but was given few opportunities outside of being a singer or dancer due to gender roles of the time. Her flamboyant and sometimes provocative lyrics challenged the stereotype of what a female performer was supposed to be. By the mid-1930s Calloway struggled to find bookings as her brother's career grew in popularity. Influence on Cab Calloway Calloway was a major influence on her brother's career and performance style. Her own performance style was lively, dramatic, and animated. She would teach her brother about performing, and the two would sometimes perform together as a brother and sister act. Calloway helped her brother get his first role on stage, in Plantation Days, when another cast member fell ill. She may have served as the influence for Cab's signature "Hi De Ho" chant in his song "Minnie the Moocher". He says he came up with the phrase when he forgot the words during a performance, but his sister had performed and recorded a song earlier in 1931 called "Just a Crazy Song". In the song, Calloway opened it with her wailing "Hi Hi Hi, Ho De Ho De Ho", with the backing band performing call and response. Another song of Calloway's, "Growlin' Dan", tells the story of Minnie the Moocher and the King of Sweden, and also uses the phrase "Ho De Ho De Ho." The two performers most likely collaborated and often borrowed from one another. Later career and life After years of struggling for major success, in 1938 she declared bankruptcy and broke up her orchestra. In 1940 she formed a short-lived all-women orchestra, feeding on the popularity of all-female bands during World War II. The band struggled to get bookings and soon disbanded after forming. Calloway continued to sing on occasion and moved to a suburb of Philadelphia with her husband in the mid-1940s. She became a socialite and served as a Democratic committeewoman. She eventually separated from her husband after discovering he was a bigamist. In the early 1950s Calloway moved to Washington, D.C., where she managed the nightclub Crystal Caverns. She hired Ruth Brown to perform at the club and would become Brown's manager. Brown credited Calloway with discovering her and helping her get a contract with Atlantic Records. In the late 1950s Calloway moved to Florida and became a disc jockey for WMBM in Miami Beach. Eventually, she became program director of the station, and served in