Calloway, Cab, 1907-1994

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Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was a Black American singer, songwriter, dancer, bandleader, conductor and actor. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist of the swing era. His niche of mixing jazz and vaudeville won him acclaim during a career that spanned over 65 years.

Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the most popular dance bands in the United States from the early 1930s to the late 1940s. His band included trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Jonah Jones, and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, guitarist Danny Barker, bassist Milt Hinton, and drummer Cozy Cole.

Calloway had several hit records in the 1930s and 1940s, becoming known as the "Hi-de-ho" man of jazz for his most famous song, "Minnie the Moocher", originally recorded in 1931. He reached the Billboard charts in five consecutive decades (1930s–1970s). Calloway also made several stage, film, and television appearances until his death in 1994 at the age of 86. He had roles in Stormy Weather (1943), Porgy and Bess (1953), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), and Hello Dolly! (1967). His career saw renewed interest when he appeared in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.

Calloway was the first African-American musician to sell a million records from a single and to have a nationally syndicated radio show. In 1993, Calloway received the National Medal of Arts from the United States Congress. He posthumously received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. His song "Minnie the Moocher" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, and added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2019. He is also inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame and the International Jazz Hall of Fame.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Palmer, Jack. Jack Palmer papers, 1925-1975. Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
creatorOf Jackson, Frederick, 1886-1953. Stormy weather : continuity and dialogue taken from the screen / Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation ; screen play by Frederick Jackson and Ted Koehler ; produced by William Le Baron ; directed by Andrew Stone. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
creatorOf Calloway, Cab, 1907-1994. Jumpin' Jive [Multimédia multisupport]. Bibliothèque nationale de France, BnF
referencedIn Joseph Schillinger collection of noncommercial recordings, 1937-1943 The New York Public Library. Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound.
referencedIn Sue Brandt McBee Collection of African American Culture AR. 2001. 020., 1980-2003., 1950-2003. Austin History Center , Austin Public Library, 810 Guadalupe Street, Austin, Texas, 78701.
referencedIn Blanche Calloway scrapbook and other papers Houghton Library
creatorOf Calloway, Cab, 1907-1994. I ain't getting nowhere fast [Multimédia multisupport]. Bibliothèque nationale de France, BnF
referencedIn Doug and Hazel Anderson Storer collection, 1920s-2003. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
referencedIn Musicians Collection TXRC99-A17., 1727-1981, (bulk 1900-1940) Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
creatorOf Ben and Ruth Liman Jazz Films Collection National Museum of American History (U.S.). Archives Center
creatorOf Milt Gabler Papers National Museum of American History (U.S.). Archives Center
referencedIn Federal Writers' Project (N.Y.). Federal Writers' Project Negro Group papers, 1927-1940. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn American Vaudeville Museum collection, 1845-2007, (bulk 1910-1940) University of Arizona Libraries, Library Special Collections
referencedIn Ambassador Auditorium Collection, 1974-1995 Archive of Recorded Sound, Stanford University Libraries
referencedIn Gelman, Anita. Anita Gelman Collection, 1970s-1980s. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library and Archives
creatorOf MacDonough Street Community Center. Correspondence with Marian Anderson, 1961. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Stewart, Michael, 1929-1987. Papers, 1960-1969. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
creatorOf Delaney, Beauford, 1901-1979. Beauford Delaney collection, 1964-1977. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Neat Stuff Collectables. Jazz Playbill Collection, 1923-1952. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library and Archives
referencedIn Anka, Paul. Musicians Collection, 1727-1981, (bulk 1900-1940). Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Hugh Morton Photographs and Films, late 1920s-2006, (bulk 1940s-1990s) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. North Carolina Collection.
referencedIn Eugene Earle Collection, 1939-1980s University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection.
creatorOf Calloway, Cab, 1907-1994. Jumpin' Jive [Multimédia multisupport]. Bibliothèque nationale de France, BnF
referencedIn Southern Folklife Collection Artist Name File, 1940-2005 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection.
referencedIn ARS Miscellany, 1899-2005 Archive of Recorded Sound
referencedIn Johnny Green additional papers, 1923-1989. Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
creatorOf Breen, Robert, 1914-. Papers, [ca. 1935-ca. 1979]. Ohio State University Libraries
referencedIn Duke Ellington recordings collection Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library, Harvard College Library
referencedIn Rudee, M. Lea. San Diego jazz photographs, 1981-1991. University of California, San Diego, UC San Diego Library; UCSD Library
creatorOf Calloway, Cab, 1907-1994. I ain't getting nowhere fast [Multimédia multisupport]. Bibliothèque nationale de France, BnF
referencedIn Hugh Morton Photographs and Films, late 1920s-2006, (bulk 1940s-1990s) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. North Carolina Collection.
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith American Museum of Vaudeville corporateBody
associatedWith Breen, Robert, 1914- person
sibling of Calloway, Blanche, 1902-1978 person
associatedWith Cullen, Frank, 1936- person
associatedWith Delaney, Beauford, 1901-1979. person
associatedWith Dodge, Joseph Jeffers person
associatedWith Earle, Eugene. person
associatedWith Federal Writers' Project (N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Gelman, Anita. person
associatedWith Green, Johnny, 1908-1989 person
associatedWith Jackson, Frederick, 1886-1953. person
associatedWith MacDonough Street Community Center. corporateBody
associatedWith McBee, Sue Brandt corporateBody
associatedWith McNeilly, Donald, 1945- person
associatedWith Morton, Hugh M. person
associatedWith Morton, Hugh M. person
associatedWith Palmer, Jack. person
associatedWith Rudee, M. Lea. person
associatedWith Schillinger, Joseph, 1895-1943 person
associatedWith Stewart, Michael, 1929-1987. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Subject
Jazz
Occupation
Bandleader
Conductor
Jazz Singer
Performer
Singer
Songwriter
Activity

Person

Birth 1907-12-25

Death 1994-11-18

Americans

Information

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Ark ID: w66h50vz

SNAC ID: 26509602