St. James Infirmary – 1964
Cab Calloway
Calloway makes the vintage standard his own
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“St. James Infirmary” was first recorded in jazz by Louis Armstrong in 1928.
It caught on quickly and by the end of 1930 there were many recordings of the song including a classic rendition by Cab Calloway.
Calloway was a masterful entertainer, a skilled jazz singer, and an often outlandish performer.
On an edition of the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, he displays his full range during a typically enthusiastic and occasionally over-the-top version of “St. James Infirmary,” accompanied by an unseen orchestra that is as colorful as his singing.
-Scott Yanow
