Cab Calloway led one of the most famous big bands of the ‘30s and ‘40s with an exuberance and style that made him a singular figure. His lively autobiography is full of the details of backstage life peppered with anecdotes. He speaks openly about his personal life and his professional relationships with jazz musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie and Milt Hinton, his performances before presidents and heads of state, and about his experiences in films and on Broadway. He discusses his various bands, and there are reminiscences by some of its members along with commentaries on Cab by his wife and children. Calloway includes photographs, a list of his compositions, and a Hepster’s Dictionary and Prof. Cab Calloway’s Swingformation Bureau which translate musicians’ slang.

Bryant Rollins is an editor with The New York Sunday Times, the author of two novels, one of the writers of the 1969 OBIE-winning off-off-Broadway play RIOT!, a former reporter/columnist for The Boston Globe, and a former executive editor of The New York Amsterdam News.