Vocalist Cabell Calloway was born and raised in Baltimore where he attended Douglass High School. As a youngster he took singing lessons and sang in his church choir. In the early 1920s his family moved to Chicago where he briefly attended law school. His sister Blanche Calloway landed a role in the stage show “Plantation Days” and got Cab a singing role. Cab worked at Chicago’s Sunset Cafe and began playing drums in a backup band for the major stars that came through town including Earl Hines and Louis Armstrong. By the late ‘20s he moved to New York. He appeared in singing roles on Broadway, while also performing music at Connie’s in Harlem and the famous Cotton Club fronting a group called the Missourians. This group later evolved to become known as the Cab Calloway Orchestra. Cab’s major hits included “Hi-De-Ho,” “Minnie the Moocher,” “Nagasaki,” and “Jumpin’ Jive.” In addition to his band, Cab starred in many musicals including “The Big Broadcast” (1932), “Stormy Weather” (1943), “The Singing Kid”, “Porgy & Bess” (1952-53), “Hello Dolly,” “Pajama Game” (1974).
