Part 3: The Fifties and the last tentatives
June 8-14, 1951: Excellent but poor
What happened just before:
• June 1-6 – Pelham Heath Inn, Bronx, New York, NY
• 3 – Mystery Guest of TV Show “What’s My Line” (panelists are Dorothy Kilgallen, Red Barbern, Arlene Francis; moderator is John Daly), LOST EPISODE #53
Half-page of a 4-page advance program of the Apollo,
celebrating Cab back in Harlem at the Apollo
Remark:
• 5 shows daily (plus midnight show on Saturday 9)
Orchestra:
16 musicians
Probably: Jonah Jones, Doc Cheatham, Shad Collins, tp; Ed Mullens, tb; Eddie Barefield, Hilton Jefferson, Sam The Man Taylor, sax; Dave Rivera, p; Panama Francis, d; Milt Hinton, b
Helen James (vocalist)
Other performers and acts:
The Larks, Jackie ‘Moms’ Mabley, Helen James, The Congaroos, The Vanderbilt Boys
New York Age, June 9, 1951
On screen:
Songs and tunes performed:
- Fine and Dandy
- St. Louis Blues
- That Old Black Magic (parody) (Cab, voc)
- Be My Love (Helen James, voc)
- I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Helen James, voc)
- Hopefully Yours (5-man vocal group, The Larks, voc)
- It Feels So Good (5-man vocal group, The Larks, voc)
- Lucy Brown (5-man vocal group, The Larks, voc)
- Frosty Morning (Cab, voc)
- Que Pasa Chica (Cab, voc)
- El Pinguiño (Cab, voc)
Possible list:
- Songs in the current repertoire:
- St. Louis Blues
- Shotgun Boogie
- One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)
- Night and Day
Video example of what the Cab Calloway show and line up looked like
(March 27, 1951, Kreisler Bandstand) Shotgun Boogie
Review:
“Diversified layout on tap this week wins hefty plaudits all the way. Cab Calloway’s orch, headling, sets the click pace, delivering a flock of melodic and jive tunes in top form. Band, which recently returned from a South American tour, is the largest and perhaps the best Calloway has had in some years. Comprised of four rhythm, five reeds and six brass, the orch’s expert musicianship is evident in solid renditions of “Fine and Dandy” and “St. Louis Blues.” The maestro, sans his hi-de-ho styling, handles the vocals on the latter tunes and also socks across the “Black Magic” lyrics for sock results.
Band’s femme appeal is supplied by vocalist Helen James, who comes on in and all too brief session with “Be My Love” and “Ive Got You Under My Skin.” Band also makes a good appearance in blue coats and grey slacks, and Calloway handles the emcee chores with top showmanship. (…) Calloway’s crew cuts the show nicely.” (Variety, June 6, 1951)
Wrote Cab in his column for Atlanta Daily World, dated July 31, 1951: "At the Apollo in New York, we had the audience shouting and whistling at the first number. And I got a big kick out of doing my version of "Old Black Magic"; bringing a couple of hit Cuban mambos back from Havana ("El Penguino", and "Que Pasa Chica"); and blasting our new record click "Frosty Morning" (which won raves from Billboard, Variety and Cash Box trade papers)."
Cab dancing on the stage of the Apollo,
probably in June 1951 (Jet, December 6, 1951)
Schiffman’s commentary:
“Big band very good. Cab excellent with all modern music. Poor business.”
What’s happening during the week:
• 9 (4pm) – Appears in person along with Gene Courtney, for the opening of the clothes shop Sa-Ray’s, Levittown, Long Island, NY
• 11 – Cab gets a ticket for speeding on the Triborough Bridge (cf. January 30, 1953 for issued warrant), New York, NY
• 13 (8:30) – Guest with Joe Bushkin, Jan Garber and Tommy Tucker in Tex Beneke’s “Kreisler Bandstand” on WJZ-TV (last show of the season and show)
What’s happening right after:
• 14-17 – Opening festivities for his “Cab Calloway’s Lobster’s Yard” under supervision of Blanche Calloway, Austin Boulevard, Long Beach, NY
• 18 (10 pm-5 am) – “Negro Dance”, with his orchestra along with the Griffin Brothers orchestra, 33rd June German, Planters Warehouse, Rocky Mount, NC
• 23ca-29 – Yacht Club, Atlantic City, NJ
January 4-10, 1952: Incomparable, with no drawing power
What happened just before:
• December 22-23 – with his “band, 15 all-American stars, Jackie Moms Mobley, Willie & Ann, Saxy Williams, State, Hartford, CT
• Holidays vacation
Double page dedicated to Cab's fame and reputation.
