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Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra at the Cotton Club, New York City, 1931 - More Posters & Photos »
Fact Sheet
| Musical genre: | Jazz |
| Birthday | 25 December 1907 |
| Sign | Capricorn |
| Birthplace | USA |
| Date of death | November 18, 1994 (age 86) |
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 1950s. Calloway's Orchestra featured performers that included Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Hinton, Doc Cheatham, and Chu Berry.
In 1931, he recorded his most famous song, "Minnie the Moocher". That song and "St. James Infirmary Blues" appeared in Betty Boop animated shorts, Minnie the Moocher and Snow White (1933), respectively. For his part, Cab took advantage of this and timed his concerts in certain communities with the release of the films in order to make the most of the attention.
In 1980, he gained renewed interest when he appeared as a supporting character in the film, The Blues Brothers where he played Minnie The Moocher to buy time for the Brothers to make it to their own concert.
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