Musician+11

Harlem Rennasaince Musicians



Cab Calloway was a legendary fireball of talent, whose infectious "hi-de-hi's," "ho-deho's," scattin', and jivin', in a baritone singing voice rich and vibrant, became the spirited cry of he people wanting to be happy.When Cab was young, he enjoyed singing in church.[|[][|1][|]] 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 vocal teachers' disapproval of jazz, Calloway began frequenting and eventually performing in many of Baltimore's jazz clubs, where he was mentored by drummer [|Chick Webb] and pianist Johnny Jones. In 1931 he recorded his most famous song, "[|Minnie the Moocher]". That song, along with "[|St. James Infirmary Blues]" and "The Old Man Of The Mountain," were performed for the [|Betty Boop] animated shorts //Minnie the Moocher//, //[|Snow White]// and //[|The Old Man of the Mountain]//, respectively. Through [|rotoscoping], Calloway not only gave his voice to these cartoons, but his dance steps as well. He took advantage of this and timed his concerts in some communities with the release of the films in order to make the most of the attention. As a result of the success of "Minnie the Moocher," he became identified with its chorus, gaining the nickname "The Hi De Ho Man". He also performed in a series of short films for Paramount in the 1930s. (Calloway and Ellington were featured on film more than any other jazz orchestras of the era.) In these films, Calloway can be seen performing a gliding backstep dance move, the precursor to [|Michael Jackson]'s [|"moonwalk"]—Calloway said fifty years later, "it was called The Buzz back then."[|[][|2][|]] The 1933 film, [|International House] featured Calloway performing his classic song, "Reefer Man," a tune about a man who favors [|marijuana] cigarettes.[|[][|3][|]] Calloway was a master of energetic [|scat singing] and led one of the [|United States]' most popular [|African American] [|big bands] from the start of the 1930s through 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 guitar ace [|Danny Barker], and bassist [|Milt Hinton]. Calloway continued to perform until his death in 1994 at the age of 86.



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