Gustavus "Gus" Cannon (September 12, 1883 – October 15, 1979) was an American blues musician who helped to popularize jug bands (such as his own Cannon's Jug Stompers) in the 1920s and 1930s. There is uncertainty about his birth year; his tombstone gives the date as 1874.

Career

Born on the Henderson Newells Plantation in Red Banks, Mississippi, Cannon's childhood consisted of moves to various plantations throughout the Red Banks-Victoria area. At the age of 12, he moved a hundred miles to Clarksdale, then the home of W. C. Handy, to aid his brother, Tom, sharecrop cotton. His brothers, of which he had nine, exposed Cannon to music. They spent much time singing folksongs and performing traditional string band tunes together, utilizing the fiddle, guitar, and banjo.

Cannon left Clarksdale around 1907 and soon settled near Memphis, Tennessee, where he sharecropped on Dillehunt's plantation and played in a jug band led by Jim Guffin. He began playing in Memphis with Jim Jackson. During this time, the two musicians were also involved in medicine shows, performing as blackface minstrels. He met the harmonica player Noah Lewis, who introduced him to a young guitar player and blues singers, Ashley Thompson around 1910.

Cannon made a few recordings for Folkways Records in 1956. During the blues revival of the 1960s, he made some appearances at colleges and coffee houses with Furry Lewis and Bukka White, but he had to pawn his banjo to pay his heating bill the winter before The Rooftop Singers had a hit with "Walk Right In."

In the wake of becoming a hit composer, he recorded an album for Stax Records in 1963, with fellow Memphis musicians Will Shade (the former leader of the Memphis Jug Band) on jug and Milton Roby on washboard. Cannon performed traditional songs, including "Kill It," "Salty Dog," "Going Around," "The Mountain," "Ol' Hen," "Gonna Raise a Ruckus Tonight," "Ain't Gonna Rain No More," "Boll-Weevil," "Come On down to My House," "Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor," "Get Up in the Morning Soon," and "Crawdad Hole," along with his own "Walk Right In," with stories and introductions between songs.

Cannon appeared in the film Hallelujah! (1929), produced by King Vidor, in the late-night wedding scene.

Cannon’s Jug Stompers

The Jug Stompers of Cannon were among the most successful jug bands to come out of Memphis in the late 1920s and helped to popularize jug band music in the early days of recording. After the success of the Memphis Jug Band's first records, he quickly assembled a jug band, Cannon's Jug Stompers, featuring Lewis and Thompson (later replaced by Elijah Avery), The initial group also recorded "Walk Right In."

In music, the band tapes were marked by the banjo style of Cannon, which frequently used a three-finger style of classic banjo, not the more traditional down-picking style. This method, as well as expressive performance of Noah Lewis on harmonica, helped to give the band a unique sound. Their repertoire consisted of humorous and light-hearted ditties mixed with more traditional blues themes, and both entertainment and storytelling roles of African American music of the era.

Despite the relatively short life of the group recording career, which ended at around 1930, Cannon, with his Jug Stompers, continued to play a significant part in the evolution of the jug band and folk-blues music. Their work was rediscovered in the folk revival of the mid-20th century, bringing new people into contact with early jug band recordings and establishing their role in American roots music history.

Death

Gus Cannon died in Memphis, Tennessee, on October 15, 1979 at 96 years old from natural causes. He was buried at Greenview Memorial Gardens, Hernando, Mississippi.

Discography

Studio albums

  • Cannon & Lewis ( The 78 Rounds Society ltd, 2025)
  • Walk Right In (Stax, 1963)
  • Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers (Roots, 1971)

Compilations

  • Cannon's Jug Stompers, The Complete Works in Chronological Order 1927–1930 including Gus Cannon as Banjo Joe (Herwin, 1975)
  • Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order, vols. 1 and 2 (Document, 1990)
  • The Legendary 1928–1930 Recordings (JSP, 1994)
  • The Best of Cannon's Jug Stompers (Yazoo, 2001)

References

  • Illustrated Gus Cannon discography
  • Madison Street Rag – Gus Cannon
  • Boll Weevil – Gus Cannon
  • Minglewood Blues – Gus Cannon and his Jug Stompers