The above video originally debuted at this link - http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=8mq4UT4VnbE
My earliest memory of Cab Calloway was when he died in 1994, but he did so much more living than that.
Cab Calloway was born in Rochester, New York on Christmas day of 1907. He grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where he first started singing, but in a later move to Chicago, Illinois, he began to study law at Crane College (now Malcolm X College).
The famous Louis Armstrong taught him to scat at Chicago's Sunset Club. Later, Cab got a gig at The Cotton Club where he eventually got a big hit with the lovable song, "Minnie the Moocher" in 1931. Minnie The Moocher became a No. 1 hit, and sold more than one million copies.
One curious and little known fact about the song was the truth behind the famous call-and-response portion, in which Cab sang "hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-ho." It is rumored that Cab only used this call-and-response as an improvisation when he couldn't recall a lyric. Whether that rumor is true or not, the line became his signature phrase for the rest of his career.
For more interesting articles on Cab Colloway's life, visit these links:
Calloway Timeline -
www.cabcalloway.cc/timeline.htm
Cab Calloway - Just the Swing -
http://biography.just-the-swing.com/cab-calloway
