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.
Stormy Weather
Cab Calloway Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't know why
There's no sun up in the sky
Stormy weather
Since my man and I ain't together
Keeps raining all the time
Gloom and misery everywhere
Stormy weather
Just can't get my poor old self together
I'm weary all the time, the time
So weary all of the time
When he went away
The blues walked in and met me
If he stays away, old rocking chair will get me
All I do is pray
The lord above will let me
Walk in the sun once more
Can't go on
Everything I had is gone
Stormy weather
Since my man and I ain't together
Keeps raining all the time
Keeps raining all of the time
I walk around,
Heavy-hearted and sad
Night comes around
And I'm still feeling bad
Rain pourin' down
Blinding every hope I had
This pitter 'n patter 'n beatin' 'n spatterin' drivin' me mad
Love, love, love, love
This misery will be the end of me
When he went away
The blues walked in and met me
If he stays away, old rocking chair will get me
All I do is pray
The lord above will let me
Walk in the sun once more
Can't go on
Everything I had is gone
Stormy weather
Since my man and I ain't together
Keeps raining all the time, the time
Keeps raining all the time
"Stormy Weather" is a classic blues song that communicates the pain and sadness of lost love. The singer of the song is overwhelmed by a sense of despair due to the absence of her lover. There is no sunshine in her life, and she fails to find reasons to survive because her entire world has been shattered. Everything appears gloomy, and she can't seem to gather herself together. The sorrow in the song is palpable, with the rain pouring down on the singer as she navigates through her misery to make sense of her existence.
The second half of the song builds on this emotive image by adding more poignant details. The simple notion of her lover staying away, as mentioned in the lyrics "If he stays away, old rocking chair will get me," is hugely profound. The certainty that her life will end with nothing but sorrow and misery if she is never reunited with her love is expressed with alarming sincerity.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't know why
I don't understand why
There's no sun up in the sky
The sky is dark and gloomy without the sun
Stormy weather
The bad weather reflects the singer's mood
Since my man and I ain't together
The singer is sad because she's alone
Keeps raining all the time
It's been raining non-stop
Life is bare
The singer feels empty and alone
Gloom and misery everywhere
Everything around the singer is sad and depressing
Just can't get my poor old self together
The singer can't pull herself out of her sadness
I'm weary all the time, the time
The singer is exhausted from feeling sad
So weary all of the time
The singer is always tired and sad
When he went away
The singer's man left her
The blues walked in and met me
The singer became sad and depressed after her man left
If he stays away, old rocking chair will get me
The singer will be so sad that she'll never leave her rocking chair
All I do is pray
The singer's only hope is in prayer
The lord above will let me
The singer hopes that God will give her relief from her sadness
Walk in the sun once more
The singer wants to be happy and feel the warmth of the sun again
Can't go on
The singer can't continue to live like this
Everything I had is gone
The singer lost everything when her man left
Night comes around
The darkness of night makes the singer even more sad
And I'm still feeling bad
The singer is still sad despite the passage of time
Rain pourin' down
It's raining hard
Blinding every hope I had
The rain makes it hard to see any possibility of happiness
This pitter 'n patter 'n beatin' 'n spatterin' drivin' me mad
The sound of the rain is making the singer go crazy
Love, love, love, love
Love is causing the singer's pain
This misery will be the end of me
The singer is close to breaking under the weight of sadness
Keeps raining all of the time
The rain and sadness persist
Contributed by Sarah M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@blackpepperswing
One million views! All the musicians, dancers, film crew members - they have deserved every single view.
And maybe even twice more than that!
@stephenrhinomanningmanning4796
Aw yes indeed the CABB
@stephenrhinomanningmanning4796
From the back of by head I saw him they baddd baddd bro
@patrickvanrinsvelt4466
Very sad to say when I attend live musicals I get very emotional. It is truly a mark of how amazing the human race can be. Artistry in this form gives me hope for humanity. I always say, "If an alien were to be among us, would musicals be the only thing from keeping us from being invaded?"
@stephenrhinomanningmanning4796
@@patrickvanrinsvelt4466 I can feel you on dat bro like they say music calms da beast
@nancyburi893
Great!
@suzieque4287
Imagine going out for dinner and this is your entertainment. They're incredible.
@2MaxVoltage
Live in vegas ?
@9ko3
Id give my left leg to see this live.
@clinchee
Imagine that... I'd be there !!!