Following are a few highlights of Calloway`s classic performances, as preserved on recordings and video:
A Collector`s ”Porgy and Bess” (RCA Victrola).
You haven`t heard George Gershwin`s ”It Ain`t Necessarily So” until you`ve heard Calloway`s rendition. Never has the tune sounded more insidious, threatening or fearsome; a virtuoso performance. (Reviewed on LP.)
Big Broadcast of 1933.
Calloway turns in the most appealing performance of a silly, revue-style musical. His song-and-dance routine epitomizes his unique combination of elegant dance steps and hard-driving vocals.
Cab Calloway and His Orchestra (Jazz Classics Video).
Calloway`s work here doesn`t match the intensity of his performance in
”Big Broadcast of 1933,” but the video showcases him in a variety of numbers, tempos and moods. It`s a worthy document of Calloway in his middle years.
