Cab Calloway
| Cab Calloway | |
|---|---|
Photographed by William Gottlieb, 1947
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Cabell Calloway III |
| Born |
December 25, 1907 Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Died | November 18, 1994 (aged 86) Hockessin, Delaware |
| Genres | Jazz, blues, swing |
| Occupation(s) | Bandleader, singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1930–94 |
| Website | www |
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|
 Cab Calloway, American Masters, PBS (one hour) |
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City, where he was a regular performer.
Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States' most popular big bands from the start of the 1930s to the late 1940s. Calloway's band featured performers including trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, New Orleans guitarist Danny Barker, and bassist Milt Hinton. Calloway continued to perform until his death in 1994 at the age of 86.
Calloway was born in Rochester, New York, on Christmas Day in 1907 to an upper-middle-class family. They moved to Baltimore, Maryland. His mother, Martha Eulalia Reed, was a Morgan State College graduate, teacher and church organist. His father, Cabell Calloway, Jr., graduated from Lincoln University of Pennsylvania in 1898, and worked as a lawyer and in real estate.
Cab Calloway grew up as an adolescent in a middle-class household in West Baltimore's Sugar Hill, considered the political, cultural and business hub of Black society. Early on, his parents recognized their son's musical talent, and he began private voice lessons in 1922. He continued to study music and voice throughout his formal schooling. Despite his parents' and teachers' disapproval of jazz, Calloway began frequenting and performing in many of Baltimore's nightclubs. As a result, he came into contact with many of the local jazz luminaries of the time. He counted among his early mentors drummer Chick Webb and pianist Johnny Jones.
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