We recently watched classic Black early Hollywood film, Stormy Weather (MGM, 1943). Once again, we were captivated by the one and only Cab Calloway. His swagger rivals that of any performer since his iconic performance of Minnie The Moocher.
The zoot suit, the baton, the derby, THE MAN! Cab was one of the coolest brothas on the circuit.
He was a protege of the legendary Louis Armstrong...who taught him how to scat up and down the scales, a trait which would make Calloway famous. In the 1930s, The Cab Calloway Orchestra had a co-hosted night with The Duke Ellington Orchestra at The Cotton Club in New York.
Interestingly enough, Cab's appearances in many short films saw him "moonwalking" decades before Michael would do it. Cab also performed the music to the classic Betty Boop cartoons as well as voicing some characters.
Cab was also a linguist, producing a book entitled The New Cab Calloway's Hepsters Dictionary: Language of Jive. The book offered dialectic help to those who didn't understand some of the terminology associated with jazz.
After performing a 1950s run of Porgy & Bess, and a 1967 run of Hello Dolly! on Broadway, Cab took a break from show business glitz and glamor.
We still remember seeing him perform Minnie The Moocher for the film The Blues Brothers (1980). Performances of this caliber are the very reason that Black entertainers have been recognized as trend-setting players in the arts.
Our final memory of Cab was him strutting in one of our favorite Janet Jackson videos, Alright (Rythm Nation, 1990), which was a dedication to Mr. Calloway by the leading female entertainer in the world.
God bless the memory of such a legendary man. May we forever sing "Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-ho!"
Watch some videos of Cab below:
Minnie The Moocher
Betty Boop
Alright (Janet Jackson)
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