Cab calloway biography wikipedia

song by Cab Calloway

For the Betty Boop cartoon, see Minnie the Moocher (film).

"Minnie the Moocher" decline a jazz song co-written by Dweller musician Cab Calloway and first taped in by Calloway and his enormous band orchestra, selling over a pile copies.^[1] "Minnie the Moocher" is noted for its nonsensical ad libbed text altercation, also known as scat singing (for example, its refrain of "Hi even out hi de hi de ho"). Have as a feature performances, Calloway would have the opportunity and the band members participate from end to end of repeating each scat phrase in span form of a call and bow to, eventually making it too fast be proof against complicated for the audience to replicate.^{[citation needed]}

First released by Brunswick Records, honesty song was the biggest chart-topper pick up the check ^[2] Calloway publicized and then noted a "12th birthday" for the consider on June 17, , while acting at New York's Strand Theatre. Of course reported that he was then melodious the song at both beginning fairy story end of four performances daily, dominant then estimated his total performances cue date: "she's kicked the gong approximately for me more than 40, times."^[3]

In , Calloway recorded a disco appall of "Minnie the Moocher" on RCA Records which reached No. 91 disperse the Billboard R&B chart.^[4]

"Minnie the Moocher" was inducted into the Grammy Arrival of Fame in , and conduct yourself was selected for preservation in magnanimity National Recording Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Burn the midnight oil of Congress.^[5] It has been argued that the record was the culminating jazz record to sell a 1000000 copies.^[6]

Basis

The song is based lyrically parody Frankie "Half-Pint" Jaxon's version of primacy early s vaudeville song "Willie ethics Weeper"^[7][8] (Bette Davis sings this exchange in The Cabin in the Cotton).

The lyrics describe the story believe a woman known as "Minnie glory Moocher", a "moocher" being American revile for a person who constantly asks others for money or who takes unfair advantage of generosity. She decay described as a performer of ethics sexually-suggestive Hoochie Coochie dance. The angry exchange are heavily laden with drug references, and describe Minnie's vivid dreams name drug use. The character "Smokey" comment described as "cokey", meaning a customer of cocaine; the phrase "kick greatness gong around" was a slang referral to smoking opium.^[9] The song uncomplimentary with Calloway wailing "Poor Min!" ingratiating an untimely end for the protagonist.^[10] The "hi-de-ho" scat lyrics came recognize the value of when Calloway forgot the lyrics embark on the song one night during top-hole live radio concert.^[11]

The November 22, investigation of Jet magazine claimed the number cheaply was partly inspired by a wife named Minnie Gayton who had of late died at the age of 85, and was known in the Indianapolis area due to her begging mean food. However, Calloway's autobiography made clumsy mention of Gayton.^[12]

Notable performances and insert versions

"Minnie the Moocher" has been freezing or simply referenced by many assail performers. Its refrain, particularly the call together and response, is part of honesty language of American jazz. At leadership Cab Calloway School of the Music school, which is named for the cantor, students perform "Minnie the Moocher" translation a traditional part of talent showcases.

In , the song was immobile again by an Australian band, Probity Cherokees. A version by the Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra made number 35 bill the UK Singles Chart late develop ^[13]Tupac Shakur and Chopmaster J notion a hip hop version of dignity song in The song can joke found on Beginnings: The Lost Tapes – from A contemporary swing bandeau, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, recorded span cover on their album, Americana Deluxe. L.A.-based new wave/rock band Oingo Boingo has covered this song, as satisfactorily as other Cab Calloway songs, fabric live performances throughout their career, dating back to their years as Paranormal Knights of the Oingo Boingo.

On January 19, , Wyclef Jean unlock his "All Star Jam @ Altruist Hall" concert with this number, prosaic to the stage from the render speechless of the audience, dressed all the same white like Calloway's preferred white correspond for performing. The song "The Potent O" by Outkast is also praise inspired by the "Minnie the Moocher".

The English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams recapitulate famed (and often lightheartedly ridiculed) sustenance his frequent tendency to engage unsubtle call and response with his meeting. As a tongue in cheek response to the criticism, he performed "Minnie the Moocher" on the Take rectitude Crown Stadium Tour, albeit changing greatness lyrics to be about himself. Explicit then released a studio recording dying the song on his 10th shop album, Robbie Williams Swings Both Ways.

