Cab Calloway (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. His flamboyant clothing, brash personality and top-flight orchestra elevated him to celebrity status in the 1930s, touching off a career that spanned seven decades. His influence can be identified in the work of James Brown, Michael Jackson and numerous contemporary performers who base their styles on flamboyant attire, ultra-confident stage presence and first-rate musical accompaniment. His vocal style, predominantly "scat-singing" can be traced through Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, right up to Jamie Cullum and Veronica Swift.
Born Cabell Calloway III in Rochester New York on Christmas Day 1907, Calloway grew up in Baltimore after a family move in his early years. He was a precocious youth who managed to finish high school despite his devout interest in horse racing and gambling. Early vocal lessons prepared him for work in touring bands, Chicago night clubs and the inevitable move to New York in 1929. Always the hustler, Calloway took over The Missourians (quickly renamed Cab Calloway and His Orchestra) and settled in to a steady engagement at the Cotton Club while Duke Ellington was on tour. The following year, his biggest hit Minnie The Moocher sold a million copies and propelled him to stardom. The ambitious Calloway took on every kind of media opportunity that arose, from radio to film to publishing. His appearance in Stormy Weather drew in new audiences to the Calloway experience:
In the 1930s and 1940s, his stellar band included many of the finest New York musicians: Chu Berry, Ben Webster, Illinois Jacquet, Milt Hinton, Danny Barker, Hilton Jefferson, Doc Cheatham, Jonah Jones, Cozy Cole, Eddie Barefield, and Dizzy Gillespie. Calloway didn't play an instrument himself, but his flamboyant persona and galvanizing singing style qualified hime for the ranks of the top bandleaders of the day.
Music critic Will Friedwald identifieds the essential characteristics of the Calloway canon during this period as:
- core subject matter Minnie & Smokey Joe (her coke-addicted beau)
- constant drug culture references in songs and patter
- call-and-response sing-along (e.g. "Hi-De-Hi")
...to which I would add: a stellar big band of popular jazz stars given plenty of spotlight opportunities and room to solo. Calloway himself was a caricature of the minstrel bandleader with an extensive bag of catchphrases: "Hi-De-Hi", "Wah-De-Dah", "Raz-Ma-Tazz", "Hi-De-Ho', etc., and a wardrobe of zoot suits beyond compare. By the 1940s, he played down the drug culture elements, relying more heavily on scat-singing and call-and-response.
The 1950s saw the demise of the big bandsand the beginning of Cab Calloway's long decline, punctuated by glittering revivals - Porgy and Bess (the Character Sportin' Life was modelled on Calloway) and Broadway's Hello Dolly (with Calloway in a lead role). With occasional TV and film cameos, Cab was active until his death in1994.
