CAB CALLOWAY

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Cab Calloway (December 25, 1907------------------November 18, 1994) was a famous American jazz singer and bandleader. Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States' most popular African American big bands from the start of the 1930s through the late 1940s. Calloway's Orchestra featured performers that included trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, New Orleans guitar ace Danny Barker, and bassist Milt Hinton. Calloway continued to perform right up until his death in 1994 at the age of 86. .. .. /Calloway was born Cabell Calloway III in a middle-class family in Rochester, New York, and raised primarily in Baltimore, Maryland. His father, Cabell Calloway II, was a lawyer, and his mother, Martha Eulalia Reed, was a teacher and church organist. His parents recognized their son's musical talent, and he began private voice lessons in 1922. He continued to study music and voice throughout his formal schooling. Despite his parents' and vocal teachers' disapproval of jazz, Calloway began frequenting and eventually performing in many of Baltimore's jazz clubs, where he was mentored by drummer Chick Webb and pianist Johnny Jones. / / /After graduating from high school Cab joined his older sister, Blanche, in a touring production of the popular black musical revue Plantation Days (Blanche Calloway herself would become an accomplished bandleader before her brother did, and Cab would often credit his inspiration to enter show business to her). Cab attended Lincoln University, PA , and left in 1930 without graduating. / / /When the tour ended in Chicago in the fall, Cab decided to remain in Chicago with his sister, who had an established career as a jazz singer in that city. His parents had hopes of their son becoming a lawyer like his father, so Calloway enrolled in Crane College. / / /
His main interest, however, was in singing and entertaining, and he spent most of his nights at the Dreamland Cafe the Sunset Cafe and the Club Berlin, performing as a drummer, singer and emcee. / / /At the Sunset Cafe he met and performed with Louis Armstrong who taught him to sing in the "scat" style. / / /The Cotton Club was the premier jazz venue in the country, and Cab Calloway and his Orchestra (he had taken over a brilliant but failing band called "The Missourians" in 1930) were hired as a replacement for the Duke Ellington Orchestra while they were touring. (There is some speculation that Mafia pressure was responsible for Cab's hiring.)[citation needed] Calloway quickly proved so popular that his band became the "co-house" band with Ellington's, and Cab and his group began touring nationwide when not playing the Cotton Club. Their popularity was greatly enhanced by the twice-weekly live national radio broadcasts on NBC at the Cotton Club. Calloway also appeared on Walter Winchell's radio program and with Bing Crosby in his show at the Paramount Theatre. As a result of these appearances, Calloway, together with Ellington, broke the major broadcast network color barrier. / / /Unlike many other bands of comparable commercial success, Calloway's gave ample soloing space to its lead members, and, through the varied arrangements of Walter 'Foots' Thomas, provided much more in the way of musical interest. / / /In 1931, he recorded his most famous song, "Minnie the Moocher". That song, "St. James Infirmary Blues", and "The Old Man Of The Mountain" were performed for the Betty Boop animated shorts Minnie the Moocher, Snow White and The Old Man of the Mountain, respectively. Through the magic of rotoscoping, Cab not only gave his voice to these cartoons but his dance steps as well. Cab took advantage of this and timed his concerts in some communities with the release of the films in order to make the most of the attention. As a result of the success of "Minnie the Moocher" he became identified with its chorus, gaining the nickname "The Hi De Ho Man." In 1943 he appeared in the high-profile 20th Century Fox musical film, Stormy Weather. / / /In 1941 Cab Calloway fired Dizzy Gillespie from his Orchestra after an onstage fracas erupted when Calloway was hit with spitballs. He wrongly accused Gillespie, who stabbed Calloway in the leg with a small knife. / / /In 1944, The New Cab Calloway's Hepsters Dictionary: Language of Jive was published, an update of an earlier book in which Cab set about translating jive for fans who might not know, for example, that "kicking the gong around" was a reference to smoking opium. / / /
