There's just something about Cab Calloway. I've had a long affair with Minnie the Moocher, kicking the gong around since childhood (not literally, I wasn't a dope fiend), and recently I've been checkin' more and more stuff by Cab Calloway and the Cotton Club Orchestra. They swing, but there's a darker side to their music; I love the cautionary tales about Minnie and Smokey Joe, with their diamond cars, zillion dollar coffins and the estate down in Hades... They were amazing musicians and their performances are full of a raw energy which I've not heard replicated in the 21st Century. We're just not hep to the jive.
These screenshots are from the 1943 film "Stormy Weather", featuring Cab Calloway, and the amazing Nicholas Brothers. What's that, it's on Y00T00B ?!
Miss Otis Regrets (She's Unable To Lunch Today)
Miss Otis regrets she's unable to lunch today, Madam,
Miss Otis regrets she's unable to lunch today,
She's so sorry to be delayed,
But last evening down in Lover's Lane she strayed, Madam,
Miss Otis regrets she's unable to lunch today, madam,
When she woke up and found that her dream of love had gone, Madam,
She ran to the man who led her so far astray,
And from under her velvet gown,
She drew a forty-four pistol,
And she shot that dirty rascal down, Madam,
Now, Old Lady Otis regrets she's disabled and she can't lunch today.
And the moment before she died,
She lifted her lovely head and cried, "Oh, Madam,
Miss Otis regrets she's unable to lunch today."
In other news, I got three As and I'm going to HARVARD (Southampton)
