Cab Calloway

Biography

Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an influential American jazz singer and bandleader, known for his dynamic performances and distinctive scat singing. He gained prominence as a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem during the swing era. Calloway led one of the most popular dance bands in the United States from the early 1930s to the late 1940s, featuring notable musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie and Ben Webster. His signature song, "Minnie the Moocher," originally recorded in 1931, made him the first African-American musician to sell over one million copies of a single record. Calloway's career included numerous stage, film, and television appearances, with notable roles in "Stormy Weather" and "Hello Dolly!" He received the National Medal of Arts in 1993 and was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. Calloway is recognized in the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame and the International Jazz Hall of Fame.