Cab Calloway

Cab Calloway -- the legendary "Hi De Ho" man -- was a energetic showman, gifted singer, and talented actor. A truly larger than life figure in American pop culture, immortalized in cartoons and caricatures, Calloway also led one of the greatest bands of the Swing Era.

The middle-class Calloway family hoped their son would become a lawyer like his father. But young Cabell, born in Rochester, New York, on Christmas Day in 1907, and raised primarily in Baltimore, Maryland, wanted to be an entertainer. Cab did attend law school in Chicago, but the hours past sunset found him performing in local nighclubs.It was in such a club where he met trumpeter Louis Armstrong, who taught him to sing in the scat style. Eventually, Cab left law school to sing with a band called the Alabamians.

In 1930, the Cotton Club emerged as a hip new club in Harlem known for its lavish stage shows and talented musicians like Duke Ellington. Cab's singing and showmanship captured the attention of the owner and his band was hired to replace the Ellington's band. In 1931, Cab and his manager, Irvin Mills, put together a song that will forever be identified with Calloway -- "Minnie The Moocher." The tune sold over one million copies and the group soon broke every existing record for all-black band audiences.

The success of "Minnie the Moocher" and its steady gig at the Cotton Club had Cab's big band in constant demand. The group spent quite a bit of time on the road and when racism reared its ugly head Cab used proceeds from the Cotton Club and "Minnie" money to travel lavishly by chartered train. Cab's scat singing, dancing, comedic personality and flashy elegance had made him a star and a million-selling recording artist. He continued to perform right up until his death in 1994 at the age of 88.

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A Bee Gezindt - 1940

A Chicken ain't nothing but A Bird - 1935

A Ghost of a Chance - 1940

Bugle Call Rag - 1931

Bye Bye Blues - 1940

Calloway Boogie - 1947

Everybody eats when They come to My House - 1947

Fifteen Minute Intermission - 1940

Hey Now - Hey Now - 1946

Hi De Ho Man - 1947

Honey Dripper - 1945

Hoy Hoy - 1938

I ain't got Nobody - 1935

I want to Rock - 1942

I'll be around - 1942

Jumpin' Jive - 1939

Jungle King - 1947

Manhattan Jam - 1937

Minnie the Moocher - 1932

Moon Glow - 1934

My Gal - 1941

Nagasak - 1935

Oh Grandpa - 1947

Pluckin' the Bass - 1939

San Francisco_Fan - 1947

St. James Infirmary - 1934

Take the "A" Train - 1941

Two blocks down turn left - 1947

Weakness - 1934

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cab calloway

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