Cab Calloway arrived for his sound check at Cincinnati's Music Hall alone, somewhat frail-looking and without fanfare; indeed, I was the only "fan" waiting at the stage door to meet him. As I approached him, he seemed to be lost in thought but when I called him by name, he snapped into himself and flashed me a megawatt smile of yellowing teeth. Mr. Calloway was quite amused by the fact that I was so young and seemed to know so much about him which at the time really wasn't that much at all. He was also surprised when I whipped out an old photograph that I wanted him to sign. It must have been in the late fall of the year because we both had on lightweight coats. His overcoat was very simple and if you didn't know better, you'd think he was just another old man on the street. We talked about the film Stormy Weather for a minute - or rather I did - while he just smiled and looked on in what seemed like amazement. The day that I met Cab Calloway, he wasn't high he was ever so warm and gracious and looked a little something like he does right here in this photo.
Had I met Mr. Calloway at the ascent of his career as a bandleader during the days of the Cotton Club, Minnie The Moocher, Reefer Man, That Man From Harlem, Kickin' The Gong Around and Bugle Call Rag, he most certainly would've been high and he would've been full of youth & vigor and would've looked a little something like THIS ....... 
Cab Calloway, circa 1930-33.
Damn he was fine back in the day. Not bad for an older dude either!
Posted by: Greg | September 06, 2011 at 08:31 PM
Bless you for acknowledging his (past?) Celebrity =&= letting him know that there were some of the newer geneattion who knew him & his important place within the American Music Scene (....historically speaking...).
Posted by: MJ Ivory | September 06, 2011 at 08:49 PM
As usual, THANK YOU, Corey...for keeping our legacy alive...our never truly appreciated foundation for this nation's artistic gift to the world.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | September 07, 2011 at 08:57 AM
Damn, Corey, you have met a lot of folks coming through, Cincinatti! I did not realize it was that happenning there (or was happening back in the day)
Posted by: Thomas | September 07, 2011 at 09:52 AM
@Thomas, as far as concerts go, it was a very "happening" place FOR REAL back in the day. But then the whole COUNTRY was happening because that's HOW THEY DID IT BACK THEN! The iconic stars like Ella, Sarah, Carmen, Dizzy, even Duke were still alive and still touring.
For us youngin's, we had CHOICES to go see package deals that might consist of acts like Sly & The Family Stone, Rufus w/ Chaka Khan, and the Ohio Players one week or The Sylvers, Tavares, and one or two other R&B groups THE NEXT WEEK! If you didn't want to go one of those shows, you'd be planning in advance to go to a Natalie Cole, Ashford & Simpson or EWF concert scheduled for the upcoming months. It was ALL VERY AFFORDABLE because most of us kids did not stay in our seats anyway. We were allowed to rush the stage and nobody stopped us. Okay, I need to stop because I'm having too many flashbacks!
Even some of the pioneer stars like Etta James and Esther Phillips (both considered "down on their luck" by the 70's) MIGHT be performing in some of the local bar or "nightclub" venues. We weren't old enough to go see them but we knew how to FIND THEM!
It wasn't like it is NOW! Nobody goes out on tour now and if they do - they're certainly NOT coming to Cincinnati. And next to nobody cares about the older iconic stars. Today, Janet Jackson might show up every few years, and we have the same old year-after-year guests at the annual music festival ........ but the 70's and parts of the early 80's used to JUMP! It was like that almost EVERYWHERE! It was a different time and the music industry was certainly different but it was WONDERFUL - as far as having the opportunity to meet and see your favorite entertainers perform.
Posted by: Corey | September 07, 2011 at 11:29 AM
No, you go ahead and indulge those flashbacks, honey chile, lol. That's a delectable history to be a part of. Some of us were anchored in faceless towns with nothing going on. You were a privileged acolyte of history!
Posted by: Thomas | September 07, 2011 at 12:26 PM
He was on my mind the other day. SO nice that you got to meet him.
Posted by: thegaytekeeper | September 07, 2011 at 02:11 PM
Wonderful. I wonder how Mr. Calloway felt to realize how loved he was from a generation so far removed from harlems heyday. He must have felt ...wonderful
Posted by: Jahlaune Hunt | September 19, 2011 at 12:27 AM