Cabell Cab Calloway İ (Dec.25,1907 - Nov.18,1994) was a famous American jazz singer and bandleader.\r
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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.\r
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The Cotton Club was the premier jazz venue in the country, and 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. Calloway quickly proved so popular that his band became the co-house band with Ellingtons, 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 Winchells radio program and with Bing Crosby in his show at New Yorks Paramount Theatre. As a result of these appearances, Calloway, together with Ellington, broke the major broadcast network color barrier.\r
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Like other bands fronted by a singing bandleader, Calloway initially gave ample soloist space to its lead members and, through the varied arrangements of Walter Foots Thomas, provided much more in the way of musical interest. Many of his records were vocal specialities with Calloways vocal taking up the majority of the record.\r
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In 1931 he recorded his most famous song, Minnie the Moocher. That song, along with 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 rotoscoping, Calloway not only gave his voice to these cartoons, but his dance steps as well. He 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. He also performed in a series of short films for Paramount in the 1930s. (Calloway and Ellington were featured on film more than any other jazz orchestras of the era.) In these films, Calloway can be seen performing a gliding backstep dance move, the precursor to Michael Jacksons moonwalk - Calloway said fifty years later, it was called The Buzz back then.\r
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The 1933 film, International House featured Calloway performing his classic song, Reefer Man, a tune about a man who favors marijuana cigarettes.\r
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Calloways 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.\r
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Calloway continued to perform until his death in 1994 at the age of 86.\r
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Cab Calloway - I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues (1932)
