Cab Calloway Quiz: Guess the Song & Test Your Trivia
The Cab Calloway quiz turns the Cotton Club into a call-and-response game, since the 'hi-de-ho' of 'Minnie the Moocher' pulls the room in before the band lands. Guess the Cab Calloway song from that 1931 signature, 'The Jumpin' Jive' and 'Blues in the Night', then test your trivia on the zoot suit, the Betty Boop cartoons his dancing shaped, and the young Dizzy Gillespie who once sat in his band. Place the Hi-De-Ho Man in the 1930s and find out how well you know jazz's greatest showman.
Start your solo quiz
Name as many tracks as you can from short audio clips. The faster you answer, the more you score.
10 questions4 answers each
Guess the Cab Calloway Song
'Minnie the Moocher', 'The Jumpin' Jive' and 'Blues in the Night' are the sides players place once the 'hi-de-ho' kicks in.
Minnie the Moocher
The Jumpin' Jive
Blues in the Night
Kickin' the Gong Around
St. James Infirmary
Reefer Man
The Ghost of Smokey Joe
Are You Hep to the Jive?
Cab Calloway Trivia: The Hi-De-Ho Man
The call-and-response scat, the young Dizzy Gillespie in his band, and the film that brought 'Minnie the Moocher' back.
How Well Do You Know Cab Calloway
Start with the 'hi-de-ho' hook, then place the Cotton Club years, the sidemen who broke out, and the screen revivals.
The hi-de-ho hook (call and response)
'Minnie the Moocher' is the giveaway: the 'hi-de-ho' scat begs the room to sing it back, and the 1931 hit is the one nearly every player names. It is the free point that opens a Cab Calloway round before the deeper cuts arrive.
The Cotton Club showman
Calloway led the Cotton Club orchestra as a whirlwind showman, conducting with his whole body, and his flowing white zoot suit became a signature of his later years. He compiled, documented and popularized Harlem jive slang in his 1938 'Hepster's Dictionary'. Placing a clip in that Harlem floor show, rather than a plain studio date, is the context a quiz likes to test.
The band behind the bandleader
His orchestra was a school for future stars: a young Dizzy Gillespie, tenor player Chu Berry and bassist Milt Hinton all passed through. Knowing a deep cut like 'Reefer Man' or 'Kickin' the Gong Around' from a short clip is where fans pull ahead.
The screen revival (where the era fools you)
Calloway kept resurfacing on screen: his dance drove early-1930s Betty Boop cartoons, he starred in 'Stormy Weather' in 1943, and he sang 'Minnie the Moocher' again in 1980's 'The Blues Brothers'. A clip from a later revival can point at the wrong decade on purpose.
Cab Calloway Quiz FAQ
How does the Cab Calloway quiz work?
A clip of a Cab Calloway recording plays and you name it, then answer trivia on his Cotton Club years, the 'hi-de-ho' scat and his film appearances.
Which Cab Calloway songs come up?
'Minnie the Moocher' leads, alongside 'The Jumpin' Jive', 'Blues in the Night' and deeper sides like 'Reefer Man' and 'Kickin' the Gong Around'.
What is Cab Calloway's 'hi-de-ho'?
It is the wordless call-and-response scat at the heart of 'Minnie the Moocher', where Calloway sings a line and the crowd echoes it back.
What trips players up in the Cab Calloway quiz?
The signature hit is easy, but the jive deep cuts and the later film revivals, from 'Stormy Weather' to 'The Blues Brothers', are where a round gets hard.
Who was Cab Calloway?
Cabell Calloway III, an American jazz singer and bandleader known as the Hi-De-Ho Man, who fronted the Cotton Club orchestra and made 'Minnie the Moocher' famous.
Is the Cab Calloway quiz free to play?
Yes. You can play the Cab Calloway quiz free on Songtrivia, with no account and no signup needed.
📚 Sources & methodology
Sources consulted
Wikipedia · AllMusic · Pitchfork · Billboard · Songtrivia editorial team.
Our methodology
Each topic is curated by a Quiz Master with category expertise. Selection crosses cultural impact, chart performance, recognition potential and era variety.