In the words of…

"Blanche was vivacious, lovely, personality-plus, and a hell of a singer. She was fabulous, happy and extroverted. As a performer she really qualified for the wider descriptive term; entertainer".

~ Cab Calloway

“Blanche Calloway, Cab’s sister, had a very good way of entertaining. She was wild and wiry in certain things and very sensitive in others…Although Cab may not say this himself, all of his style was from her. His sister taught him everything he knew about performing.”

~ Earl '“Father” Hines

“One of the most progressive performers in the profession.”

~ Pittsburgh Courier

“I hope you’ll forgive the question,” a Boston radio interviewer asked her in 1937, “but I know it’s one that every listener would like to ask, just because you are a woman. Do you really rehearse your orchestra, and make them work, or do you leave that up to a man in the group?” Blanche wrote a faint note in the transcript’s margins…

“I do the work.” ~ Blanche Calloway