3/31/30 Cab Calloway and his Orchestra 1930-1931 Classics 516. (Gaskill-Mills-Calloway) Cab's famous signature tune! The lyrics are based on those of the folk song, Willie the Weeper, and the melody was modeled on St. James Infirmary and Prohibition Blues. It is a call-and-response song which has more verses than Cab ever sings. Cab insisted that Minnie was not a real person. Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 -- November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader.