(February 9th 1902 - December 16th 1978)

Born in Rochester, New York in 1902, Blanche Calloway moved with her family to Baltimore, Maryland as a teenager. Influenced by blues singers Florence Mills and Ida Cox she dropped out of Morgan College during the early 1920's to peruse a career in music. Blanche made her professional debut in 1921 landing a part in Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle's hit musical sensation "Shuffle Along". Her big break came two years later joining the national tour of "Plantation Days" working with her idol Florence Mills. In 1927 when the show ended in Chicago Blanche remained working with trumpeter Rueben Reeves and later "Andy Kirk's Clouds of Joy" before establishing her own career as a composer and bandleader. *She was the older sister of Cab Calloway and her music had an undeniably profound influence on her little brother.