Cab Calloway | |
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 Calloway byWilliam Gottlieb, 1947 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Cabell Calloway III (1907-12-25)December 25, 1907[1] Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Died | November 18, 1994(1994-11-18) (aged 86) Hockessin, Delaware, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1927–1994 |
Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an Americanjazz singer, songwriter andbandleader. He was a regular performer at theCotton Club inHarlem, where he became a popular vocalist of theswing era. His niche of mixing jazz andvaudeville won him acclaim during a career that spanned over 65 years.[2]
Calloway was a master of energeticscat singing and led one of the most populardance bands in the United States from the early 1930s to the late 1940s. His band included trumpetersDizzy Gillespie,Jonah Jones, andAdolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonistsBen Webster andLeon "Chu" Berry, guitaristDanny Barker, bassistMilt Hinton, and drummerCozy Cole.[3]
Calloway had several hit records in the 1930s and 1940s, becoming the firstAfrican-American musician to sell one million copies of a record. He became known as the "Hi-de-ho" man of jazz for his most famous song, "Minnie the Moocher", originally recorded in 1931. He reached theBillboard charts in five consecutive decades (1930s–1970s).[4] Calloway also made several stage, film, and television appearances. He had roles inStormy Weather (1943),Porgy and Bess (1953),The Cincinnati Kid (1965), andHello Dolly! (1967). In the 1980s, Calloway enjoyed a marked career resurgence following his appearance in the musical comedy filmThe Blues Brothers (1980).
Calloway was the first African-American to have a nationally syndicated radio program.[5] In 1993, Calloway received theNational Medal of Arts from theUnited States Congress.[6] He posthumously received theGrammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. His song "Minnie the Moocher" was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame in 1999, and added to theLibrary of Congress'National Recording Registry in 2019.[7] In 2022, theNational Film Registry selected his home films for preservation as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant films".[8] He was inducted into theBig Band and Jazz Hall of Fame and the International Jazz Hall of Fame.
Cabell Calloway III was born inRochester, New York, on December 25, 1907, to anAfrican American family.[9] His father, Cabell Calloway Jr., graduated fromLincoln University of Pennsylvania in 1898. His mother, Martha Eulalia Reed, was aMorgan State College graduate, teacher, and church organist,[10][11] and worked as a lawyer and in real estate. The family moved toBaltimore, Maryland, in 1919.[12] Soon after, his father died and his mother remarried to John Nelson Fortune.[13]
Calloway grew up in the West Baltimore neighborhood of Druid Hill. He often skipped school to earn money by selling newspapers, shining shoes, and cooling down horses at thePimlico racetrack where he developed an interest in racing and gambling on horses.[14][15] After he was caught playing dice on the church steps, his mother sent him toDowningtown Industrial and Agricultural School in 1921, a reform school run by his mother's uncle inChester County, Pennsylvania.[15]Calloway resumed hustling when he returned to Baltimore and worked as a caterer while he improved his education in school.[15] He began private vocal lessons in 1922, and studied music throughout his formal schooling. Despite his parents' and teachers' disapproval ofjazz, he began performing in nightclubs in Baltimore. His mentors included drummerChick Webb and pianist Johnny Jones. Calloway joined his high school basketball team, and in his senior year he started playing professional basketball with the Baltimore Athenians, a team in the Negro Professional Basketball League.[16] He graduated fromFrederick Douglass High School in 1925.[12][17] After this, he spent a short period of time at law school inChicago but left to continue performing in nightclubs.[18]
In 1927, Calloway joined his older sister,Blanche Calloway, on tour for the popular black musical revuePlantation Days.[13] His sister became an accomplished bandleader before he did, and he often credited her as his inspiration for entering show business.[19] Calloway's mother wanted him to be a lawyer like his father, so once the tour ended he enrolled atCrane College in Chicago, but he was more interested in singing and entertaining. While at Crane he refused the opportunity to play basketball for theHarlem Globetrotters to pursue a singing career.[15]
Calloway spent most of his nights at ‘Black and tan clubs’ such as Chicago's Dreamland Café,Sunset Cafe, and Club Berlin, performing as a singer, drummer, and master of ceremonies.[13] At Sunset Cafe, he was an understudy for singerAdelaide Hall. There he met and performed withLouis Armstrong, who taught him to sing in thescat style. He left school to sing with the Alabamians band.[20]
In 1929, Calloway relocated to New York with the band. They opened at theSavoy Ballroom on September 20, 1929. When the Alabamians broke up, Armstrong recommended Calloway as a replacement singer in the musical revueConnie's Hot Chocolates.[13] He established himself as a vocalist singing "Ain't Misbehavin'" byFats Waller.[21] While Calloway was performing in the revue,the Missourians asked him to front their band.[22]
In 1930,the Missourians became known asCab Calloway and His Orchestra. At theCotton Club in Harlem, New York, the band was hired in 1931 to substitute for theDuke Ellington Orchestra while Ellington's band was on tour. Their popularity led to a permanent position. The band also performed twice a week for radio broadcasts onNBC. Calloway appeared on radio programs withWalter Winchell andBing Crosby and was the first African American to have a nationally syndicated radio show.[5] During the depths of theGreat Depression, Calloway was earning $50,000 a year at 23 years old.[21]
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In 1931, Calloway recorded his most famous song, "Minnie the Moocher". It was the first single record by an African American to sell a million copies.[5] Calloway performed the song and two others, "St. James Infirmary Blues" and "The Old Man of the Mountain", in theBetty Boop cartoonsMinnie the Moocher (1932),Snow-White (1933), andThe Old Man of the Mountain (1933). Calloway performed voice-over for these cartoons, and throughrotoscoping, his dance steps were the basis of the characters' movements.[23]
As a result of the success of "Minnie the Moocher", Calloway became identified with its chorus, gaining the nickname "The Hi De Ho Man".[24] He performed in the 1930s in a series of short films forParamount. Calloway's and Ellington's groups 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, which some observers have described as the precursor toMichael Jackson'smoonwalk. Calloway said 50 years later, "it was called The Buzz back then."[25] The 1933 filmInternational House featured Calloway performing his classic song, "Reefer Man", a tune about a man who smokesmarijuana.[26]Fredi Washington was cast as Calloway's love interest inCab Calloway's Hi-De-Ho (1934).[27]Lena Horne made her film debut as a dancer inCab Calloway's Jitterbug Party (1935).[28]
Calloway made his first Hollywoodfeature film appearance oppositeAl Jolson inThe Singing Kid (1936). He sang several duets with Jolson, and the film included Calloway's band and 22 Cotton Club dancers from New York.[29] According to film criticArthur Knight, the creators of the film intended to "erase and celebrate boundaries and differences, including most emphatically the color line...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".[30][31]: watch
In 1938, Calloway releasedCab Calloway's Cat-ologue: A "Hepster's" Dictionary, the first dictionary published by an African American. It became the officialjive language reference book of theNew York Public Library.[32] A revised version of the book was released withProfessor Cab Calloway's Swingformation Bureau in 1939. He released the last edition,The New Cab Calloway's Hepsters Dictionary: Language of Jive, in 1944.[33] On aBBC Radio documentary about the dictionary in 2014, PoetLemn Sissay stated, "Cab Calloway was taking ownership of language for a people who, just a few generations before, had their own languages taken away."[34]
Calloway's band in the 1930s and 1940s included many notable musicians, such asBen Webster,Illinois Jacquet,Milt Hinton,Danny Barker,Doc Cheatham,Ed Swayze,Cozy Cole,Eddie Barefield, andDizzy Gillespie. Calloway later recalled, "What I expected from my musicians was what I was selling: the right notes with precision, because I would build a whole song around a scat or dance step."[21] Calloway and his band formed baseball and basketball teams.[35][36] They played each other while on the road, played against local semi-pro teams, and played charity games.[37]
In 1941, Calloway fired 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.[38]
From 1941 to 1942, Calloway hosted a weekly radio quiz show calledThe Cab Calloway Quizzicale.[39] Calling himself "Doctor" Calloway, it was a parody ofThe College of Musical Knowledge, a radio contest created by bandleaderKay Kyser.[40] During the years ofWorld War II, Calloway entertained troops in United States before they departed overseas.[41] The Calloway Orchestra also recorded songs full of social commentary including "Doing the Reactionary", "TheFührer's Got the Jitters",[42] "The Great Lie", "We'll Gather Lilacs", and "My Lament for V Day".[43]
In 1943, Calloway appeared in the filmStormy Weather, one of the first mainstream Hollywood films with a black cast.[44] The film featured other top performers of the time, includingBill "Bojangles" Robinson, Lena Horne,the Nicholas Brothers, and Fats Waller. Calloway would host Horne's character Selina Rogers as she performed the film's title song as part of a big all-star revue for World War II soldiers.[45]
Calloway wrote a humorous pseudo-gossip column called "Coastin' with Cab" forSong Hits magazine. It was a collection of celebrity snippets, such as the following in the May 1946 issue: "Benny Goodman was dining at Ciro's steak house in New York when a very homely girl entered. 'If her face is her fortune,' Benny quipped, 'she'd be tax-free.'" In the late 1940s, however, Calloway's bad financial decisions and his gambling caused his band to break up.[20]
Calloway and his daughter Lael recorded "Little Child", an adaption of "Little Boy and the Old Man". Released onABC-Paramount, the single charted on theBillboard Hot 100 in 1956.[46][4]
For the second season, Lee Sherman was the choreographer of The Cotton Club Revue of 1958, which starred Calloway. The revue featuredtap dancing prodigiesMaurice Hines andGregory Hines.[47]
In March 1958, Calloway released his albumCotton Club Revue of 1958 onGone Records. It was produced byGeorge Goldner, conducted and arranged by Eddie Barefield. That year, Calloway appeared in the filmSt. Louis Blues, the life story ofW.C. Handy, featuringNat King Cole andEartha Kitt.[48]
The Cotton Club Revue of 1959 traveled to South America for engagements inRio de Janeiro andSão Paulo. They also stopped in Uruguay and Argentina before returning to North America which included a run onBroadway.[49]
Calloway remained a household name due to TV appearances and occasional concerts in the US and Europe. In 1961 and 1962, he toured with the Harlem Globetrotters, providing halftime entertainment during games.[50][51]
Calloway was cast as "Yeller" in the filmThe Cincinnati Kid (1965) withSteve McQueen,Ann-Margret, andEdward G. Robinson. He appeared onThe Ed Sullivan Show on March 19, 1967, with his daughter Chris Calloway.[52] In 1967, he co-starred withPearl Bailey as Horace Vandergelder in an all-black cast ofHello, Dolly! onBroadway during its original run. Chris Calloway also joined the cast as Minnie Fay.[53] The new cast revived the flagging business for the show[54] and RCA Victor released a new cast recording, rare for the time. In 1973–74, Calloway was featured in an unsuccessful Broadway revival ofThe Pajama Game withHal Linden and Barbara McNair.[citation needed]
His autobiography,Of Minnie the Moocher and Me was published in 1976. It included his completeHepster's Dictionary as an appendix. In 1978, Calloway released adisco version of "Minnie the Moocher" on RCA Victor which reached theBillboard R&B chart.[55][4] Calloway was introduced to a new generation when he appeared in the 1980 filmThe Blues Brothers performing "Minnie the Moocher".[3]
In 1985, Calloway and his Orchestra appeared atThe Ritz London Hotel where he was filmed for a 60-minuteBBC TV show calledThe Cotton Club Comes to the Ritz.Adelaide Hall,Doc Cheatham,Max Roach, andthe Nicholas Brothers also appeared on the bill.[56][57] A performance with theCincinnati Pops Orchestra directed byErich Kunzel in August 1988 was recorded on video and features a classic presentation of "Minnie the Moocher", 57 years after he first recorded it.[58]
In January 1990, Calloway performed at theMeyerhoff Symphony Hall, with theBaltimore Symphony.[59] That year he made a cameo inJanet Jackson's music video "Alright".[3][60] He continued to perform at Jazz festivals, including theNew Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Greenwood Jazz.[61][62] In 1992, he embarked on a month-long tour of European jazz festivals.[63] He was booked to headline "The Jazz Connection: The Jewish and African-American Relationship," at New York City'sAvery Fisher Hall in 1993, but he pulled out due to a fall at home.[64]
In January 1927, Calloway had a daughter namedCamay with Zelma Proctor, a fellow student.[65][15] His daughter was one of the first African-Americans to teach in a white school in Virginia.[66] Calloway married his first wife Wenonah "Betty" Conacher in July 1928.[65] They adopted a daughter named Constance and divorced in 1949.[67] Calloway married Zulme "Nuffie" MacNeal on October 7, 1949. They lived inLong Beach on the South Shore ofLong Island, New York, on the border with neighboringLido Beach. In the 1950s, Calloway moved his family toWestchester County, New York, where he and Nuffie raised their daughters Chris Calloway (1945–2008),[68] Cecilia "Lael" Eulalia Calloway,[69] and Cabella Calloway (1952–2023).
