Cab Calloway was well-known for his energetic performances and distinctive scat singing style, and in 1944, he recorded a song called “Mr. Hepster’s Dictionary,” which was his famous dictionary of jazz slang.
The song is a playful and humorous exploration of the language of jazz, with Calloway singing definitions of words like “solid,” “chick,” and “cat.” The lyrics are filled with wordplay and puns, and Calloway’s delivery is both smooth and lively.
Here are some of the lyrics to “Mr. Hepster’s Dictionary”:
“Solid, man, solid as can be
Means you got your thing together, don’t you see?
A chick is a girl, a hen or a biddy
And a cat is a swingin’ kind of kitty
You dig?
Now, let me tell you about the gators on my feet
They’re high, wide and handsome, and they can’t be beat
The drape of my suit is so fine and neat
I’m the hepped-up daddy of the modern street”
The song was a hit and helped to popularize the language of jazz slang, which became a part of the broader popular culture in the 1940s and 1950s. Cab Calloway continued to perform and record music for many years, and his influence can still be heard in contemporary jazz and popular music.
