All Things Vintage: Cab Calloway #AprilA2Z
Thank you, kittens and dawgs for joining me for another edition of All Things Vintage!
Two Chattanooga Tennessee attorneys in 1899 believed they could build a business around bottling Coca-Cola. It looks like they were right.
Cab Calloway is best known for his role in 1980 comedy The Blues Brothers in which he sang his popular 1931 hit song Minnie the Moocher.
Calloway played in several played in several Chicago Cabarets, but he had a strong association with the Cotton Club in Harlem (NYC). Here’s a bit of trivia you might enjoy. Did you know, Cab Calloway inspired one of the most well-known dance moves of our times? It’s recorded that he said, “It was called ‘The Buzz‘ back then.” In some of his movies he performs a gliding back-step dance move. In this clip beginning at 2:37 you can see Calloway’s move, see if you can figure out the modern version.
Do you know the dance move? If you guessed the Moonwalk, then you’re right.
Music moves people! You might find folks in the earlier part of the 20th century doing the Cakewalk or the Charleston or in my part of the country Clogging.
A cabaret is a nightclub or restaurant featuring entertainment, do you like dining where there is live music?
I want to say a special thank you to all of my good friends who make up the incredibly gifted A2Z Team:
Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Heather M. Gardner
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
AJ Lauer
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Damyanti Biswas @ Daily Write
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
John Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing
This is a quick & painless way for others to find good tunes in Blogosphere by joining my no strings attached music hop, just add your music post URL below and wha-lah… instant traffic directed to your site.
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If you like music, then you might want to visit:
- Monday’s Music Moves Me
- Music Monday
- Musical Monday
- The Monday’s Music Medicine
Now, I invite you to hop with me in checking out some of the amazing A2Zers playing along this year and I hope you’ll come back tomorrow on Tuesday because I accidentally posted this a day early, silly me, to read about Dear Abby.
37 Comments
Caz Greenham Author
Fab!
@CazsBooks
#azchat
John Holton
I was going to share the Betty Boop cartoon that featured Cab, but I see Debbie already did… A Max Fleischer cartoon with a soundtrack by Cab Calloway. Sublime!
Arlee Bird
I recall running across a YouTube video of many instances of past dancers doing the moonwalk. Pretty cool. Cab Calloway was fantastic.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
Cathy Kennedy
Lee, do you mean past dancers doing similar moves to the moonwalk? MJ certainly made this move famous. It’s interesting to know the origin of the moonwalk started with Cab Calloway.
Arlee Bird
Right now I find this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xH7VymwHLmo
But I thought I had seen one in the past that was edited along with a Michael Jackson song and it was pretty cool. Still it’s cool to see these dancers from the past doing what many thought was originated by Michael Jackson.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
Mike Spain
Neat! I do like eating and catching a show
greyzoned/angelsbark
That was some move! I guessed the moonwalk before seeing it. I actually like Cab’s version better than Michael’s.
I have never heard of the dances the Cakewalk or Clogging. I’ll have to look those up. The Charleston I love to see.
Great video of Cab Calloway. Those were the days in the cabarets, huh?
Love the Coca-Cola ad too! Boy, how times have changed with regards to advertising…
Great C post Cathy!
Michele at Angels Bark
Cathy Kennedy
Michele, we did the cakewalk when I was in elementary school. I can’t remember exactly how we did it now, but it was usually done when the school was raising money and they’d offer a cake to the lucky person who landed on the right spot while doing the cakewalk. The only thing I remember is we formed a circle holding hands and while the music played we went around in a circle and then when the music stopped someone won a cake. Clogging is kinda like tap dancing, except it’s more like stomping. Does that make sense? I never did this and I think the first time I ever heard of clogging was in the early 80s.
dianatierney3
Such great information on Cab Calloway! Blues Brothers is one of my favorite movies and I never knew this about him.
Just stopping in from https://creatingherstory.wordpress.com/
Srivi
I hadn’t heard of him but its a nice way to get to know about someone! And you gave a very interesting trivia about the modern day moonwalk!
Lovely post Cathy 🙂
Cathy Kennedy
Srivi, Have you not seen the movie The Blues Brothers? It’s an 80s flick and if you like comedy then I highly recommend you checking it out. 🙂
Srivi
No, I have not seen it.. But now I shall surely check it out .. 🙂 Thanks Cathy 🙂
Cathy Kennedy
Srivi, let me know what you think!
Srivi
Sure ..
