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| "Cab Calloway" (acrylic on canvas) 20" x 16" |
Cab Calloway was only 24 years old when he recorded his most
famous song, Minnie the Moocher, for which he received nickname, “The Hi De Ho
Man," from the words in the chorus of the song. In the 1930s he lent his voice and his dance
steps to Betty Boop animated shorts as well as to The Old Man and the Mountain
and Snow White. He also performed in many films of the era including a series
of “shorts”, for Paramount. In one such film, Calloway can be seen performing a
gliding back step, called "the Buzz," which was the precursor to Michael
Jackson’s “moonwalk.”
Calloway had a long and illustrious career beginning with
his tenure as a band leader at the Cotton Club alongside the “Duke Ellington and his Band.” He made his film debut with All Jolson in the first “talkie,” The Jazz
Singer, and appeared with Lena Horne in Stormy Weather, a breakout film featuring an all black cast. Calloway even wrote a humorous gossip column in the 1940s
called “Coastin’ with Cab” for Song Hits Magazine, performed on-stage in
Gershwin’s classic, Porgy and Bess in 1952; and had the notable role of “Yeller”
in the 1962 Steve McQueen hit, The Cincinatti Kid.
In the 1960s he played opposite Pearl Bailey in”Hello Dolly,”
performed “Minnie the Moocher” in the first “Blue Brother’s” movie in the '70s and was
the focus for a Janet Jackson music video “Alright” in 1990.
In 1994, the Cab Calloway School of the Arts was dedicated in Wilmington, Delaware just prior to his death.