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Cab Calloway

Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist of the swing era. His niche of mixing jazz and vaudeville won him acclaim during a career that spanned over 65 years.

Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the most popular dance bands in the United States from the early 1930s to the late 1940s. His band included trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Jonah Jones, and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, guitarist Danny Barker, bassist Milt Hinton, and drummer Cozy Cole.

Calloway had several hit records in the 1930s and 1940s, becoming known as the "Hi-de-ho" man of jazz for his most famous song, "Minnie the Moocher", originally recorded in 1931. He reached the Billboard charts in five consecutive decades (1930s–1970s). Calloway also made several stage, film, and television appearances until his death in 1994 at the age of 86. He had roles in Stormy Weather (1943), Porgy and Bess (1953), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), and Hello Dolly! (1967). His career saw renewed interest when he appeared in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.

Calloway was the first African-American musician to sell a million records from a single and to have a nationally syndicated radio show. In 1993, Calloway received the National Medal of Arts from the United States Congress. He posthumously received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. His song "Minnie the Moocher" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, and added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2019. Three years later in 2022, the National Film Registry selected his home films for preservation as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant films". He is also inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame and the International Jazz Hall of Fame.

Birth and Death Data: Born December 25, 1907 (Rochester), Died November 18, 1994 (Hockessin)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1930 - 1961

Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, leader, director, songwriter, composer, lyricist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 51-75 of 80 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Brunswick E36213 10-in. 3/3/1931 Doin’ the rumba Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Brunswick E36665 10-in. 4/28/1931 Minnie the Moocher Earl Jackson and his Musical Champions [Mills Blue Rhythm Band] Jazz/dance band, with vocal (scat) songwriter  
Brunswick E36803 10-in. 6/11/1931 Black rhythm Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Brunswick E36804 10-in. 6/11/1931 Six or seven times Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Brunswick E37220 10-in. 9/23/1931 Bugle call rag Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Brunswick E37221 10-in. 9/23/1931 You rascal, you Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Brunswick E37265 10-in. 10/21/1931 Ain’t got no gal in this town Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Brunswick E37266 10-in. 10/21/1931 Between the devil and the deep blue sea Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Brunswick E37267 10-in. 10/21/1931 Trickeration Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Brunswick E37268 10-in. 10/21/1931 Kickin’ the gong around Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Decca 109760 10/20/1960 Lost weekend Cab Calloway Orchestra vocalist  
Decca 109761 10/20/1960 Dancing man Cab Calloway Orchestra vocalist  
Decca 109762 10/20/1960 I'll follow you Cab Calloway Orchestra vocalist  
Decca 109763 10/20/1960 Just wait Cab Calloway Orchestra vocalist  
Decca 111171 10/4/1961 Basin Street blues Cab Calloway Orchestra vocalist  
Decca 111172 10/4/1961 The birth of the blues Cab Calloway Orchestra vocalist  
Decca 111173 10/4/1961 Blues in the night Cab Calloway Orchestra vocalist  
Decca 111174 10/4/1961 I get the blues when it rains Cab Calloway Orchestra vocalist  
Decca 111175 10/6/1961 Blue prelude Cab Calloway Orchestra vocalist  
Decca 111176 10/6/1961 Don't worry 'bout me Cab Calloway Orchestra vocalist  
Decca 111177 10/6/1961 I gotta right to sing the blues Cab Calloway Orchestra vocalist  
Decca 111178 10/6/1961 Cry me a river Cab Calloway Orchestra vocalist  
Decca 111179 10/10/1961 St. Louis blues Cab Calloway Orchestra vocalist  
Decca 111180 10/10/1961 One for my baby (and one more for the road) Cab Calloway Orchestra vocalist  
Decca 111181 10/10/1961 Learnin' the blues Cab Calloway Orchestra vocalist  
(Results 51-75 of 80 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Calloway, Cab," accessed April 25, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103488.

Calloway, Cab. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 25, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103488.

"Calloway, Cab." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103488

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