In the 1950s, Calloway moved his family from Long Island, NY, to Greenburgh, NY to raise the three youngest of his five daughters. / / /In his later career, Calloway became a popular personality, appearing in a number of films and stage productions that utilized both his acting and singing talents. In 1952, he played the prominent role of "Sportin' Life" in a production of the Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess with William Warfield and Leontyne Price as the title characters. Another notable role was "Yeller" in The Cincinnati Kid (1965), with Steve McQueen, Ann-Margret and Edward G. Robinson. / / /In 1967 Calloway co-starred as Horace Vandergelder in an all-black revival of Hello, Dolly! (even though the original production was still running!) starring Pearl Bailey. This was a major success and led to a cast recording released by RCA. In 1973-1974 he was featured in an unsuccessful Broadway revival of The Pajama Game alongside Hal Linden and Barbara McNair. / / /1976 saw the release of his autobiography, Of Minnie The Moocher And Me (Crowell). It included his complete Hepsters Dictionary as an appendix. / / /Calloway attracted renewed interest in 1980 when he appeared as a supporting character in the film The Blues Brothers, performing "Minnie The Moocher", and again when he sang "The Jumpin' Jive" with the Two-Headed Monster on Sesame Street. This was also the year cult movie Forbidden Zone was released, which included rearrangements and parodies of Cab Calloway songs written by Danny Elfman, a Calloway fan. / / /Calloway helped establish the Cab Calloway Museum at Coppin State College (Baltimore, Maryland) in the 1980s and Bill Cosby helped establish a scholarship in Cab Calloway's name at the New School of Social Research New York City. In 1994, a creative and performing arts school Cab Calloway School of the Arts was dedicated in his name in Wilmington, Delaware. / / /In 1986, Calloway appeared at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s WrestleMania 2 as a guest judge for a boxing match between Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mr. T that took place Nassau Coliseum and in 1990 made a cameo in Janet Jackson's video for "Alright". In the United Kingdom he also appeard in several commercials for the Hula Hoops snack, both as himself and as a voice for a cartoon (in one of these commercials he sang his hit "Minnie The Moocher"). He also made an appearance at the Apollo Theater. / / /On November 18, 1994, Calloway died after having suffered a major stroke six months previously. In 1998, The Cab Calloway Orchestra (directed by Cab's grandson C. "CB" Calloway Brooks [1]) was formed to honor Cab Calloway's legacy on the national and international levels. / / /
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Cab Calloway nació bajo el nombre Cabell Calloway III en una familia de clase media en Rochester, Nueva York, y fue criado principalmente en Baltimore, Maryland. Su padre, Cabell Calloway II, era abogado, y su madre Martha Eulalia Reed era profesora y pianista de iglesia. Los padres reconocieron el talento musical de su hijo, y recibió clases privadas de canto en 1922. Continuó estudiando música y canto a lo largo de su vida escolar. Aunque sus padres y profesores de canto no aprovaban el jazz, Calloway comenzó a frecuentar y finalmente a interpretar en varios clubes de jazz en Baltimore, donde sus mentores se convirtieron en el baterista Chick Webb y el pianista Johnny Jones.Tras graduarse de la educación secundaria Cab se unió a su hermana mayor, Blanche, en la realización de un tour de la revista de música afroamericana Plantation Days (Blanche Calloway se transformaría en líder de banda luego que su hermano lo hiciera, y Cab la acreditaría a ella como la inspiración a entrar al negocio del espectáculo).Cuando el tour finalizó en Chicago, Cab decidió permanecer en Chicago junto a su hermana, quien tenía ya una carrera como cantante de jazz en esa ciudad. Sus padres esperaban que Cab se convirtiera en abogado como su padre, por lo que Calloway estudió en Crane College.Su mayor interés, sin embargo, era cantar y trabajar en el espectáculo, por lo que pasó varias noches en el Dreamland Cafe y Sunset