On the right side, note the ad for Calloway's turbulent alumni DIzzy Gillespie
Remark:
• 5 shows daily (plus midnight show on Saturday XX)
• The week before Cab, Illinois Jacquet, former tenor sax in his band (1943-1944) was the feature star of the week at the Apollo.
• The week after Cab, Dizzy Gillespie, former trumpet player (1939-1941) in his band was the feature star of the week at the Apollo.
• In the advance program printed by the Apollo, a persuasive text proclaims: “Cab Calloway has been and still remains one of the great living institutions in show business. Counted down, out, dead and buried by the unfaithful, those who know him as a man, showman and musician never lost their faith in the great CAB.”
New York Age, January 5, 1952
Orchestra:
15 members: six brass (probably: Jonah Jones, Doc Cheatham, Shad Collins; Ed Mullens), five reed (probably: Eddie Barefield, Hilton Jefferson, Sam The Man Taylor) and four rhythm (probably: Dave Rivera, p; Panama Francis, d; Milt Hinton, b)
Other performers and acts:
Four Tunes, The Congaroos, Billy & Ann, Spider Bruce, John Mason and his comedy company
On screen:
Songs and tunes performed:
- Lullaby (Cab, voc)
- That Old Black Magic (Cab, voc)
- Smooth Sailing (band)
Possible list:
Songs in the current repertoire:
- Jezebel
- Too Young
- St. Louis Blues
Video example of what the Cab Calloway show and line up looked like: St. Louis Blues (1952)
Review:
“Apollo’s post-holiday bill is a fast paced, music filled potpourri which clicks. Although headliner Cab Calloway topped the show here only a few months ago, it’s a credit to his showmanship that he keeps the house eager and alert on his offerings.
Comprised of six brass, five reed and four rhythm, the band dishes out an assortment of jive and ballad tunes. Calloway’s standard body motion and facial grimaces give the set a visual plus. He scores with his vocalling of “Lullaby” and “Old Black Magic.” Band gets best mitt for its highly stylized rendition of “Smooth Sailing.” (…) Calloway cuts the show in top style.” (Gros., Variety, January 9, 1952)
Schiffman’s commentary:
[Gross:] $5,841.85
“Large band. Good. Cab still a superb showman. No drawing power.”
What’s happening during the week:
• 10 – JET Magazine publishes an article titled “Negro Singers Who Refuse to Pass” where Cab is pictured and among Herb Jeffries, Billy Daniels, Willie Smith and Willie Bryant.
What’s happening right after:
• 12 – Guest with Peggy Lee, TV Show “Songs for Sale”, WTOP-TV
• 24– Guest on the TV show “Star of the Family”, with Rudy Vallee, Faye Emerson, Skitch Henderson, and Olga San Juan and Blanche Calloway, hosts: Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy, New York, NY
April 15-21, 1955: Backed by the 20th century Gabriel
What happened just before:
• March: “Cab took the 10th annual award of merit of the George Washington Carver Institute, devoted to advancement of the Arts and Sciences among Negroes” (Lansing State Journal, March 27, 1955)
• April 7-13 – Ottawa, ONT, CANADA
One page of 4-page folded Apollo handbill
Remark:
• More than 3 years between to engagements at the Apollo! Articles mention 4 even 5 years of absence!
• Cab is a single act now.
• 5 shows daily (plus midnight show on Saturday 16)
Orchestra:
Erskine Hawkins and His Band provide music for Cab Calloway
Other performers and acts:
Jackie ‘Moms’ Mabley, Erskine Hawkins and his band, Della Reese, Rosa LaRoso, Hop, Skip, & Jump, Don Phillips
On screen:
Unidentified movie
Songs and tunes performed:
Possible list:
Songs in the current repertoire:
- It Ain’t Necessarily So (from Porgy and Bess)
- There’s A Boat Dat Leavin’ Soon For New York (from Porgy and Bess)
Reviews:
• No review found for this engagement.
Daily News, April 20, 1955
Schiffman’s commentary:
[Gross:] $2500.00
“Appeared as a single. Is excellent showman, but did not have a good act. Salary unjustified because Theatre operated at a substantial loss.”
