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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 26-50 of 80 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-81093 10-in. 1/23/1934 Hotcha razz-ma-tazz Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo vocalist, director  
Victor BS-81094 10-in. 1/23/1934 Margie Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo director, vocalist  
Victor BS-81095 10-in. 1/23/1934 Emaline Cab Calloway ; Cotton Club Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo director, vocalist  
Victor BS-028136 10-in. 10/20/1938 Big mouth Minnie Peg LaCentra ; Jerry Sears Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor BS-037631 10-in. 6/13/1939 The jumpin' jive (Jim, jam, jump) Lionel Hampton Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor BS-037738 10-in. 6/21/1939 The jumpin' jive (Jim jam jump) Butch Stone ; Van Alexander Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor BS-048482 10-in. 3/30/1940 Boog-it Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Marion Hutton Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo lyricist  
Victor BS-051524 10-in. 6/19/1940 Topsy-turvy Earl Hines Orchestra ; Walter Fuller Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor D9AB-1185 10-in. 8/18/1949 Ol' Joe Louis (He's still the king of them all) Cab Drivers ; Cab Calloway Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble vocalist, leader  
Victor D9AB-1186 10-in. 8/18/1949 Your voice Cab Drivers ; Cab Calloway Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble vocalist, leader  
Victor D9AB-2285 10-in. 9/29/1949 Rooming house boogie Cab Jivers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Victor D9AB-2286 10-in. 9/29/1949 I beeped when I shoulda bopped Cab Jivers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Columbia W152145 10-in. 3/17/1932 Minnie the Moocher Log Cabin Four Male vocal quartet songwriter  
Columbia C3519 10-in. 1/16/1941 Willow weep for me Cab Calloway Orchestra ; Cab Calloway ; Hilton Jefferson Jazz/dance band leader  
Columbia 29867 10-in. 3/5/1941 Jonah joins the Cab Cab Calloway Orchestra ; Cab Calloway ; Cab Calloway ; Jonah Jones Jazz/dance bandJazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, composer, vocalist  
Brunswick E33353 10-in. 7/24/1930 Gotta darn good reason now (For bein’ good) Jungle Band [Cab Calloway Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo vocalist, leader  
Brunswick E33354 10-in. 7/24/1930 I’ll be a friend with pleasure Jungle Band Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo vocalist  
Brunswick E33355 10-in. 7/24/1930 St. Louis blues Jungle Band [Cab Calloway Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo vocalist, leader  
Brunswick E35878 10-in. 12/23/1930 Is that religion? Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Brunswick E35879 10-in. 12/23/1930 Is that religion? Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Brunswick E35880 10-in. 12/23/1930 Some of these days Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Brunswick E35881 10-in. 12/23/1930 Nobody’s sweetheart Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo vocalist, leader  
Brunswick E35882 10-in. 12/23/1930 St. James’ Infirmary Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Brunswick E35985 10-in. 3/30/1931 Straddle the fence Chocolate Dandies [Mills Blue Rhythm Band] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Brunswick E36212 10-in. 3/3/1931 Minnie the moocher Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo vocalist, director  
(Results 26-50 of 80 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Calloway, Cab," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103488.

Calloway, Cab. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103488.

"Calloway, Cab." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103488

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