Blanche Calloway
| Blanche Calloway | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Blanche Dorothea Jones Calloway February 9, 1902 Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 16, 1978 (aged 76) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Bandleader |
| Known for | Singer, composer; first woman to lead an all-male jazz orchestra |
Blanche Calloway (February 9, 1902 – December 16, 1978) was an African-American jazz singer, composer, and bandleader. She was the older sister of Cab Calloway, and was a successful singer before her brother. With a music career that spanned over fifty years, Calloway was the first woman to lead an all-male orchestra and performed alongside musicians such as Cozy Cole, Chick Webb, and her own brother. Her performing style was described as "flamboyant" and a major influence on her brother's own performance style.
Blanche Dorothea Jones Calloway was born in Rochester, New York. When she was a teenager, the family, including her three younger siblings, moved to Baltimore, Maryland. Her father, Cabell, was a lawyer and her mother, Martha Eulalia Reed, was a music teacher. The family was described as being middle-class. Her father died in 1910, and her mother married insurance salesman John Nelson Fortune a few years later. The couple would have two more children.
Calloway's mother was a major influence on her and her siblings passion for music. Aside from her and Cab, their brother Elmer would also go on to briefly pursue a musical career. Calloway's mother made her take piano and voice lessons as a child, but never promoted the idea of a musical career for the young Calloway. Martha hoped that her daughter would pursue a "respectable" career, such as a teacher or nurse. Calloway dreamed of a musical career and was influenced as a youth by Florence Mills and Ida Cox. Her music teacher would encourage her to audition for a local talent scout and to her mother's annoyance, Calloway dropped out of Morgan College in the early 1920s to seek out a career in music.
Calloway made her professional debut in Baltimore in 1921 with Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle's musical Shuffle Along. Her big break came in 1923 on the national tour for Plantation Days, which featured her idol Florence Mills. The show ended in 1927 in Chicago, and Calloway decided to stay there, as it was the jazz capital of the world during the time. She became popular in the Chicago scene and would continue to tour nationally, performing at New York's Ciro Club in the mid-1920s. Shortly after her time at the Ciro Club, she moved to Chicago, Illinois. In 1925, she recorded two blues songs, which would be promoted as race records, accompanied by Louis Armstrong and Richard M. Jones; the first inception of her Joy Boys orchestra. During this decade, she would also perform with Rueben Reeves and record on Vocalion Records.
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