Cab Calloway
Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 ā November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer, songwriter and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he 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 the first African-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 the Billboard charts in five consecutive decades (1930sā1970s). Calloway also made several stage, film, and television appearances. He had roles in Stormy Weather (1943), Porgy and Bess (1953), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), and Hello Dolly! (1967). In the 1980s, Calloway enjoyed a marked career resurgence following his appearance in the musical comedy film The Blues Brothers (1980). Calloway was the first African-American to have a nationally syndicated radio program. 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. In 2022, the National Film Registry selected his home films for preservation as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant films". He was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame and the International Jazz Hall of Fame. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Rochester (county seat of Monroe County, New York, United States), Died November 18, 1994 (Hockessin (census designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States) )
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 1-25 of 168 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | CRC-53039 | 12-in. | 4/20/1931 | I'll make fun of you | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra ; Hellmut H. Hellmut | Radio broadcast : Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo, and announcements | director | |
| Victor | CRC-53040 | 12-in. | 4/21/1931 | Something to remember you by [conclusion] | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra ; Hellmut H. Hellmut | Radio broadcast : Jazz/dance band, with female and male vocal solos, and announcements | director, vocalist | |
| Victor | CRC-53041 | 12-in. | 4/21/1931 | The mystery song | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra ; Hellmut H. Hellmut | Radio broadcast : Tap dancing with piano, jazz/dance band with male vocal solo, and announcements | director, vocalist | |
| Victor | CRC-53042 | 12-in. | 4/21/1931 | St. Louis blues [conclusion] | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra ; Hellmut H. Hellmut | Radio broadcast : Jazz/dance band with male vocal solo, male vocal trio with piano, and announcements | director, vocalist | |
| Victor | CRC-53043 | 12-in. | 4/21/1931 | Farewell blues | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra ; Hellmut H. Hellmut | Radio broadcast : Jazz/dance band, and announcements | director | |
| Victor | ABRC-64084 | 10-in. | 4/2/1931 | Minnie the Moocher | Five Rhythm Kings | Jazz/dance band, with vocal solo | songwriter | |
| Victor | ABRC-64087 | 10-in. | 4/2/1931 | Minnie the moocher | Five Rhythm Kings | Jazz/dance band, with vocal solo | songwriter | |
| Victor | BRC-69980 | 10-in. | 6/26/1931 | Minnie the Moocher | Chick Bullock ; Mills Blue Rhythm Band | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet and vocal chorus | songwriter | |
| Victor | BRC-72560 | 10-in. | 5/10/1932 | The scat song | Billy Banks Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
| Victor | BS-74732 | 10-in. | 12/27/1932 | The scat song | The Sizzlers | Male vocal trio, with piano | composer | |
| Victor | BS-77684 | 10-in. | 9/18/1933 | Evenin' | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director, vocalist | |
| Victor | BS-77685 | 10-in. | 9/18/1933 | I learned about love from her | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, director | |
| Victor | BS-77697 | 10-in. | 9/21/1933 | Little town gal | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, director | |
| Victor | BS-77698 | 10-in. | 9/21/1933 | Harlem hospitality | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, director | |
| Victor | BS-78503 | 10-in. | 11/2/1933 | The lady with the fan | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal chorus | director, vocalist, songwriter | |
| Victor | BS-78504 | 10-in. | 11/2/1933 | Harlem camp meeting | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal chorus | director, vocalist | |
| Victor | BS-78505 | 10-in. | 11/2/1933 | Zaz zuh zaz | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal chorus | director, vocalist, songwriter | |
| Victor | BS-78506 | 10-in. | 11/2/1933 | Father's got his glasses on | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, director | |
| Victor | BVE-78866 | 10-in. | 12/18/1933 | Minnie the Moocher | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and chorus | director, vocalist, songwriter | |
| Victor | BVE-78867 | 10-in. | 12/18/1933 | The scat song | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and chorus | director, vocalist, composer | |
| Victor | BS-78868 | 10-in. | 12/18/1933 | Kicking the gong around | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and chorus | director, vocalist | |
| Victor | BVE-78869 | 10-in. | 12/18/1933 | There's a cabin in the cotton | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra ; Bennie Payne | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet | director, vocalist | |
| Victor | BS-81088 | 10-in. | 1/22/1934 | 'Long about midnight | Cotton Club Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director, vocalist | |
| Victor | BS-81089 | 10-in. | 1/22/1934 | Moon glow | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director | |
| Victor | BS-81090 | 10-in. | 1/22/1934 | Jitter bug | Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal ensemble | director, songwriter, vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Calloway, Cab," accessed January 3, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103488.
Calloway, Cab. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 3, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103488.
"Calloway, Cab." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 3 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Cab Calloway
Discogs: Cab Calloway
Allmusic: Cab Calloway
Apple Music: Cab Calloway
Grove: Cab Calloway
RILM: Cab Calloway
IMDb: Cab Calloway
Britannica: Cab Calloway
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Calloway, Cab, 1907-1994 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82020542
Wikidata: Cab Calloway - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q273079
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/114594703
MusicBrainz: Cab Calloway - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/315bd083-892b-4e76-a9f0-91a7408168fc
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/87231 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/87231
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