mr. T that took place at the Nassau Coliseum. Also in 1986, he headlined to great success a gala ball for 4,000 celebrating the grand opening of one of the top hotels in the US at the time, the Dallas-based Rosewood Hotel Co.'s Hotel Crescent Court in Dallas, Texas. In 1990, he was the focus of Janet Jackson's 1930s-themed music video "Alright", appearing as himself at the end. In the United Kingdom, he also appeared in several commercials for the Hula Hoops snack, both as himself and as a voice for a cartoon (in one of these commercials he sang his hit "Minnie The Moocher"). He also made an appearance at the Apollo Theatre.

In May 1994, Calloway suffered a stroke. He died six months later on November 18, 1994. His body was cremated and his ashes were given to his family. Upon the death of his wife Zulme "Nuffie" Calloway on October 13, 2008, his ashes were interred next to her at Ferncliffe Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.

Honors

In 1993, the University of Rochester presented Calloway with the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts.

In 1993, he was presented with the National Medal of Arts. In 1998, The Cab Calloway Orchestra (directed by Calloway's grandson C. "CB" Calloway Brooks) was formed to honor his legacy on the national and international levels.

Selected awards and recognitions

Grammy history

{| class=wikitable |- ! Year ! Category ! Title ! Label ! Result ! Notes |- align=center | 2008 | Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award | | | Honoree |- align=center | 1999 | Grammy Hall of Fame Award | Minnie the Moocher | Brunswick (1931) | Inducted | Jazz (Single) |- align=center |}

Other honors

{| class=wikitable ! Year ! Category ! Title ! Result ! Notes |- align=center | 1987 | Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame | | Inducted |- align=center | 1967 | Best Performances | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Winner | Hello, Dolly Musical |- align=center |}

Stage appearances

''Porgy and Bess'' (1953)

''Hello, Dolly!'' (replacement in 1967)

''The Pajama Game'' (1973)

''Bubbling Brown Sugar'' (1976)

''Uptown...It's Hot!'' (1986)

Filmography

;Features:

''The Big Broadcast'' (1932)

''International House'' (1933)

''The Singing Kid'' (1936)

''Manhattan Merry-Go-Round'' (1937)

''Stormy Weather'' (1943)

''Sensations of 1945'' (1944)

''Ebony Parade'' (1947)

''Hi De Ho'' (1947)

''Rhythm and Blues Revue'' (1955)

''St. Louis Blues'' (1958)

''Schlager-Raketen'' (1960)

''The Cincinnati Kid'' (1965)

''The Blues Brothers'' (1980)

;Short Subjects:

''Minnie the Moocher'' (1932)

''Snow-White'' (1933) (voice)

''The Old Man of the Mountain'' (1933)

''Betty Boop's Rise to Fame'' (1934) (voice)

''Cab Calloway's Hi-De-Ho'' (1934)

''Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party'' (1935)

''Hi De Ho'' (1937)

''Mother Goose Goes Hollywood'' (1938)

''Meet the Maestros'' (1938)

''Caldonia'' (1945)

''Basin Street Revue'' (1956)

References

External links

Cab Calloway at Notable Names Database

Cab Calloway at This Joint Is Jumpin'

Cab Calloway complete discography (albums only)

The Official Homepage of The Cab Calloway Orchestra, directed by Christopher Brooks (including a list of all recordings)

The Dreamland Ballroom Website

The Hi de Ho Blog, French website dedicated to Cab, his musicians and the Swing era

YouTube video: Cab Calloway - Reefer Man.

''Jazz, the Rough Guide'' by Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather and Brian Priestly; Penguin Books, 1995; pp. 96–97; ISBN 1-85828-137-7

NPR's "Jazz profiles"

Cab Calloway: 'A Hi De Ho Centennial' another program in NPR's "Jazz Profiles" series

"Cab Calloway: Original Rapper", ''PopMatters'' column (11/2005)

1931 German broadcast recording of a live performance in Cotton Club, New York City

Music from Internet Archive

Category:1907 births Category:1994 deaths Category:African American musicians Category:American dancers Category:American Episcopalians Category:American jazz bandleaders Category:American jazz singers Category:Big band bandleaders Category:Converts to Anglicanism Category:Deaths from stroke Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Jive singers Category:Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni Category:People from Baltimore, Maryland Category:People from New Castle County, Delaware Category:People from Rochester, New York Category:Swing bandleaders Category:Bell Records artists Category:Vocalion Records artists Category:Swing singers Category:Vaudeville performers Category:Scat singers

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