Photo autographed the last day of his engagement at the Apollo
(picture was taken in Cuba in 1949)
(courtesy Keller Whalen, that amazing collector - and friend)
What’s happening during the week:
• “Broadway smart talk” is mentioning Cab Calloway for a musical show after his performance in Porgy and Bess (New ork Age, April 23, 1955)
What’s happening right after:
• April 22-28 – with his orchestra, along with the Marquez Sisters, The Boulevard, Queens, New York, NY
• April 25: Guest of the Steve Allen Tonight! TV show, probably backed by Skitch Henderson; other guests: Bea Arthur, Robert Clary, Gloria DeHaven, Patricia Hammerlee, Ferdi B. Hoffman, Kurt Kassznar, Ricardo Montalban, Gerrianne Raphael, Chita Rivera (all from Broadway show “Seventh Heaven”), Hudson Theater, New York, NY
• Cab will tour 4 weeks in Mexico in May
May 18-24, 1956: The last and worst ever flop
What happened just before:
• May 4-5-6: Starlite, in Chicago, IL: single act, plus singer Dagmar with her company; plus the Chuckles, Eddie Fontaine, Egony Bros, Benny Sharpe and His Rock ‘n’ Roll Band.
• May 12: “The Music of Gershwin” special TV show in color on NBC-TV, with other guests like Alfred Drake, Tony Bennett, Eugene List, Art Van Damme Quintet, Ethel Merman. Cab sings selections from “Porgy and Bess”.
The New York Age, May 19, 1956
Remark:
Appears as a single performer
Orchestra:
Backed by Cal GREEN band (11 musicians)
Other performers and acts:
Midnighters, Berk & Hallow, Ethel Ennis, Jenkins & Seales, Johnny Torres
Cab Calloway and Ethel Ennis at the Apollo
(photos and montage probably by Gordon Anderson, 1956)
On screen:
Advertising block in Variety, May 23, 1956
Songs and tunes performed:
- Minnie The Moocher
- Chigga-Chigga-Wa-Wa (just released as a 45 RPM on ABC Paramount 45-9689)
- That Old Black Magic
- I Feel Tip Top
- It Ain’t Necessarily So
- The Voice
Review:
“With or without a band Cab Calloway is a standout performer. In this trip at the Harlem flagship, he’s working solo in a 25-minute songbag that’s socko throughout. (…) Calloway is still the hi-de-ho man to the crowd here. (…) Throughout he displays a distinctive vocal technique and a stage savvy that’s top.” (Variety, May 23, 1956)
Schiffman’s commentary:
[Salary] $ 2000.00
"Still a good blues singer with a very poor act. Business about the worst ever with a loss exceeding $6,000.”
What’s happening right after:
• May 24 (7 pm) – Among the speakers (Eleanor Roosevelt, Adam Clayton Powell, Roy Wilkins, Israel Goldstein, Sammy Davis, Jr., Tallulah Bankhead, Joey Adams, Josh White, Barry Gray), Civil Rights Rally, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• Cab sells his Long Island house.
• That was the very last engagement of Cab at the Apollo until the seventies and the special TV shows.
BONUS: 1955 - “Rhythm and Blues Revue”
Original one-sheet poster. Have you ever noticed that Cab Calloway doesn't appear on it?
This musical variety show allegedly filmed at the Apollo (with the audience cheering between numbers) features a cast of popular African-American performers: Freddie Robinson, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Faye Adams, Bill Bailey, Herb Jeffries, Amos Milburn, Sarah Vaughan, Nipsey Russell, Big Joe Turner, Martha Davis, Little Buck, Nat 'King' Cole, Mantan Moreland, Cab Calloway and Ruth Brown.
Every performer is announced by the bandleader (and a regular at the Apollo) Willie Bryant.
In reality, nothing was filmed on 125th Street: the whole film is a montage of Snader Telescriptions previously shot for television and assembled for Black theaters.
Cab appears as the penultimate number, at 01:02:30 with Minnie the Moocher, filmed in 1951. With him are the Cab Jivers (Jonah Jones on trumpet; Milt Hinton on bass, Panama Francis on drums, Dave Rivera on piano + an unidentified female dancer only appearing as a silhouette). And if you have good eyes (and one for fashion), you’ll notice that MC Willie Bryant wears a different tie than with the other artists, and that Cab wears the same jacket than on the 1951 television snippet “Shotgun Boogie” shown above.
Enjoy the whole Rhythm and Blues Revue!
