Birth of the Blues

Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist of the swing era. His niche of mixing jazz and vaudeville won him acclaim during a career that spanned over 65 years.Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the most popular dance bands in the United States from the early 1930s to the late 1940s. His band included trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Jonah Jones, and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, guitarist Danny Barker, bassist Milt Hinton, and drummer Cozy Cole.Calloway had several hit records in the 1930s and 1940s, becoming known as the "… more »

Year:: 1991
: 2:40
: 113 Views
Playlists:: #1

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Oh! they say some people long ago
Were searching for a different tune,
One that they could croon 
As only they can.

They only had the rhythm so
They started swaying to and fro.
They didn't know just what they had
And that is how the blues really began:

They heard the breeze in the trees
Singing weird melodies
And they made that 
The start of the blues.

And from a jail came the wail
Of a down hearted frail,
And they played that 
As part of the blues.

From a whippoorwill out on a hill,
They took a new note,
Pushed it through a horn
'til it was born into a blue note.

And then they nursed it, rehearsed it,
And gave out the news
That the southland 
Gave birth to the blues!

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Written by: B.G. DESYLVA, LEW BROWN, RAY HENDERSON

Lyrics © RAY HENDERSON MUSIC CO., INC., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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"Birth of the Blues Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 7 May 2024. <https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/1167727/Cab+Calloway+%26+His+Orchestra/Birth+of+the+Blues>.

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