Cabell Calloway
December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994
Cab Calloway was a popular scat singer whose all African American band was one of the most popular big bands of the ’30s and ’40s. He was also arguably the most dynamic performer of the era. Calloway began singing and learning music at a very young age, and although his parents disapproved, he started gravitating toward the sounds of jazz. After high school, he joined a traveling musical review that is sister, a bandleader herself, was involved with. When the tour ended in Chicago, Calloway stayed behind to further pursue his music career. It was there that he met Louis Armstrong who taught him the art of scat singing. By the ’30s, Calloway had one of the most popular bands in the country, thanks in part to his first hit single, 1931’s “Minnie The Moocher.” He was soon starring in several short reels, in which he could be seen doing what would in later generations be called Michael Jackson’s “moonwalk.” Over the course of the latter part of his career, Calloway continued to release popular records and made numerous appearances on television and film. Cab Calloway was 86 when he died on November 18, 1994 of a stroke he had had six months earlier.
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