Cafe, donde participó como baterista, cantante y MC.En el Sunset Cafe conoció y tocó junto a Louis Armstrong quien lo convenció de cantar en el estilo "scat".Llegó a la zona una gira de jazz, y la orquesta de Cab Calloway fue contratada para reemplazar a la de Duke Ellington mientras estuvieran en la gira. Calloway rápidamente adquirió popularidad y la banda se volvió en una de las principales de la gira junto a la de Ellington, Cab y su grupo tocaron a lo largo del país mientras no actuaban en el Cotton Club. Su popularidad creció con las transmisiones radiales de la NBC en el Cotton Club. Calloway además apareció en el programa de radio de Walter Winchelly en el show de Bing Crosby en el Paramount Theatre. Como resultado de estas apariciones, Calloway, junto a Ellington, rompieron la barrera racial existente en el espectáculo.En 1931, grabó una de sus canciones más famosas, "Minnie the Moocher". Esa canción, "St. James Infirmary Blues" y "The Old Man Of The Mountain" fueron interpretadas en los cortometrajes animados de Betty Boop Minnie the Moocher, Snow White y The Old Man of the Mountain, respectivamente. Gracias a la magia del thaumatropio, Cab no solo aportó con su voz para estos dibujos animados, sino que también sus pasos de baile. Cab se aprovechó de esto haciendo coincidir la fecha de sus conciertos con los estrenos de estos cortometrajes para ganar mayor atención. Debido al éxito de "Minnie the Moocher" fue identificado por su coro, ganando el apodo "The Hi De Ho Man." En 1943 apareció en la película musical de 20th Century Fox, Stormy Weather.En 1941 Cab Calloway echó a Dizzy Gillespie de su orquesta luego que reaccionara violentamente cuando Calloway fue escupido mientras estaba en el escenario. Acusó erróneamente a Gillespie, quien amenazó a Calloway con un cuchillo.En 1944, fue publicado el The New Cab Calloway's Hepsters Dictionary: Language of Jive, nueva versión de un libro en el cual Cab tradujo para sus fanáticos algunas frases que probablemente no conocían, por ejemplo, "dar puntapiés al gong" ("kicking the gong around") era una referencia a fumar opio.En los años 50, Calloway trasladó a su familia de Long Island, NY, a Greenburgh, NY para criar a tres de sus cinco hijas.Calloway se volvió muy popular durante este tiempo, apareciendo en varias películas donde requerían de su voz y pasos de baile. En 1952, interpretó a "Spotin' Life" en una producción de la ópera de George Gershwin Porgy and Bess con William Warfield y Leontyne Price como artistas principales. Otro papel notable fue "Yeller" en The Cincinnati Kid (1965), con Steve McQueen, Ann-Margret y Edward G. Robinson.En 1967 Calloway protagonizó mediante el personaje Horace Vandergelder una nueva versión del musical Hello, Dolly! (aún cuando todavía existía el original) junto a Pearl Bailey. El éxito permitió una versión grabada por RCA. Entre 1973 y 1974 participó en The Pajama Game de Broadway junto a Hal Linden y Barbara McNair.En 1976 fue lanzada su autobiografía, Of Minnie The Moocher And Me (Crowell). Que incluía su diccionario completo como apéndice.Calloway llamó nuevamente la atención en 1980 cuando apareció en la película The Blues Brothers, como "Minnie The Moocher", y nuevamente cuando cantó "The Jumpin' Jive" con el monstruo de dos cabezas en Sesame Street.Calloway ayudó a crear el Museo Cab Calloway en el Coppin State College (Baltimore, Maryland) en los años 80 y Bill Cosby ayudó a crear una beca bajo el nombre de Calloway en el New School of Social Research New York City. En 1994, una escuela de arte llamada Cab Calloway School of the Arts fue dedicada en su nombre en Wilmington, Delaware.En 1986, Calloway apareció en Wrestlemania 2 del World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) como árbitro invitado para una pelea de box entre Rowdy Roddy Piper y Mr. T que tuvo lugar en el Nassau Coliseum y en 1990 hizo un cameo en el video musical de Janet Jackson "Alright". En el Reino Unido apareció en varios anuncios del producto Hula Hoops, como él mismo y la voz de un personaje animado (en uno de estos comerciales cantó "Minnie The Moocher").El 18 de noviembre de 1994, Calloway murió luego de sufrir un accidente cerebrovascular seis meses antes.En 1998, The Cab Calloway Orchestra (dirigida por el nieto de Cab, C. Calloway Brooks) fue formada para honrar el legado de Cab Calloway en el ámbito nacional e internacional.