Calloway was anEpiscopalian.[70]
In December 1945, Calloway and his friend Felix H. Payne Jr. were beaten by a police officer, William E. Todd, and arrested inKansas City, Missouri after attempting to visit bandleaderLionel Hampton at the whites-only Pla-Mor Ballroom. They were taken to the hospital for injuries, then charged with intoxication and resisting arrest. When Hampton learned of the incident he refused to continue the concert.[71] Todd said he was informed by the manager, who did not recognize Calloway, that they were attempting to enter. He claimed they refused to leave and struck him. Calloway and Payne denied his claims and maintained they had been sober; the charges were dismissed. In February 1946, six civil rights organizations, including theNAACP, demanded that Todd be fired, but he had already resigned after a pay cut.[72]
In 1952, Calloway was arrested inLeesburg, Virginia on his way to the race track inCharles Town, West Virginia. He was charged with speeding and attempted bribery of a policeman.[73]
On June 12, 1994, Calloway suffered astroke at his home in Westchester County, New York.[59] He died five months later from pneumonia on November 18, 1994, at the age of 86, at a nursing home inHockessin, Delaware.[24] A memorial service was held in his honor at Cathedral of St. John the Divine.[74] He was survived by his wife, who died in 2008, five daughters, and seven grandsons. Calloway was buried atFerncliff Cemetery inHartsdale, New York.[14][3]
Music critics have written of his influence on later generations of entertainers such asJames Brown,Michael Jackson, andJanet Jackson, as well as modern-dayhip-hop performers.[75][2]John Landis, who directed Calloway in the 1980 filmThe Blues Brothers, stated, "Cab Calloway is hip-hop."[12] JournalistTimothy White noted inBillboard (August 14, 1993): "No living pathfinder in American popular music or its jazz and rock 'n' roll capillaries is so frequently emulated yet so seldom acknowledged as Cabell "Cab" Calloway. He arguably did more things first and better than any other band leader of his generation."[21]
In 1998, the Cab Calloway Orchestra directed by Calloway's grandson Chris "CB" Calloway Brooks was formed.[76][77] In 2009,Big Bad Voodoo Daddy released an album covering Calloway's music titledHow Big Can You Get?: The Music of Cab Calloway.[78] In 2012, Calloway's legacy was celebrated in an episode ofPBS'sAmerican Masters titled "Cab Calloway: Sketches".[12][75]
In 2019, plans were announced to demolish Calloway's boyhood home at 2216 Druid Hill Avenue in Baltimore, replacing the abandoned structure and the rest of that block with a park to be namedCab Calloway Legends Park in his honor.[79][80] Family members and theNational Trust for Historic Preservation advocated preservation of the house, however, as a significant artifact of African-American cultural heritage. Although the block is designated "historically significant" on theNational Register of Historic Places, Baltimore City officials said at a hearing on July 9, 2019, that there is "extensive structural damage" to the Calloway house as well as adjacent ones.[81] The Commission on Historical and Architectural Preservation's executive director, however, said that properties in worse condition than the Calloway House have been restored with financial support from a city tax credit program. Maryland GovernorLarry Hogan also urged that demolition of the Calloway House be forestalled for its potential preservation as ahistoric house museum akin to theLouis Armstrong House in New York.[5][81] Design options for the planned Cab Calloway Square may include an archway from the facade(pictured) as part of the Square's entrance, as proposed by architects working with Baltimore City and the Druid Heights Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit community-oriented group.[82] Despite objections, the house was razed on September 5, 2020.[83]
