Died On This Date (November 18, 1994) Cab Calloway / Popular Big Band Singer

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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Are You Hep to the Jive? - Cab Calloway

Died On This Date (November 13, 1996) Bill Doggett / Jazz Keyboardist

Bill Doggett
February 16, 1916 – November 13, 1996

doggett

Bill Doggett was a respected Jazz and R&B keyboardist who came to prominence in the late ’30s.  During the early part of his career, he played for the Ink Spots and Louis Jordan.  During the ’50s, Doggett formed his own band with whom he recorded a few hits, including “Honky Tonk” which sold over four million copies.  He also worked as an arranger for some of music’s biggest names, including Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Louis Armstrong.  Bill Doggett died of a heart attack at the age of 80.

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Bill Doggett

Died On This Date (November 5, 1956) Art Tatum / Jazz Great

Art Tatum
October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956

ART TATUMEven though he was mostly blind, Art Tatum was one of jazz’s greatest pianists.  Tatum was considered a child prodigy and was able to pick up the fine art of piano playing by copying what he heard on the radio or player-piano rolls.  As a child with perfect pitch, he could instantly tell if a piano was out of tune.  In the mid ’20s, he studied piano at a Toledo music school.  Word of his prowess began to spread through jazz circles, and before long, jazz greats like Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson and Louis Armstrong were looking him up when they passed through Toledo.  Tatum later spent time in New York, playing local clubs and making records.  As one of the premier jazz pianists of the ’30s, Tatum was able to tour Europe and play the top venues Los Angeles and New York.  He made numerous solo albums throughout his career, as well as recordings with the likes of Lionel Hampton, Roy Eldridge, and Ben Webster.  Art Tatum was just 47 when he died of uremia on November 5, 1956.

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20th Century Piano Genius - Art Tatum

Died On This Date (November 3, 1986) Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis / Jazz Great

Edward “Lockjaw” Davis
March 2, 1922 – November 3, 1986

Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis was an influential tenor saxophonist who, over the course of a career that spanned some 40 years played with may of jazz’s other greats.  That list includes Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Stitt, Louis Armstrong, Fats Navarro, and Johnny Griffin. As a sideman, Davis was in high demand thanks to his abilities in several different genres like hard bob, swing, Latin jazz and soul.  He also released numerous albums of his own on many of the industry’s most prestigious labels.  Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis was 64 when he passed away on November 3, 1986.

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Cookbook, Vol. 1 (Rudy Van Gelder Remaster) - Eddie

Died On This Date (October 3, 1976) Victoria Spivey / Early Blues Great

Victoria Spivey
October 15, 1906 – October 3, 1976

With Louis Armstrong
With Louis Armstrong

Victoria Spivey was a Houston born blues singer who came to prominence in the 1930s.  Her career began with her singing at local parties and clubs while still in her teens.  Before she knew it she was sharing the stage or singing on records with the likes of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Louis Armstrong and King Oliver.  Spivey transitioned to film during the ’30s, appearing in such movies as Hallelujah!.  She retired from show business in 1951, but made a comeback during the folk revival of the early ’60s.  During her later career she recorded with the likes such greats as Otis Rush, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, and even Bob Dylan who played harmonica and sang back-up on a 1962 recording.  Victoria Spivey died of an internal hemorrhage at the age of 69.

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Victoria Spivey Vol. 1 1926-1927 - Victoria Spivey