Hi-De-Ho: The Life of Cab Calloway
"Mr. Shipton's excellent book should convince many readers and, I hope, some critics, that it might be time to experience Calloway's recordings and movies again, and try to discover, in part at least, what the hi-de-ho-ing was all about." --William F. Gavin,The Washington Times"I met Cab Calloway at Eddie Condon's club -- he lit up the room by his presence and I can understand why everyone loved the man. Alyn Shipton captures Cab's spirit in his biographyHi-De-Ho; every page is filled with anecdotes about Cab and his music. Chu Berry, Ben Webster, and other well known musicians spring from the pages. Not only does Shipton bring Cab Calloway to life, he makes the reader understand the era in which he lived. For a short time, we enter his world, and what a world it was." --Marian McPartland OBE, jazz pianist, writer, composer, radio host (Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz)"If you think Cab Calloway was just a show-off chanting "Hi De Ho" and shaking his hair, think again. Thanks to Alyn Shipton, we now have an entirely new and convincing portrait of the singer/bandleader/actor. Thoroughly researched and engaging, Shipton's book has enlightened us with the complete story of this important artist." --Krin Gabbard, author ofHotter Than That: The Trumpet, Jazz, and American Culture"Hi-De-Hodelivers! Beautifully written and multifaceted - this revealing biography crystallizes the transformative power of Cab Calloway's groundbreaking genius.  In a manner as universal and inspiring as the legend portrayed, Shipton highlights the breadth and impact of my grandfather's continuing legacy." --Christopher Calloway Brooks, Director - The Cab Calloway Orchestra"Shipton presents in admirable detail Calloway's professional apex as Cotton Club headliner and leader of the foremost big band in the United States and reveals him as a superior artistic tactician.  He also offers critical reconsiderations of Calloway's vocal and instrumental recordings, making a strong case for his inclusion as a musical innovator in the class of Louis Armstrong or Duke Ellington. An essential purchase for any jazz or popular music collection." --Library Journal"Makes a solid case for Calloway as a jazz musician as well as an entertainer, and he certainly makes you want to listen to 'Minnie' and all the others, for the umpteenth time in my case and, it is to be hoped, for the first time in others." --The Washington Post"Shipton, for his part, is an enthusiastic advocate, not just for Calloway but also for the mostly forgotten instrumentalists who worked in his orchestra over the years. Yet his analysis of the recordings tends to be astute, and is the high point of this book. All celebrity musicians should be blessed with such a sympathetic listener for a biographer." --The Weekly Standard"Alyn Shipton's is the first full-length book devoted to the man. The British broadcaster has written extensively about figures in the singer's orbit-including trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Doc Cheatham, guitarist Danny Barker, and songwriter Jimmy McHugh-and here deftly brings out the band's inner musical dynamics." --The Wall Street Journal"Shipton gives [Calloway] his due. Must reading for swing buffs." --Terry Teachout"This formidable book opens the door for future books on Calloway's enduring influence." -The Week"Recommended for any music fan, particularly to those of us who had our first glimpse of Calloway in the 'Blues Brothers' movie." --The Herald Sun"Enlightening. Thorough. This is the first real biography of an important cultural icon...Shipton describes how theSesame Streetproducers saw potential in his attire and scatting vocalizations as he did "commercials" for numbers and letters. Cab jumped in enthusiastically. InThe Blues Brothershe plays a janitor who, through movie magic, suddenly turns to Hi-De-Ho'ing while the Brothers are evading the police. As Shipton describes these moments, you're there." --JJA News"Provides a reliable, fully informed account of Calloway's career, one in which the emphasis is placed squarely - and properly - on his musical achievements...I can think of no better way to be brought face to face with the extent of that achievement than to readHi-De-Ho." --Commentary"It is the great merit of Mr. Shipton's richly documented, well-written, and musically informed "Hi-De-Ho" that he makes a convincing case for Calloway as an unjustly neglected entertainer...Mr. Shipton's excellent book should convince many readers and, I hope, some critics, that it might be time to experience Calloway's recordings and movies again, and try to discover, in part at least, what the hi-de-ho-ing was all about." --The Washington Times"Hi-De-Hodutifully fulfills its role as the sorely needed and long-awaited starting point for Calloway studies, as Shipton opens the door to numerous avenues of future research on the performer." --American Music