Calloway, Cab (redirected from Cab Calloway)

Calloway, Cab (Cabell Calloway) (kăl`əwā'), 1907–94, jazz singer and band leader, b. Rochester, N.Y. Known for his inventive creativity, he hired some of the top musicians of his day for his jazz orchestra, including Dizzy Gillespie and Milt Hinton; he also promoted singers Pearl Bailey and Lena Horne. Cab Calloway and his band became famous as a result of radio broadcasts (1931–32) from New York City's Cotton Club and was one of the highest earning bands of the 1930s and 40s. His hits included "Minnie the Moocher" (1931) and "Blues in the Night" (1942). He also appeared in several films.

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Calloway, Cab

 orig. Cabell Calloway III

Cab Calloway.

(credit: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; The New York Public Library; Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations)

(born Dec. 25, 1907, Rochester, N.Y., U.S.—died Nov. 18, 1994, Hockessin, Del.) U.S. singer and big-band leader. He fronted his first group in 1928; it became the house band at Harlem's Cotton Club in 1931. An accomplished scat singer who combined audacious showmanship with prodigious vocal range and imagination, he became most identified with his hit “Minnie the Moocher” (1931). Exposure with his band launched the careers of many important jazz soloists. The composer George Gershwin modeled the character Sportin' Life in his musical Porgy and Bess (1935) on Calloway, who later performed the role himself.

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Calloway, (Cabell) Cab (1907–94) jazz musician; born in Rochester, N.Y. A versatile song and dance man, he led a succession of outstanding big bands between 1928–53. He was featured in the 1979 movie The Blues Brothers.