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Cab Calloway

Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 ā€“ 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 (1930sā€“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 1-25 of 80 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 vocalist, director  
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 vocalist, director  
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 vocalist, director  
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 songwriter, director, vocalist  
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 vocalist, director  
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  
(Results 1-25 of 80 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Calloway, Cab," accessed March 29, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103488.

Calloway, Cab. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103488.

"Calloway, Cab." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 29 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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