Amoeblog

The late, great Cab Calloway on his 100th birthday,

Thinking about the “Hi De Ho Man” and author of the Hepcat Dictionary …


The legendary saint, Cab Calloway, brought into existence on Christmas, was never off the cob, he was the heppest cat, the gasser on the scene, and scribe to the Dictionary of Hepology, not just any book of lingo like some hincty gate-mouth might cop to, emphatically no! This man’s a poet! Hey, Calloway was solid, a ready cat with serious chops, never capped, I mean never capped. Cabell Calloway III licks hit all the armstrongs every time with those "hi-de-hi's," and "ho-de ho's, singing in that blip beat key, swinging overcoats growling some hip and hot gammin’ grooves. Be it a gutbucket blues, the ready racket on the main kick or just some clambake where he’s got this cat riffing on the doghouse - hitting all the basso notes, cool Gabriel wigging on a boogie-woogie and some Jack on skins mugging heavy, Cab always crept out like the shadow, stylish threads togged to the bricks, walking hand made, custom to the thread mezz ground grippers … on each arm, a fine righteous queen he dug the last black, each dicty dutchess fresh off the dreamers and lily whites. 


At one point Cab was collaring 200 g’s a year, that’s one foxy stack of fins. Platter gravy coming on like a test pilot, cuts like "Minnie the Moocher", “Reefer Man” and "St. James Infirmary Blues" were everywhere man, chicks breakin’ it up, dropping a nickel or a dime note just to latch onto the hippest cat who could send the coolest riff riding high. Cab the man was the man; kids come again to the Cotton Club in the Apple, rug cutters Trucking, Pecking, or bugging to the Susie-Q, never no fraughty issue here. That’s the Bible baby! Cab and the cats digging a mess, one riff after another, and every hot killer jam taking off, that combo was always bustin’ conk, breaking up the joint like gangbusters. Zazu-zazu-zazu-zay! No room here for icky squares who can't collar the jive. The jitterbuggers at the Cotton Club always had a hummer of a ball. Yeah! Whipped up! Jumpin’ and mitt pounding till the chimes say its way past early bright. Ow!

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Posted by Whitmore on December 29, 2007 at 01:21pm | Comments (2)

July 30th

just something about something and nehru jackets

Yes, brothers and sisters, it’s time once again to dry clean that Nehru jacket, re-string those beads …  on this date in 1968, the Apple Boutique closed due to extreme financial difficulties. Once located at 94 Baker Street, on the corner of Paddington and Baker in London, the Boutique was one of the first business ventures, albeit unsuccessful, made by The Beatles and Apple Corps. Paul described the Apple Boutique as "A beautiful place where you could buy beautiful things." The staff included Pattie Harrison's sister, Jennie, and Peter Shotton (He played the washboard in the Quarry Men and also, according to legend, helped Lennon with the lyrics to “I am the Walrus.” Shotton also co-authored the book The Beatles, Lennon and Me.

 

Tuesday morning, July 30, the staff was instructed to give away everything for free. Word quickly hit the streets. Within hours, an onslaught of buzzards attacked the store, picking it clean to the bone: shelves and livelihoods were trashed, plundered, and gutted by several hundred rabid and rioting patrons. Oh, the humanity! The night before, some of the Beatles and their wives and girlfriends paid their last respects to the ailing boutique and, before pulling the plug, grabbed what they wanted. And why not? The previous September the Beatles paid a Dutch trio known as “The Fool” (Seemon Posthuma, Josje Leeger and Marijke Koeger) over 100,000 pounds to design and stock the store.   

Posted by Whitmore on July 30, 2007 at 07:16pm | Comments (1)