Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States' most popular big bands, Cab Calloway and his Orchestra, from the start of the 1930s through to the late 1940s. Calloway's band featured performers including trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Doc Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and 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.
Calloway was born to a middle-class family in Rochester, New York, and lived there until 1918. He later lived in Baltimore, Maryland. His father, Cabell Calloway II, was a lawyer, and his mother, Martha Eulalia Reed, was a teacher and church organist. His parents recognised 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.
After graduating from high school, Calloway joined his older sister, Blanche, in a touring production of the popular black musical revue Plantation Days (Blanche Calloway herself went on to become an accomplished bandleader before her brother did, and he often credited his inspiration to enter show business to her). Calloway attended Lincoln University, Pennsylvania , and left in 1930 without graduating.
When the tour ended in Chicago in the autumn, Cab decided to remain in Chicago with his sister, who had an established career as a jazz singer in that city. His parents had hopes of their son becoming a lawyer like his father, so Calloway enrolled in Crane College. His main interest, however, was in singing and entertaining, and he spent most of his nights at the Dreamland Cafe, the Sunset Cafe, and the Club Berlin, performing as a drummer, singer, and emcee. At the Sunset Cafe he met and performed with Louis Armstrong who taught him to sing in the scat style.
The Cotton Club was the premier jazz venue in the country, and Cab Calloway and his Orchestra (he had taken over a brilliant but failing band called "The Missourians" in 1930) were hired as a replacement for the Duke Ellington Orchestra while they were touring. Calloway quickly proved so popular that his band became the co-house band with Ellington's, and he and his group began touring nationwide when not playing at the Cotton Club. Their popularity was greatly enhanced by the twice-weekly live national radio broadcasts on NBC at the Cotton Club. Calloway also appeared on Walter Winchell's radio program and with Bing Crosby in his show at the Paramount Theatre. As a result of these appearances, Calloway, together with Ellington, broke the major broadcast network colour barrier.
Unlike many other bands of comparable commercial success, Calloway's gave ample soloing space to its lead members, and, through the varied arrangements of Walter 'Foots' Thomas, provided much more in the way of musical interest.
In 1931, he recorded his most famous song, "Minnie the Moocher". That song, together 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, Cab not only gave his voice to these cartoons but his dance steps as well. Cab 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 Orchestra of the era). In 1943 he appeared in the high-profile 20th Century Fox musical film, Stormy Weather.
In his later career, Calloway became a popular personality, appearing in a number of films and stage productions that utilised both his acting and singing talents. In 1952, he played the prominent role of Sportin' Life in a production of the Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess. Another notable role was Yeller in The Cincinnati Kid (1965). In 1967 Calloway co-starred as Horace Vandergelder in an all-black revival of Hello, Dolly! (even though the original production was still running) starring Pearl Bailey. This was a major success, and led to a cast recording released by RCA. In 1973-1974 he was featured in an unsuccessful Broadway revival of The Pajama Game.
Calloway attracted renewed interest in 1980 when he appeared as a supporting character in the film The Blues Brothers, performing "Minnie the Moocher", and again when he sang "The Jumpin' Jive" with the Two-Headed Monster on Sesame Street. This was also the year in which the cult film Forbidden Zone was released, which included rearrangements and parodies of Cab Calloway songs written by Danny Elfman, a Calloway fan.
On 18th November 1994 Calloway died, having suffered a major stroke six months earlier. In 1998, The Cab Calloway Orchestra (directed by Cab's grandson C. "CB" Calloway Brooks) was formed to honour Cab Calloway's legacy nationally and internationally.
I Learned About Love From Her
Cab Calloway Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And when she gave me the eye I thought that I would die,
She had such curly hair and teeth of white,
And I learned about love from her.
And when she'd hold me in her arms so tight,
Every kiss was like a torch, my lips, they used to scorch,
That gal was just a mess of dynamite!
You've heard about that man from Tennessee,
Say, he came along one day and he stole my gal away;
Now she's teaching him what she taught me,
When I learned about love from her.
At night I sit alone so sad and blue,
Like a monkey on the shelf; say, I could hang myself!
There's a gang of things I didn't learn to do
When I learned about love from her.
Went to school, went to school, just to learn the game of love,
Once a fool, stays a fool, that's one thing I'm certain of,
There's no one beneath the Sun, beneath this sky above
Who can tell upon a given Sunday where his gal will be on Monday.
Now my gal and I are far apart
And with teardrops in my eyes, say, I realize
I didn't learn how to mend a busted heart
When I learned about love from her!
The lyrics to Cab Calloway’s “I Learned About Love from Her" tell a story of a man who falls in love with a woman who teaches him everything he knows about love, only to have her stolen away by another man. The song speaks to the universal experience of heartbreak and the eternal search for understanding love.
The singer sets the scene of their meeting, describing the woman's beauty and attractions that led him to fall in love with her. He then goes on to describe the intensity and passion of their relationship, comparing it to dynamite which shows the strength of the bond between the two. However, as with most relationships, things do not work out, and the singer is left alone to ponder the lessons he learned about love from her.
The broken hearted and abandoned narrator is left with a feeling of regret. He describes himself as a monkey on the shelf, incapable of repairing his broken heart. The lyrics highlight the idea that understanding love is not something one learns in school, but rather through experience. Love can take us to unexpected places, and we are left with invaluable lessons upon each heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
We met one evening when the moon was bright,
I first met her on a beautiful night under the moonlight.
And when she gave me the eye I thought that I would die,
Her gaze had a great impact on me and I thought I would pass out.
She had such curly hair and teeth of white,
Her charming curly hair and dazzling teeth caught my attention.
And I learned about love from her.
She was the one who taught me everything I know about love.
And when she'd hold me in her arms so tight,
Her tight embrace made me feel loved and protected.
Every kiss was like a torch, my lips, they used to scorch,
Every kiss felt passionate and intense, leaving a burning desire on my lips.
That gal was just a mess of dynamite!
She was a wild and unpredictable woman.
And I learned about love from her.
She was the one who taught me everything I know about love.
You've heard about that man from Tennessee,
There was a man from Tennessee who took my girl away.
Say, he came along one day and he stole my gal away;
He stole my girl from me and there was nothing I could do about it.
Now she's teaching him what she taught me,
My ex-girlfriend is now teaching him the things she taught me about love.
When I learned about love from her.
She was the one who taught me everything I know about love.
At night I sit alone so sad and blue,
I often feel lonely and depressed, especially at night.
Like a monkey on the shelf; say, I could hang myself!
I feel like I am worthless and that my life has no meaning.
There's a gang of things I didn't learn to do
There are many things I still don't know about love.
When I learned about love from her.
She was the one who taught me everything I know about love.
Went to school, went to school, just to learn the game of love,
I went to school to learn how to love someone.
Once a fool, stays a fool, that's one thing I'm certain of,
If you make a mistake once, you'll probably make it again.
There's no one beneath the Sun, beneath this sky above
No one can predict where their love interest will be or how they will feel about them.
Who can tell upon a given Sunday where his gal will be on Monday.
It's impossible to predict where your love interest will be at any given time.
Now my gal and I are far apart
My girl and I are now separated and living in different places.
And with teardrops in my eyes, say, I realize
I am crying because I have come to the realization that I still love her.
I didn't learn how to mend a busted heart
I didn't learn how to heal a broken heart.
When I learned about love from her!
She was the one who taught me everything I know about love.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
blueport 4
Brilliant, both the vocals and band, the golden age of American popular music right here.
Glucosamine Condroitan
My favorite Cab song
Hana Ripley
thank you!