NRR Project: 'Minnie the Moocher' (1931)

NRR Project: ‘Minnie the Moocher’

Composed by Cab Calloway, Irving Mills, Clarence Gaskill

Performed by Cab Calloway and his Orchestra

Recorded March 3, 1931

3:00

It was the first record by an African-American to sell a million copies. It cemented the reputation and bolstered the career of the flamboyant and tuneful Cab Calloway.

Calloway (1907-1994) was one of the breakout stars of the Harlem Renaissance. He started off by working in Chicago clubs as a singer, a drummer, and a master of ceremonies. Eventually he moved to New York, where Louis Armstrong recommended him as a singer of “Ain’t Misbehavin’” in a musical revue. This caused another band to hire him on as bandleader.

As Cab Calloway and His Band, they soon got a highly desirable gig as the band at the Cotton Club when Duke Ellington was on tour. Soon, however, they had the job full time. Calloway was a relentlessly engaging performer – he had energy, inventiveness, charisma. Then, in 1931, he recorded his signature song, “Minnie the Moocher.”

The song is based on an earlier number, “Willie the Weeper,” about a drug-addicted chimney sweep that made its rounds in vaudeville in the early 1900’s. Calloway probably cribbed most directly from Frankie “Half-Pint” Jaxon’s 1927 recording of the song.

But Calloway turbocharged the material. He tells the story of Minnie the Moocher, a “low-down hoochy-coocher” with a boyfriend who was into cocaine, and who taught her “how to kick the gong around” (smoke opium). She takes drugs, and flies off to a world of fantasy. She meets the King of Sweden, who gives her everything “she was needin,’” setting her up with a home, a car, horses and fancy meals, and a million dollars in nickels and dimes. In doing so, he created a contemporary folk figure – many sequel and answer-songs on the topic were composed in the wake of this song’s success.

Perhaps the most infectious part of the song is the call-and-response chorus. “Hi-de-hi-de-hi,” sings Calloway, and everyone repeats him. "Ho-de-ho-de-ho!" Back and forth goes the melody. As the song continues, the choruses become longer and more complicated, until Calloway is scatting beyond the ability of the audience to keep up.

The song was the big hit of 1931. Soon Calloway was known as the “Hi-De-Ho Man.” He appeared in Betty Boop cartoons, singing the song. Calloway would perform for another 50 years, but “Minnie” was always on the set list. It is worth today to look up video of Calloway’s performances, to see his wild dancing and extravagant gestures. He was the quintessential showman.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: Bacon, Beans and Limousines.