Calvin Roosevelt Hobbs
Premium memorialLovingly known as “Cal”
8 June 1944 — 9 July 2021 · aged 77
Ford Rouge autoworker by day, Detroit jazz trumpeter by night, teacher to a hundred kids
Detroit, United States Born in Black Bottom, Detroit, Michigan Resting at Detroit Memorial Park, Warren, MichiganAbout Calvin
Calvin Hobbs clocked in at the Ford Rouge plant at 6:55 every morning for thirty-five years and, by his own estimate, never missed a downbeat in any of them.
Born in Detroit's Black Bottom in 1944, he picked up a borrowed trumpet at eleven and never put it down. He graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1962, studied music briefly at Wayne State, and in 1966 took the job at the Rouge that his father and uncle had told him to take. “The plant pays the mortgage,” he used to say. “The horn pays the soul.” He joined UAW Local 600 on his first day, served as a steward for twenty years, and could settle a grievance or an argument over a chord change in the same patient, amused voice.
By night Calvin led the Cal Hobbs Quartet, a fixture at the Monday jam sessions at Baker's Keyboard Lounge, and sat in with more traveling musicians than he could ever have named. He played the way he worked: no wasted motion, never rushing, always stepping aside to make room for someone younger. He taught trumpet free in his basement for thirty years. Four of those kids became professional musicians, and one teaches at Cass Tech today.
He married Loretta Mayfield in 1969, and for fifty-two anniversaries they ordered the same fried-fish dinner at the same restaurant. He was a deacon at Greater Macedonia Baptist Church, a loyal fan of the Tigers and, with unreasonable optimism, the Lions, and he played “Ain't Misbehavin'” at every family wedding without being asked.
Calvin died at home on 9 July 2021, aged seventy-seven, after a short illness. He leaves Loretta, his son Darnell, his daughter Monica, five grandchildren, and a basement full of trumpets that the family has promised will be loaned out, never sold.
“The plant pays the mortgage. The horn pays the soul.”
- Faith
- Baptist
- Place of birth
- Black Bottom, Detroit, Michigan
- Resting place
- Detroit Memorial Park, Warren, Michigan
- Passed away
- 9 July 2021, Detroit
Homegoing Celebration
Monday, 19 July 2021 at 08:00 UTC
Add to calendarMemorial fund
Cal Hobbs Youth Trumpet Fund
Provides instruments and lessons to neighborhood children, so that the basement keeps playing.
$5,030.25 raised of $6,000
84%20 recent contributions
- PD
Prof. Ciarán Doyle gave $95 · 5y ago
“Pole sana to the family.”
- RM
Rina Mukherjee gave $475 · 5y ago
“With love from the diaspora.”
- AN
Anonymous gave $47.50 · 5y ago
- AN
Anonymous gave $237.50 · 5y ago
“In honour of a wonderful woman.”
- AN
Anonymous gave $475 · 5y ago
Life journey
High School Diploma, Music Program
Cass Technical High School1958 – 1962 · Detroit
Played first trumpet in the school's jazz ensemble.
Music studies
Wayne State University1962 – 1964 · Detroit
Studied theory and arranging before leaving to help support his family.
Assembly Line Worker
Ford Motor Company, River Rouge Plant1966 – 2001 · Dearborn, Michigan
Thirty-five years on the line at the Rouge.
Married Loretta Mayfield
1969 · Detroit
Fifty-two years, one fried-fish dinner per anniversary.
Steward
UAW Local 6001975 – 1995 · Dearborn, Michigan
Known for solving problems before they became grievances.
Bandleader, Cal Hobbs Quartet
Baker's Keyboard Lounge1970 – 2019 · Detroit
Led the Monday jam session for half a century.
Resolution of Recognition
Detroit City Council2008 · Detroit
For decades of free music instruction to neighborhood children.
Tap an organisation to find others who studied or worked there.
Family & connections
Calvin is survived by
- Loretta Hobbs· Spouse
- Darnell Hobbs· Son
- Monica Hobbs-Grant· Daughter
- 5 grandchildren· Grandchildren
Tributes & memories
6 people have shared a memory of Calvin.
Knew Calvin? Share a memory with the family and everyone who loved them.
Sign in to write a tribute- GP
Neighbor for forty-one years
On warm evenings I'd sit on my porch and hear Cal practicing through the basement window. Forty-one years of free concerts. The street feels very quiet now. We're going to leave a window open in his honor.
- DF
Union sister, UAW Local 600
He was the steward who never raised his voice and never lost a case. When management was loud, Cal was quiet, and that was usually the end of it. He was also the only man I've met who could mediate a grievance and a key change in the same breath.
- JR
Former student, now music teacher at Cass Tech
Mr. Hobbs taught me trumpet in his basement for four years for free. He never let me say thank you. He just said, “Pass it on.” This week my students at Cass Tech will play “Ain't Misbehavin'” for him, and every note will be passed on.
- DH
Son
Dad woke me up every Saturday at eight with a scale played through the floor. I hated it then. I'd give anything to wake up to it tomorrow. He taught me that work is what you do, and music is who you are, and that you need both to be whole.
- RT
Line coworker at the Rouge
Cal stood next to me on the line for eleven years. He hummed through every shift and somehow never made a mistake. When my kid got into college he put twenty dollars in my lunch bag, then told me the Lord must have left it there. The Lord has a Detroit accent.
- MB
Pianist in the Cal Hobbs Quartet
Cal never counted off a tune. He just lifted the horn an inch and we knew. Twenty-six years in that quartet and I never once heard him play a note he didn't mean. Monday nights will never be the same. Take your solo, Cal.