People, Locations, Episodes

Blanche Calloway, Singer, and Bandleader born

Blanche Calloway

*Blanche Calloway was born on this date in 1902. She was a Black singer and bandleader.

From Baltimore, MD, in 1921, Blanche Calloway (Cab Calloway’s older sister) made her professional debut in the Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle musical Shuffle Along. Later, she sang with her brother’s band for many years before forming her group. After years of slight success, she fronted the Andy Kirk band for a short period, giving her the momentum to create her most famous orchestra, Blanche Calloway and Her Joy Boys (an all-male band.)

The group appeared all over New York, including the Lafayette Theatre, the Harlem Opera House, and the Apollo Theatre. They also made several popular recordings. Calloway gained fame when she led her group on a five-band tour with Bennie Moten, Andy Kirk, Chick Webb, and Zack Whythe. The jazz sidemen who appeared with Calloway were Cozy Cole, Ben Webster, and Vic Dickenson. During these years, her bands often performed songs she wrote. As a composer, she penned Growling Dan, I Need Love, and Rhythm of the River.

In the 1950s, she moved to Florida and became a DJ for WMBM. The same station hired her as the Program Director, a position she held for 20 years before moving back to Baltimore, where she spent the last years of her life. Blanche Calloway had a strong and influential career as a jazz singer and composer. She died on December 16, 1978, at the age of 76.

To Become a Musician or Singer