Information/Write-up
Cal Bostic (born Calvin Thomas Bostick, July 4, 1928, Anniston, Alabama – died April 2, 1974, Erie, Pennsylvania) was an American singer, pianist, and composer whose career bridged Chicago rhythm and blues, New York nightclub and Broadway work, and a significant late-career chapter in Canada, where he became a well-known performer in the Lakehead region and recorded for RCA Canada.
Bostic began playing piano at the age of four and received formal musical training in his youth. He attended Mary Potter Academy in Oxford, North Carolina, before studying at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, where he worked under composer R. Nathaniel Dett. While at Lincoln, Bostic began composing original material, including early versions of songs later recorded professionally. He graduated in 1947 and soon relocated to Chicago to pursue a performing and recording career.
By late 1949, Bostic had joined AFM Local 208, the powerful Black musicians’ union in Chicago, and quickly established himself on the South Side nightclub circuit. Union contract records document early engagements at Square’s, the 113 Club, and, beginning in April 1950, the influential 411 Club on East 63rd Street. The 411 Club became closely associated with Bostic during this period, and contemporary sources describe him as a polished, classically trained pianist and vocalist working in a cocktail-lounge trio format, with a style strongly influenced by Nat King Cole.
In October 1950, while appearing at the 411 Club, Bostic recorded for Chess Records, releasing the single “All of My Life” / “People Will Talk About You” (Chess 1444). A Chicago Defender article from October 14, 1950 reported on the session and noted local disc jockey support for the release, marking Bostic’s brief but documented presence within Chicago’s postwar R&B recording scene.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Bostic expanded his career to New York, where he worked in prominent Manhattan nightclubs including the Left Bank, owned by Richard Kollmar, husband of columnist Dorothy Kilgallen. His New York work led to broader theatrical and entertainment opportunities, and he appeared in the original Broadway production of Night Life (1962), starring Carol Lawrence, further extending his profile beyond the nightclub circuit.
By the mid-1960s, Bostic developed a strong professional connection to Canada. Following a summer engagement in Thunder Bay, Ontario (then the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur) in 1964, he settled in the Lakehead region for several years. He became a popular regular performer at local venues, most notably the Dragon Room, and built close ties with local radio and television outlets.
During this period, Bostic recorded Canadian material, including the locally produced single “Two Cities” / “Nanabijou”, issued on the CKPR – Lakehead Guest label. “Two Cities” was written as a reflection on life in Fort William and Port Arthur, while “Nanabijou” referenced regional and Indigenous themes, further rooting his work in the Lakehead community.
In August 1967, Bostic recorded his debut and only full-length album, Introducing… Cal Bostic, at RCA Victor Studios in Toronto. Produced by S. B. Hains, engineered by Bill Giles, and featuring orchestra direction by Doug Randle, the album presented Bostic in a polished pop and jazz-oriented setting, blending standards and original material. The record reflected RCA Canada’s interest in positioning him as a sophisticated vocal stylist in the tradition of Nat King Cole and other crossover pop-jazz performers.
The album was part of a broader RCA Victor Canada jazz and pop production slate that included releases such as Brian Browne Trio – The Toronto Scene (1965), which was also produced by S. B. Hains.
Trade publications later noted that Bostic was, by the early 1970s, better known in Canada than in the United States, due to his sustained visibility in Thunder Bay and surrounding regions. Despite his long career as a performer, his recorded output remained limited, making his Chess single, Lakehead release, and RCA Canada album the primary surviving documentation of his work.
In the early 1970s, Bostic continued performing on the U.S. nightclub and resort circuit. His final known album, At Toftrees (Fedco Music Company GM 32174, 1974), documents his late-career work and was recorded in connection with performances at the Toftrees resort complex in Pennsylvania. The album includes updated performances of several songs associated with his earlier recordings, including “Excessive Love” and “Longing For You,” indicating that these compositions remained central to his stage repertoire.
At Toftrees was issued shortly before Bostic’s death on April 2, 1974, in Erie, Pennsylvania, and stands as the last recorded document of a career that spanned more than two decades of nightclub, recording, and theatrical work across the United States and Canada.
-Robert Williston
Songwriting
‘May I’ written by Fred Burnie
‘Excessive Love’ written by Cal Bostic
‘Somewhere My Love’ written by Maurice Jarre
‘That’s All’ written by Alan Brandt and Bob Haymes
‘Longing for You’ written by Cal Bostic
‘Just a Boy and Girl in Love’ written by Doug Randle
‘There You Are’ written by Cal Bostic
‘Let It Be Me’ written by Manny Curtis and Gilbert Bécaud
‘In Love Again’ written by Cal Bostic
‘Georgie Girl’ written by Jimmy Dale and Tom Springfield
‘Let Me Love You’ written by Buddy Howard
‘The Darkest Hour’ written by Cal Bostic
Production
Produced by S. B. Hains
Engineered by Bill Giles
Orchestrated by Doug Randle
Recorded August, 1967 at RCA Studios, Toronto, Ontario
Liner notes
Cal Bostic has been on the periphery of stardom most of his adult life. With this, his debut album on RCA, Cal Bostic has arrived.
It all goes back to Cal’s home town, Anniston, Alabama. Young Calvin showed much promise at the piano keyboard, a great deal more than most six-year-old pianists. His road to stardom stretches from Alabama through some of Manhattan’s smartest niteries. The Left Bank, The Blue Angel, The Living Room, then to the Great White Way with a featured role in “Night Life” starring Carol Lawrence. Cal has appeared in Chicago’s London House, leading night spots in the mid-west U.S., The Gatineau Club near Ottawa, and more recently, he has been a regular at Port Arthur’s Dragon Room.
Cal is also an accomplished composer. Some of his own songs appear in this LP. He, by the way, is a graduate of the Chicago Conservatory, with a bachelor’s degree in theory.
About as American as a boy from Alabama can be he was born on the Fourth of July. Cal has chosen Canada, and more specifically, Port Arthur, as his home. He lives in the Lakehead City with wife, Marlene, and two sons.
There are those who have heard Cal Bostic, some of them most influential in the music business, who are of the opinion that he could well be the singer to fill the shoes of the late Nat Cole. That gives you some idea of what you are about to hear, but it doesn’t even begin to tell the story. Play this record, it speaks, more correctly sings, for itself. Relax, ’cause that’s the best way to listen to Bostic, and prepare to enjoy a bright new star on the entertainment horizon, Cal Bostic.
John Murphy
Program Director
CKPR, Lakehead
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