Brunswick 6074 – Cab Calloway and his Orchestra – 1931

Posted on October 31, 2017 by R. Connor Montgomery

It’s been quite a while since we’ve last heard from our old friend Cab Calloway here on Old Time Blues, but has come time to turn out attention to what may well be his greatest claim to fame—”Minnie the Moocher”.

Cab Calloway and his Orchestra in the early 1930s. Pictured in Of Minnie the Moocher & Me, photograph from Frank Driggs Collection.

With a career spanning more than half a century, it’s no stretch to say that Cab Calloway sang hundreds of songs on record, radio, stage, and screen, but no song is so indelibly identified with him as his own composition “Minnie the Moocher”. Minnie “messed around with a bloke named Smokey” who “showed her how to kick the gong around”—a euphemism for smoking opium. Cab wrote “Minnie” early in his career, around 1930, based heavily on “Willie the Weeper”, a popular folk tune and vaudeville favorite that originated in the early twentieth century. He first recorded it early in 1931, and it became an instant success, spawning close to a dozen covers in the first year. Becoming his theme song, Cab reprised “Minnie” in Fleischer Studios’ eponymous Betty Boop cartoon the following year, appearing both as himself and rotoscoped as a ghost walrus. Such a sensation it was that sequels followed, like “Kickin’ the Gong Around”, “Minnie the Moocher’s Wedding Day”. Cab’s original Brunswick recording was reissued all throughout the 1930s and onward, and he made new recording more than once, including an unissued Victor recording in 1933, and another for Okeh in 1942 (not to mention recordings made after the 78 era, upon which I’m not qualified to comment).

Brunswick 6074 was recorded on March 3, 1931 in New York City. Still following the basic roster of their predecessor, the Missourians, Cab’s orchestra is made up of R.Q. Dickerson, Lammar Wright, and Reuben Reeves on trumpets, De Priest Wheeler and Harry White on trombones, Arville Harris on clarinet and alto sax, Andrew Brown on bass clarinet and tenor sax, Walter “Foots” Thomas on alto, tenor, and baritone sax and flute, Earres Prince on piano, Morris White on banjo, Jimmy Smith on string bass and tuba, and Leroy Maxey on drums.

And so now here it is, Cab Calloway’s first ever recording of his theme song, “Minnie the Moocher (The Ho-De-Ho Song)”. “Minnie had a heart as big as a ‘hay-wale’.”

Minnie the Moocher (The Ho-De-Ho Song), recorded March 3, 1931 by Cab Calloway.

Unlike “Minnie”, Cab’s “Doin’ the Rumba” on the flip-side is all but forgotten. Nonetheless, it’s still a fine song, with hot, Spanish tinged, playing from the former Missourians.

Doin’ the Rumba, recorded March 3, 1931 by Cab Calloway.

Columbia 2504-D – King Carter and his Royal Orchestra – 1931

Posted on September 5, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

In today’s post, it is my pleasure to present to you what I consider to be one of the finest examples of early Depression-era jazz ever recorded. Two quite different, but both superb pieces played by a band billed as “King Carter and his Royal Orchestra”, which was in actuality a pseudonym for the always excellent (and unfortunately oft overlooked) Mills Blue Rhythm Band.

Columbia 2504-D was recorded June 25, 1931 in New York City, and the orchestra includes Wardell Jones, Shelton Hemphill, and Ed Anderson on trumpets, Harry White and Henry Hicks on trombone, Charlie Holmes on clarinet and alto sax, Ted and Castor McCord on clarinet and tenor sax, Edgar Hayes on piano, Benny James on banjo, Hayes Alvis on string bass, and Willie Lynch on drums. George Morton provides the vocal on “Moanin'”.

For these two sides, I found that my usual equalization hindered the crispness of the music, especially the trumpets and cymbals, so these transfers are presented straight off the record, no equalization whatsoever. I hope you’ll find the increased crispness outweighs the slight crackle.

The first side of this disc introduces us to the sizzling hot, and also quite modernistic tune “Blue Rhythm”, a fitting title for this band, even if they’re not using their actual name.

Blue Rhythm, recorded June 25, 1931 by King Carter and his Royal Orchestra.

Don’t let the worn label fool you, the flip side, “Moanin'”, is in just as good or better condition. This side seems to have some kind of “wobbly” effect to it, it’s not a flaw with this particular copy, but is in fact a fault in the engineering, and is present on all pressings. Maybe the needle on the cutting lathe was worn out when it was recorded.

For me, this side conjures up the images of sitting a smoke-filled Harlem jazz club in the years after the stock market crash, as swing begins to evolve from its primordial soup of hot jazz, taking it slow and easy as the fast paced world passes by outside the door.

Moanin’, recorded June 25, 1931 by King Carter and his Royal Orchestra.

Melotone M 12639 – Cab Calloway and his Orchestra – 1930

Posted on August 21, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

I think it’s about time I featured a Cab Calloway record, so here it is, one of his earliest records, as well as one of his best. At such an early recording date, Calloway’s band retained the most of the members, and hot sound of their predecessor, the Missourians.

Melotone M 12639, originally issued as Brunswick 6020, was recorded on December 23, 1930 in New York, two days before Cab’s birthday, in New York City, this Melotone was issued around early to mid 1933. These sides feature Cab singing and directing the band, and includes R.Q. Dickerson, Lammar Wright, and Reuben “River” Reeves on trumpets, De Priest Wheeler and Harry White on trombones, William Thornton Blue on clarinet and alto sax, Andrew Brown on bass clarinet and tenor sax, Walter “Foots” Thomas on alto, tenor and baritone saxes, Earres Prince on piano, Morris White on banjo, Jimmy Smith on bass, and Leroy Maxey on drums.

The band’s energetic performance of the evergreen classic “Some of These Days” is one of Cab’s hottest tunes ever recorded, with the (ex-)Missourians playing as hot as ever. This side has a few small needle digs that cause slight disruption near the end, please try to excuse them.