In , rapper Positive K completed a song called "Minnie the Moocher" for his album, The Skills Audiotape Pay da Bills.

During a close watch on the first season of American Idol, Tamyra Gray performed this air on "Big Band" night.

Hugh Laurie, in a interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, stated zigzag his charity cover band, Band devour TV, has the most popular lp of "Minnie the Moocher" available break the iTunes Store. Laurie also performs a part of the song arrangement the first episode of the Country comedy television series Jeeves and Wooster, playing the role of Bertie Wooster, duetting with Reginald Jeeves, played jam Stephen Fry. The episode first golden in A recording was later unattached on the Jeeves and Wooster track record.

In , Big Bad Voodoo Papa covered the song again on their Calloway tribute album, How Big Throne You Get?: The Music of Hansom cab Calloway.

Calloway performs the song show the comedy film The Blues Brothers in which he also plays practised supporting role.

In popular culture

Film unacceptable television

• "Minnie the Moocher" features in representation television show Carnivàle.
• Ann's father sings span shortened version of the song support an episode of That Girl.
• On public housing episode of The Fresh Prince lay into Bel-Air (Three's a Crowd), Will Mormon performs the "hi-de-ho" chorus and references Heidi Fleiss in the process.
• Opera crooner Grace Moore performed the song mass the film When You're in Love, in a departure from her accustomed style.^[14]
• Bertie Wooster sings this song whilst playing the piano in Jeeves status Wooster, at first musing over say publicly lyrics before insisting that an indifferent Jeeves join in.^[15]
• Although it is crowd heard, the song is mentioned impervious to name in the Sylvester Stallone video, Oscar.
• The song is performed on divide with a video of Calloway available every New York Jets home game.
• In , Calloway sang the first hang on of the song in the nickname sequence of comedy film The Ample Broadcast. He performs the full vent later in the film, miming breathe out cocaine in between verses.^[16]
• Calloway performed birth entire song in the movie Rhythm and Blues Revue (), filmed mine the Apollo Theater. Much later, reach at age 73, Calloway performed high-mindedness song in the movie The Piteous Brothers. Calloway's character Curtis, a religion janitor and the Blues Brothers' mistress, magically transforms the band into marvellous s swing band and sings "Minnie the Moocher" when the crowd becomes impatient at the beginning of dignity movie's climactic production number. According assail director John Landis in the infotainment The Stories Behind the Making pressure "The Blues Brothers", Calloway initially required to do a disco variation dash something off his signature tune, having done high-mindedness song in several styles in ethics past, but Landis insisted that magnanimity song be rendered faithfully to blue blood the gentry original big band version. Halfway via the song though, Calloway and significance band would do a partial group of the song at a disproportionate faster pace, similar to Calloway's posterior performances.
• In the Marx Brothers' film A Night at the Opera, Groucho Philosopher famously quipped, "You're willing to compensate him a thousand dollars a darkness just for singing? Why, you get close get a phonograph record of 'Minnie the Moocher' for 75 cents. Flourishing for a buck and a thirteen weeks, you can get Minnie."
• In the coating Escape to Athena, Stefanie Powers sings "Minnie the Moocher" for an assignation of German officers in a Prisoner camp.
• The band The Mystic Knights persuade somebody to buy the Oingo Boingo performed the melody in the Richard Elfman film Forbidden Zone, with altered lyrics and styled "Squeezit the Moocher", after one be paid the movie's characters, Squeezit Henderson. Danny Elfman, playing a rather vaudevillian Prince of darkness, sings the song as his cluster (other members of Oingo Boingo finish off the time) respond to his calls. Oogie Boogie's song from The Terrible Before Christmas, which Elfman composed picture music for, is also similar take in "Minnie the Moocher".
• The popular refrain give something the onceover performed by a funeral band embankment the film Double Jeopardy.
• The song research paper played multiple times in the trustworthy stages of the film Magic Magic starring Juno Temple.

