Cabell Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the swing era. His niche of mixing jazz and vaudeville won him acclaim during a career that spanned over 65 years.
The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940). The club operated during the United States' era of Prohibition and Jim Crow era racial segregation. Black people initially could not patronize the Cotton Club, but the venue featured many of the most popular black entertainers of the era, including musicians Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Chick Webb, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Fats Waller, Willie Bryant; vocalists Adelaide Hall, Ethel Waters, Cab Calloway, Bessie Smith, Lillie Delk Christian, Aida Ward, Avon Long, the Dandridge Sisters, the Will Vodery choir, The Mills Brothers, Nina Mae McKinney, Billie Holiday, Midge Williams, Lena Horne, and dancers such as Katherine Dunham, Bill Robinson, The Nicholas Brothers, Charles 'Honi' Coles, Leonard Reed, Stepin Fetchit, the Berry Brothers, The Four Step Brothers, Jeni Le Gon and Earl Snakehips Tucker.
I Love to Singa is a 1936 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Tex Avery. The short was released on July 18, 1936.
Irving Harold Mills was an American music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz promoter. He often used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose.
"Pretty Baby" is a song written by Tony Jackson during the Ragtime era. The song was remembered as being prominent in Jackson's repertory before he left New Orleans in 1912, but was not published until 1916.
William Randolph "Cozy" Cole was an American jazz drummer who worked with Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong among others and led his own groups.
"Jumping Jive" is a famous jazz/swing composition, written by Cab Calloway, Frank Froeba, and Jack Palmer. Originally recorded on 17 July 1939, on Vocalion Records, it sold over a million copies and reached #2 on the Pop chart. Calloway performs the song with his orchestra and the Nicholas Brothers in the 1943 musical film Stormy Weather.
"April Showers" is a 1921 popular song composed by Louis Silvers with lyrics by B. G. De Sylva.
Edward Emanuel Barefield was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist and arranger most noteworthy for his work with Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, and Duke Ellington. Barefield's musical career included work as an arranger of the ABC Orchestra and for the "Endorsed by Dorsey: program on WOR. He also appeared in several films. He married performer Connie Harris.
The Sunset Cafe, also known as The Grand Terrace Cafe, was a jazz club in Chicago, Illinois operating during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. It was one of the most important jazz clubs in America, especially during the period between 1917 and 1928 when Chicago became a creative capital of jazz innovation and again during the emergence of bebop in the early 1940s. From its inception, the club was a rarity as a haven from segregation, since the Sunset Cafe was an integrated or "Black and Tan" club where African Americans, along with other ethnicities, could mingle freely with white Americans without much fear of reprisal. Many important musicians developed their careers at the Sunset/Grand Terrace Cafe.
Cab Calloway's Hi-De-Ho is an American musical short film directed by Fred Waller and released by Paramount Pictures in 1934. The film stars jazz bandleader Cab Calloway and actress Fredi Washington. In 2001, the film was reissued by Kino International in the DVD collection Hollywood Rhythm: Vol. 1-The Best Of Jazz And Blues.
Beverly Louise Roberts was an American film and stage actress of the 1930s, as well as a singer and painter. She worked as a business executive in the entertainment industry through the 1970s.
Al Jolson was an American singer, actor, and vaudevillian.
Sybil Jason was an American child film actress who, in the late 1930s, was presented as a rival to Shirley Temple.
"Avalon" is a 1920 popular song written by Al Jolson, Buddy DeSylva and Vincent Rose referencing Avalon, California. It was introduced by Jolson and interpolated in the musicals Sinbad and Bombo. Jolson's recording rose to number two on the charts in 1921. The song was possibly written by Rose, but Jolson's popularity as a performer allowed him to claim composer co-credit. Originally, only Rose and Jolson were credited, and DeSylva's name was added later.
Shell Chateau was a musical variety radio series heard on NBC from April 6, 1935 to June 26, 1937. Sponsored by Shell Oil, the hour-long program, sometimes called The Shell Show, was broadcast on Saturday evenings at 9:30pm.
Manhattan Merry-Go-Round is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Charles Reisner and starring Phil Regan,Leo Carrillo and Ann Dvorak. It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction by John Victor Mackay.
The Cab Calloway Orchestra, based at the exclusive Cotton Club in Harlem, was, for more than a decade, one of the most important jazz bands in America. Different lineups featured the best available established musicians.
The Cotton Club Boys were African American chorus line entertainers who, from 1934, performed class act dance routines in musical revues produced by the Cotton Club until 1940, when the club closed, then as part of Cab Calloway's revue on tour through 1942.
The Missourians were an American jazz band active in the 1920s, who performed at the Cotton Club in New York City and eventually became the backing band for Cab Calloway.
