An unusual CD uniting the complete 1961 stereo album "Blues Make Me Happy" with, as bonus tracks from 1956 to 1960, a dozen of the most atypical recordings that Cab ever made. Seven of the blues songs were on a 1992 mail order-only release, while the other 17 selections, including swing songs, ballads, inspirational, r&b, novelties, and even rock'n'roll, have never been on CD at all.
The summer of 1945 marked a key moment in Calloway's career, as he performed at Cafe Zanzibar, a jazz hotspot in New York City. The broadcasts from this period capture the essence of Calloway's artistry, featuring beloved classics and innovative arrangements. His renditions of tracks like "St. Louis Blues" and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby" showcase his flair for breathing new life into familiar material while pushing jazz's boundaries.
Vinyl LP pressing. Cab Calloway was a trailblazing entertainer, an early king of cool, and an American icon. In a career spanning six decades, he was a talented bandleader, known for hiring the very best talent, before going on to become a revered solo artist, actor, and author. Effortlessly breaking down racial barriers, Calloway brought African-American music to mainstream audiences. This collection of timeless tracks takes us back to his glory days as one of the most exciting young bandleaders in the history of popular music. So much more than a band leader, over nearly seven decades, this exuberant and energetic performer also shone as a solo artist, a dancer, and star of radio, stage, and screen. In addition, he was an acclaimed author, penning the classic cultural artefact, Cab Calloway's Hepster Dictionary. If you use the term Big Apple to refer to New York City, you have Cab Calloway to thank! This mighty 14 track LP concentrates on his classic releases and naturally includes the monster hit Minnie The Moocha alongside his numerous tunes following Minnie's saga. Using some of the greatest songsmith's alongside his own penmanship, Calloway and his orchestra's versions of songs such as Saint James Infirmary, Trickeration, The Ghost Of Smoky Joe, (Hep Hep) The Jumpin' Jive and The Honeydripper are sure to get you out of your casuals and into your hippest of dancing gear. This is Cab Calloway, the original hep cat, at the peak of his creative powers.
Cab Calloway was a jazz singer, bandleader, songwriter, dancer and actor who came to fame as a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he blended jazz and vaudeville to establish a niche that stood him in good stead as an entertainer across seven decades, with one of his most famous roles in later years coming in the 1980 "Blues Brothers" movie. He developed a personal style of scat singing, and was able to deliver novelty-flavoured material with swinging jazz credibility, assembling a band that over the years included jazz luminaries like Ben Webster, Milt Hinton, Doc Cheatham, Chu Berry, Cozy Cole, Dizzy Gillespie and others. This excellent-value 48-track 2-CD set features the releases from this era on the Brunswick, Victor, Variety, Vocalion, Okeh, Columbia and ABC-Paramount labels which were credited with chart positions, plus a few bonus tracks. Those 45 hits include the No. 1 "Minnie The Moocher" and the Top 5 hits "Kickin' The Gong Around", "St. James Infirmary", "Tickeration", "Minnie The Moocher's Wedding Day", "Chinese Rhythm", "Moonglow", "Angels With Dirty Faces", "The Jumpin' Jive", "Blues In The Night" and "The Honey Dripper". He was a unique personality, and these recordings underline his skill and versatility in performing fine swinging jazz while giving it a highly individual comedic twist, and we hope this collection of his best sellers from the era provides an entertaining showcase for his distinctive talents.