XmasDolly
Minnie the Moocher was always my Mom’s favorite tune to dance too or sing with or both I dunno, but she always liked the way he danced. That was nice of that girl to post Betty Boop’s tune. hahaha Love that Betty Boop. Thanks for sharing the greatest scat guy I ever heard. You’re duh best girlfriend. Have a rockin’ day & thanks for joinin’ us to livin’ up this place… hehehehe~
Cathy Kennedy
Marie, Cab Calloway was a character. It was great fun learning about him and to find out his dance move was borrowed and made famous by MJ. The vintage cartoon shared by Debbie is great and actually shows Cab doing “The Buzz” better than in the one I shared. So, glad you enjoyed, my friend!
stevebethere
I hadn’t heard of him before either loved those vids so nostalgic 🙂
Have a nostalgictastic week Cathy 🙂
Cathy Kennedy
Steve, Although, I’ve heard of the song, Minnie the Moocher, I didn’t know the artist. I first met Calloway through the 80s flick The Blues Brothers and I’m finding many my age (50-something) didn’t know who he is until this movie came out. It’s always fun to learn new things.
Patrick Weseman
Cab Calloway was one of the greatest, sadly people forgot about him until he was “reborn” with the Blues Brothers movie. He is an American Treasure.
Jeffrey__Scott
I was guessing it was the moonwalk, I heard Michael Jackson actually ‘borrowed’ that move.Seems like I heard right.
Cathy Kennedy
Jeffrey, yep seems like you got it right. I had no clue that MJ lifted this dance move from Cab. It’s great learning new stuff like this. 🙂
Debbie D.
That was another fun read! 🙂 I remember “Minnie the Moocher: from a very old cartoon. Found it:
Cathy Kennedy
Debbie, thanks for sharing the video. This is a great example of Cab doing “The Buzz”. It’s much better than the vid that I shared.
Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor
I’ve heard of Cab Calloway, but didn’t know much about him until I read your post. Very informative! I do like dining in places with live music. Dinner and a show is always enjoyable.
Cheers – Ellen | http://thecynicalsailor.blogspot.com/2016/04/c-is-for-catamaran-nancy-drew.html
Cathy Kennedy
Ellen, thank you for stopping by and leaving a little comment love. We use to dine at a restaurant that had live jazz music and it was the bees knees. The restaurant closed eventually and I was bummed to learn this. Now, I don’t know of any good place in town where we can get both ~ a good meal and music.
Thomas Anderson
Hi, Cathy!
I am very familiar with Cab Calloway. As a boy I heard his name often, and I remember my parents taking me to see one of his shows in the mid 50s. It might have been at the York Interstate Fair. Clearly Cab’s deft dance moves influenced not only Michael Jackson, but James Brown and Elvis Presley, too!
Thank you very much for the Sunday entertainment, dear friend Cathy!
Cathy Kennedy
Tom, I’m impressed that you actually saw Cab perform. How cool is that?! You know, I know that the Cab Calloways are true inspiration for any artist that followed and learning these tid-bits is what makes blogging so much fun. This challenge is always an eye opener in new and revealing facts learned during research. Thanks for stopping by!
Robin
As you say, I had no idea the moonwalk wasn’t an “80s thang.” Learn something new every single day!!!
Cathy Kennedy
Robin, yeah, I didn’t know, either. It’s cool to learn that this new dance move is really vintage hip!
Alex J. Cavanaugh (@AlexJCavanaugh)
Getting the jump on Monday I see!
Didn’t know the Moonwalk was that old.
And grateful for bottled Coke.
Cathy Kennedy
Alex, actually I got a jump accidentally. I meant to post on Monday, but I messed up. *smack forehead* Oh well, what’s done is done. Yeah, who knew the moonwalk was this old!
Birgit
You are a day ahead but that’s ok because I love Cab Calloway:) He was quite the entertainer and I did know that M.J stole that move like he stole so much else…..sorry not a fan of that pedifile. Back to the a,along Cab…it’s so nice that we have these movie bits to see how great he was. Funny you mention Cabaret…..
Cathy Kennedy
Birgit, yep a day early…accidentally. lol MJ was a strange person, but he did have some good music.
Mary B
Believe it or not, I had never heard of him before. But that moonwalk! Mighty impressive! I’m going to have to make a note to myself to come back and join in your music bloghop. That sounds like a lot of fun!
Mary
Twitter: @KnottyMarie
Literary Gold
Jingle Jangle Jungle
Cathy Kennedy
Mary, yes do join me on Mondays after things blow over this month. Have a good week!
Keith Channing
You’re absolutely correct. Prior to the Blues Brothers, I hadn’t heard of Cab Calloway. And to think, when Minnie the Moocha was recorded, our Queen was only five years old!
Keith Channing A-Zing from http://keithkreates.com
Cathy Kennedy
Keith, Cab recorded this song six years before my daddy and 14 years before my mother were born. My daddy’s mother was born in 1908 and my mother’s parents were born in the early 20s, so Cab Calloway music, assuming they listened to the evils of jazz, is better suited to their timelines. I kinda doubt that my grandparents had anything to do with jazz music. They were very simple people who lived in southern West Virginia. Of course, during prohibition and afterwards moonshine was made in the backwoods and sold. Daddy told some stories from his youth, but I can’t remember any of them with any accuracy. I’m going to have to get his accounts on these things for future story telling, I believe. Thanks for stopping by!