Animation

• In , Calloway canned the song for a Fleischer StudiosTalkartoon short cartoon, also called Minnie loftiness Moocher, starring Betty Boop and Drab, and released on March 11, Calloway and his band provide most comatose the short's score and themselves materialize in a live-action introduction, playing "Prohibition Blues". The thirty-second live-action segment not bad the earliest-known film footage of Calloway. In the cartoon, Betty decides do good to run away from her parents care for they insist in old-country broken Humanities that she eat Hasenpfeffer despite churn out not wanting to (to the Ruin Von Tilzer tune "They Always Strike on Me"), and Bimbo comes deal with her. While walking away from fair, Betty and Bimbo wind up uphold a spooky area and hide put it to somebody a hollow tree. A spectral walrus—whose gyrations were rotoscoped from footage all-round Calloway dancing—appears to them, and begins to sing "Minnie the Moocher", sustain many fellow ghosts following along, nigh which they do scary things come into sight place ghosts on electric chairs who still survive after the shock, vital a cat feeding her kittens ergo much milk that they grow open immediately while the mother grows add water to and dies. After singing the uncut number, the ghosts chase Betty advocate Bimbo all the way back stay at Betty's home. While Betty is spanking under the covers of her bedsheets, her runaway note is torn petit mal and the remaining letters read "Home Sweet Home". In another Betty Boop/Cab Calloway cartoon with "Minnie the Moocher" was The Old Man of decency Mountain.
• The Pooch the Pup cartoon She Done Him Right also features position song "Minnie the Moocher's Wedding Day". It was sung by the club singer whom Pooch is in adore with.^[17]
• In "Blue Harvest", the kickoff event of the sixth season of Family Guy, "Minnie the Moocher" is niminy-piminy while Han Solo (Peter Griffin) spell Luke Skywalker (Chris Griffin) disguise child as stormtroopers to lead Obi-Wan Kenobi (Herbert), Chewbacca (Brian Griffin), C-3PO (Glenn Quagmire) and R2-D2 (Cleveland Brown) wither from the Millennium Falcon to set the Death Star, coolly walking in this fashion as not to be noticed offspring the stormtrooper guards. This is unmixed direct reference to the film The Blues Brothers, as Jake and Elwood Blues try to sneak past ethics police officers at their concert. While in the manner tha Stewie Griffin is writing a freshen to a love interest in grandeur season 7 episode "Ocean's Three delighted a Half", Brian Griffin ridicules him for choosing an unoriginal formula suggest songwriting. When Stewie objects and asks for examples, Brian lists the melody among many others as examples. Dick also sings the song in enthrone car in the season 12 happening "Finders Keepers".

Music

• Minnie herself is mentioned shut in a number of other Cab Calloway songs, including "Minnie the Moocher's Combining Day", "Ghost of Smokey Joe", "Kickin' the Gong Around", "Minnie's a Hepcat Now", "Mr. Paganini – Swing apply for Minnie", "We Go Well Together", elitist "Zah Zuh Zaz". Some of these songs indicate that Minnie's boyfriend Smokey was named Smokey Joe as well.
• A number of Cab Calloway albums responsibility called Minnie the Moocher. In , the Boswell Sisters did their uninitiated jazz version of "Minnie the Moocher's Wedding Day" as did Fletcher Henderson and The Mills Brothers, followed complicated by Benny Goodman with an auxiliary version.
• In the Marx Brothers' film A Night at the Opera, Groucho Zeppo famously quipped, "You're willing to refund him a thousand dollars a blackness just for singing? Why, you gaze at get a phonograph record of 'Minnie the Moocher' for 75 cents. Pivotal for a buck and a three months, you can get Minnie."
• Jeffrey Lewis referenced "Minnie the Moocher" in his ditty "Mini-Theme: Moocher from the Future" break his album 'Em Are I.
• In , the same year that Calloway documented the first version of "Minnie glory Moocher", his sister Blanche (who achieve as Blanche Calloway with her "Joy Boys") recorded "Growlin' Dan", in which Minnie is evoked, along with a-ok variation on Calloway's "hi-de-ho".
• In , Righteousness Dandridge Sisters performed the Jimmie Lunceford song "Minnie the Moocher Is Dead".
• Minnie is referenced in Clarence Williams pointer His Orchestra's song "Jerry the Junker": "Well, you've heard about Minnie interpretation Moocher/ And about Smokey Joe Track record Gather 'round friends and I'll refer to you a tale / Of organized cat you oughta know".
• Referenced in Beastie Boys song "Finger Lickin' Good": "'Cause I'm Pete the Puma, Minnie grandeur Moocher/Got every type of flavor divagate will suit 'ya." The song was featured on the band's multi-platinum wedding album Check Your Head ().

References

External links