Some people insist Cab Calloway was the first rapper and the man who originated backsliding dance moves, long before Michael Jackson started Moonwalking. For those growing up in the 1930s and 1940s, Calloway personified cool. His musical talents, accompanied by his Cotton Club vernacular -- the scat and jive of Harlem -- made him and his orchestra hugely popular with white and black audiences. Calloway even penned the Bible of Jive, his own Hepster's Dictionary, which enjoyed many printings and revisions.
As Calloway himself explained.. . .
"...I compiled the first glossary of words, expressions, and the general patois employed by musicians and entertainers in New York’s teeming Harlem. That the general public agreed with me is amply evidenced by the fact that the present issue is the sixth edition since 1938 and is the official jive language reference book of the New York Public Library."
Don't look for a Rosetta Stone DVD dedicated to Harlem Jive or expect your local community college to offer a class. But if you look in the dark recesses of the Internet, you may be able to "collar" a copy of this classic so other hep cats don't think you're "icky." Or treat yourself to this clip from Stormy Weather and listen to the original hepcat perform "Jumpin' Jive." (Click on the white arrow below)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8yGGtVKrD8 |
No comments:
Post a Comment