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.
Jitter Bug
Cab Calloway Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
First thing you must do is get a jug,
Put whiskey, wine and gin within,
And shake it all up and then begin.
Grab a cup and start to toss,
You are drinking jitter sauce!
Don't you worry, you just mug,
And then you'll be a jitter bug!
Hear this fat boy blowing his horn;
He's been a bug since the day he was born,
His favorite jitter sauce is rye,
I swear, he'll drink it 'til the day he die!
Toot your whistle and ring your bell,
Oh, butchie-wutchie, time will tell,
Don't you worry, you just mug,
You'll always be a jitter bug!
These four boys playing saxophone,
Order jitter sauce by phone,
Central, give me Harlem 4-9-4,
I think these bugs could drink some more,
They drink sauce from morn to night
And never stop until they're tight,
Don't you worry, they just mug,
They're poor little jitter bugs!
Now, here's old Father, a wicked old man,
Drinks more sauce than the other bugs can,
He drinks jitter sauce every morn,
That's why jitter sauce was born,
See him shake with his trombone,
He just can't leave that sauce alone,
Get along, Father, you just mug,
You'll always be a jitter bug!
There's Rip Van with his eyes a-twinkle,
We named him after Rip Van Winkle,
Like Rip, he'd sleep for twenty years
If he could get his fill of beer,
Rip drinks his sauce, gets on the stand,
Soon he forgets that he's in the band,
Don't awaken him, just let him mug;
He'll always be a jitter bug.
"Jitter Bug" by Cab Calloway is a song about the joys and thrills of drinking, specifically a homemade alcoholic concoction called Jitter Sauce. The lyrics are simple and tell the story of a group of jazz musicians who are all fans of the drink and embrace the "jitter bug" lifestyle. The song describes the ingredients of the drink (a mix of whiskey, wine, and gin) and encourages the listener to give it a try. The lyrics are accompanied by lively jazz music, with a horn section and saxophones playing throughout. The song is upbeat and fast-paced, meant to evoke the wild and carefree spirit of the jitter bugs.
The song is also a nod to the jazz culture of the 1930s, where alcohol and drugs were common in the jazz scene, and jitterbugs were people who danced wildly to this music. The lyrics romanticize this self-destructive lifestyle as a form of rebellion against conservative norms. The song is a celebration of a bohemian way of living and is full of humor, playful lyrics and sexual innuendos.
Line by Line Meaning
If you'd like to be a jitter bug,
If you want to become a jitterbug
First thing you must do is get a jug,
First, get a jug to make a drink
Put whiskey, wine and gin within,
Add whiskey, wine, and gin into the jug
And shake it all up and then begin.
Shake it well before starting
Grab a cup and start to toss,
Take a cup and start tossing the drink
You are drinking jitter sauce!
Congratulations! You're drinking jitter sauce
Don't you worry, you just mug,
Don't worry, just enjoy drinking
And then you'll be a jitter bug!
By doing this, you'll become a jitterbug
Hear this fat boy blowing his horn;
Listen to the fat boy playing his horn
He's been a bug since the day he was born,
He's been a jitterbug his whole life
His favorite jitter sauce is rye,
His preferred drink for jitterbugging is rye
I swear, he'll drink it 'til the day he die!
He'll keep drinking rye until he dies
Toot your whistle and ring your bell,
Make some noise, have some fun
Oh, butchie-wutchie, time will tell,
Don't worry, time will show us
Don't you worry, you just mug,
Don't worry about it, just keep drinking
You'll always be a jitter bug!
You're a jitterbug for life
These four boys playing saxophone,
These four boys are playing saxophone
Order jitter sauce by phone,
They order jitter sauce by phone
Central, give me Harlem 4-9-4,
They call Central and ask for the number to order jitter sauce: Harlem 4-9-4
I think these bugs could drink some more,
They think they can drink more jitter sauce
They drink sauce from morn to night
They drink jitter sauce all day long
And never stop until they're tight,
And they don't stop until they're drunk
Don't you worry, they just mug,
Don't worry about them, they're just enjoying their drinks
They're poor little jitter bugs!
They're poor because they spend all their money on jitter sauce
Now, here's old Father, a wicked old man,
Now this is Father, an old and mischievous man
Drinks more sauce than the other bugs can,
He drinks more jitter sauce than anyone else
He drinks jitter sauce every morn,
He drinks jitter sauce every morning
That's why jitter sauce was born,
He drinks so much that it's as if jitter sauce was made just for him
See him shake with his trombone,
Watch him shake while playing the trombone
He just can't leave that sauce alone,
He can't stop drinking jitter sauce
Get along, Father, you just mug,
Keep going, Father. Don't stop drinking
You'll always be a jitter bug!
You'll always be a jitterbug
There's Rip Van with his eyes a-twinkle,
Look at Rip Van with his twinkling eyes
We named him after Rip Van Winkle,
He was named after Rip Van Winkle
Like Rip, he'd sleep for twenty years
Like Rip Van Winkle, he could sleep for twenty years
If he could get his fill of beer,
If he could drink enough beer
Rip drinks his sauce, gets on the stand,
Rip drinks jitter sauce and gets up on stage
Soon he forgets that he's in the band,
Soon he forgets that he's part of the band
Don't awaken him, just let him mug;
Don't wake him up, just let him keep drinking
He'll always be a jitter bug.
He'll always be a jitterbug
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WILLIAM J. DIGREGORIO, JOHN CRAIN, FRED EDWARDS, CHARLES FRED HAYWARD, DON BRUCE MURRAY, CHARLIE DANIELS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jeffrey Coolwater
My Dad passed away in 1991 at 82 years young. I'm 71 now already. And I still remember him raving to me many times reminiscing about how much he loved dancing to Duke Ellington, the Dorsey Brothers, Count Basie, and especially Cab Calloway at the original Palais Royale in Toronto, Canada in the 1930s before he got married.. Great stuff.
SmartStart24
What amazing memories!
Jeffrey Coolwater
@SmartStart24 Yes, a completely different world!
OMG
Amazing!
Krab Krabby
I was born in 1991! 😃
And I love Cab! I remember I saw him for the first time when I was a kid in the movie "Blues Brothers". I had no idea who he was, and I remember I thought: "Wow, this old man has a great voice and dances like a young one! What an incredible energy! "
Lol. I'm envying my great-grandparents for having lived these years of beautiful music! I'd like to live in America just for it! Thanks for having shared your story, sir!
Hugs from Italy!
Jeffrey Coolwater
@Krab Krabby Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I missed that era also, by about 10 or 15 years. But at least we have recordings and videos to enjoy and imagine what it may have been like. As with today, not all was roses and good times back then, but at least there were some things like this to enjoy.
monti lewis
Cab lived almost the whole 20th century 1907-1994 that’s a blessing..
Mr. Hawkeye
Yeah thats we call "aging"
WM Nonsense
@Mr. Hawkeye found ya
Mr. Hawkeye
@WM Nonsense And I found you... in my notifications