Cab Calloway

• Born: December 25, 1907
• Birthplace: Rochester, New York
• Died: November 18, 1994
• Place of death: Hockessin, Delaware

Jazz musician and entertainer

An outstanding musician and entertainer, Calloway influenced jazz not only through his own songs and performances, but also through his use of language and scat. His bands included many talented musicians, such as Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Hinton, Ben Webster, and Chu Berry.

Areas of achievement: Music: bandleading; Music: jazz; Music: swing

Early Life

Cabell Calloway III was born in Rochester, New York, in 1907, but little is known about his early childhood. His mother was a public school teacher, and his father (who died when Calloway was about thirteen) was a lawyer; their family was fairly well respected, although because of pay discrimination, they were not particularly well off. Calloway spent most of his teenage years in Baltimore, Maryland. Although he was bright, until he was in high school Calloway had a tendency to skip school, preferring to sell papers or make money in whatever way he could—to “hustle” people, as Calloway described it. Once he entered high school, he became more interested in his studies, sports (particularly baseball and basketball), and singing. It was around that time that he decided that he wanted to be an entertainer—something that both his mother and his older sister discouraged because of the difficulties of the profession. Eventually, he and his sister worked out a deal: He would study law in Chicago if she would get him an audition for one of the revues there.

Once Calloway got to Chicago, he won the audition and enrolled in school, working hard to do both at once. (He also played basketball for the school; he was good enough, in fact, to be offered a job with the Harlem Globetrotters, which he declined.) Eventually, Calloway turned his attention entirely to music. The jazz talent in Chicago at the time included Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, Bix Beiderbecke, and Benny Goodman. Calloway went to all the shows that he could and absorbed a lot of information along the way, particularly from Armstrong. Calloway’s big break came when he stood in as an emcee for one of the shows; he was so good that he was able to keep the job. Eventually, he took over as the leader of a group called the Alabamians—the first of his own bands. It was this act that finally got him out of school completely. It also led to his move to New York City, and eventually, the Cotton Club.

Life’s Work

Before making it in the Cotton Club, Calloway would part ways with the Alabamians and join a revue called Hot Chocolates, the members of which included Armstrong, Fats Waller, and Benny Payne, one of Calloway’s closest friends. Just before the show closed, Charles Buchanan, manager of the Savoy Ballroom, asked Calloway to play there leading the Missourians; Calloway accepted. Soon after, however, the Missourians were asked to play at the Cotton Club instead. Although Calloway did not want to break his contract, the Cotton Club owners were also high-level Mafia figures, so he took the job.

Despite its Mafia connections, the Cotton Club was the place to be and to be seen in Harlem. The club was frequented by celebrities and an important part of the Harlem Renaissance. Calloway and his band (which was now named after him) took over when Duke Ellington and his band left. Through radio shows broadcast from the club, Calloway’s band became known nationwide. With his hit “Minnie the Moocher,” first performed in 1931 and destined to become his signature tune, Calloway became even more popular. He went on to perform in films and tour the United States and Europe with his band.

Calloway’s talent made him a great musician, but his outrageous style made him a star. He had a taste for flamboyant clothing (such as zoot suits), and he popularized African American slang to the point that several of the words and phrases—“jam” (in the musical sense), “out of this world,”“beat” (tired), and “groovy,” for example—became ingrained in mainstream American English. His combination of skill, showmanship, and scat made him an icon.

While Calloway himself was quite talented, he also worked hard to surround himself with the best musicians he could. Over the years, his band included Payne, Milt Hinton, Chu Berry, Ben Webster, and a young Dizzy Gillespie. In return for their valuable contributions, Calloway paid them well and featured many of them on his recordings.

Calloway’s big band lasted throughout the heyday of the swing era, but he was not able to support the sixteen-piece group for long afterward. In 1947, he had to break up the group, and his time as a full-time band leader was essentially over. He continued to perform, however, and in 1950 he sang the role of Sportin’ Life (a character George Gershwin reportedly modeled on Calloway) in a popular revival of Porgy and Bess. Later, he appeared in a production of Hello, Dolly! with an entirely African American cast and did a long-running halftime show with the Harlem Globetrotters. He also continued to tour and perform in films and television shows. His role in the film The Blues Brothers (1980) introduced his talents to a whole new audience, causing a surge in popularity (although he was, by that point, semi-retired). He continued to perform throughout the rest of his life, performing at London’s Barbican Centre in 1993, a year before he died of a stroke.

Significance

Calloway’s performances, language, and style—at the Cotton Club and elsewhere—made him a trendsetter. He was a musical icon, but he also introduced words into the vernacular that became commonplace in American speech. In his own way, he pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable for African American performers. For example, his group was one of the first top-tier African American big bands to tour the Deep South. With his talent and force of personality, Calloway introduced swing music and Harlem Renaissance culture to a broad audience.

Bibliography

Calloway, Cab. The New Cab Calloway’s Hepster’s Dictionary. New York: Author, 1944. This dictionary of jive, also known (in different permutations) as The New Cab Calloway’s Cat-ologue, was used by the New York Public Library as a reference for some time.

Calloway, Cab, and Bryant Rollins. Of Minnie the Moocher and Me. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1976. Written during Calloway’s lifetime, this autobiography is the most complete source of information on his life and career and should be considered essential reading.

Gillespie, Dizzy, and Al Frazer. To Be, or Not…to Bop. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1979. Reprint. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2009. Although this autobiography focuses on Gillespie, it devotes much attention to Gillespie’s time with Calloway and his band.

O’Neal, Hank. The Ghosts of Harlem: Sessions with Jazz Legends. Nashville, Tenn.: Vanderbilt University Press, 2009. Contains supplemental material (including a CD) and interviews with numerous musicians involved in the Harlem music scene, including Calloway.

Schuller, Gunther. The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz, 1930-1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. Provides a solid context for the first portion of Calloway’s career.