In 1985, Town Supervisor Anthony F. Veteran issued a proclamation, declaring a ''Cab Calloway Day'' inGreenburgh, New York.[84]
In 1990, Calloway was presented with the Beacons in Jazz Award fromThe New School in New York City. New York City MayorDavid Dinkins proclaimed the day "Cab Calloway Day".[85]
In 1992, theCab Calloway School of the Arts was founded in Wilmington, Delaware.[86]
In 1994, Calloway's daughterCamay Calloway Murphy founded the Cab Calloway Museum atCoppin State College in Baltimore, Maryland.[87][12]
The New York Racing Association (NYRA) annually honors the jazz legend, a native of Rochester, New York, with a stakes races restricted to New York-bred three-year-olds, as part of their New York Stallion Series. First run in 2003, The Calloway[88] has since undergone various distance and surface changes. The race is currently run at Saratoga Racecourse, Saratoga Springs, New York. The Cab Calloway Stakes celebrated its 13th renewal on July 24, 2019, and was won by Rinaldi.[citation needed]
In 2020 Calloway was inducted into theNational Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.[89]
Calloway received the following accolades:
| Release date | Title | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | "Saint Louis Blues" | 16 |
| 1931 | "Minnie the Moocher" | 1 |
| "Saint James Infirmary" | 3 | |
| "Nobody's Sweetheart" | 13 | |
| "Six or Seven Times" | 14 | |
| "You Rascal, You" | 17 | |
| "Kicking the Gong Around" | 4 | |
| "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" | 15 | |
| "Trickeration" | 8 | |
| 1932 | "Cabin in the Cotton" | 17 |
| "Strictly Cullud Affair" | 11 | |
| "Minnie the Moocher's Wedding Day" | 8 | |
| "Reefer Man" | 11 | |
| "Hot Toddy" | 14 | |
| "I've Got the World on a String" | 18 | |
| 1933 | "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues" | 17 |
| 1934 | "Jitter Bug" | 20 |
| "Moon Glow" | 7 | |
| "Chinese Rhythm" | 7 | |
| 1935 | "Keep That Hi-De-Hi in Your Soul" | 20 |
| 1936 | "You're the Cure for What Ails Me" | 20 |
| "Copper Colored Gal" | 13 | |
| 1937 | "Wake up and Live" | 17 |
| "Congo" | 17 | |
| "Peckin'" | 18 | |
| "She's Tall, She's Tan, She's Terrific" | 17 | |
| "Moon at Sea" | 19 | |
| "Mama, I want to Make Rhythm" | 20 | |
| 1938 | "Every Day's a Holiday" | 18 |
| "Mister Toscanini, Swing for Minnie" | 19 | |
| "F.D.R. Jones" | 14 | |
| "Angels With Dirty Faces" | 3 | |
| 1939 | "The Ghost of Smokey Joe" | 13 |
| "(Hep Hep!) The Jumpin' Jive" | 2 | |
| 1940 | "Fifteen Minute Intermission" | 23 |
| 1941 | "Bye Bye Blues" | 24 |
| "Geechee Joe" | 23 | |
| "I See a Million People" | 23 | |
| 1942 | "Blues in the Night" | 8 |
| 1943 | "Ogeechee River Lullaby" | 18 |
| 1944 | "The Moment I Laid My Eyes on You" | 28 |
| 1945 | "Let's Take the Long Way Home" | 28 |
| 1946 | "The Honeydripper" | 3 (R&B) |
| 1948 | "The Calloway Boogie" | 13 (R&B) |
| 1956 | "Little Child" | 62 |
| 1966 | "History Repeats Itself" | 89 |
| 1978 | "Minnie the Moocher" (disco version) | 91 (R&B) |
| Year | Production | Location | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Porgy and Bess | Ziegfeld Theatre, New York City | Sportin' Life[99][100] | |
| 1967 | Hello, Dolly! | St. James Theatre, New York City | Horace Vandergelder | Cast replacement in November 12, 1967[101] |
| 1973–1974 | The Pajama Game | Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York City | Hines | |
| 1976–1977 | Bubbling Brown Sugar | ANTA Playhouse, New York City | Calloway provided music | [101] |
| 1986 | Uptown...It's Hot! | Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York City | Calloway provided music | [101] |
Features
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Shoot ... We did that back in the 1930s! Only it was called The Buzz back then.
