Major Works
Albums
- Walk Right In (1962)
Compilations
- Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1927-1928) (1990)
- Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1929-1930) (1990)
- Cannon’s Jug Stompers (1927-1930)
Appears on
- Various Artists Before the Blues, Vol. 3: The… (1996)
- Blind Blake Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2… (1991)
- Various Artists Blues: Smithsonian Collection of… (1993)
- Cannon’s Jug Stompers Legendary 1928-30 Recordings (1994)
- Various Artists Great Classic Blues Singers (1996)
- Various Artists Greatest in Country Blues (1929… (1992)
- Various Artists Greatest in Country Blues (1929… (1992)
- Various Artists Greatest in Country Blues (1927…
- Furry Lewis On the Road Again (1970)
- Various Artists Memphis Blues (1998)
- Various Artists Memphis Jamboree: 1927-1936
- Various Artists RCA Records Label: The First Note…
- Various Artists Roots of Rock (Yazoo) (1991)
- Various Artists Walk Right In: The Essential… (1997)
Songs Appear on
- Dragon Greatest Hits / Greatest Hits
- Feliciano, Jose All-Time Greatest Hits
- Guthrie, Arlo Running Down the Road
- Hermanas Jimenez Epoca de Oro del Twist
- Lopez, Trini Best of Trini Lopez (Royal)
- Plaehn, Dave On Your Bond
- Randolph, Boots 12 Monstrous Sax Hits / Yakety Sax
- Rooftop Singers Best of Rooftop Singers
- Sharon Lois and Bram Elephant Party
- Sidran, Ben Mr. P’s Shuffle
- Smith, Jimmy (1) Hobo Flats
- Vazques, Alberto Mas Cosas de Alberto Vasques
Gus Cannon: A Biography
by Isaac Gardner (SHS)
Gus Cannon was born on September 12, 1883, in Red Banks, Mississippi (Marshall County). As a kid he had always been interested in music. He even made his own banjo from a guitar neck and a bed pan. He got his first real banjo when he was fifteen.
Cannon was a remarkable musician. During the 1920’s and 1930’s, jug bands started to make the music scene. Jug bands played “blues” style music with a slight country sound. One member of the band would play a jug by blowing over the top of it, thus the name. Cannon was able to strap a jug around his neck so that he could blow into it and play his banjo at the same time.
Gus Cannon did have his own jug band called Gus Cannon and the Jug Stompers. The band consisted of five people: Cannon (banjo/guitar), Noah Lewis (harmonica), Ashely Thompson (guitar), and two other guitarists named Hosea Woods and Elijah Avery. They became very popular as they started out in 1928, but soon they had to stop recording due to the Depression in the 1930’s. Cannon’s recording career started again in 1956. In the 1960′ s he was able to play at some folk and blues festivals. He also played during the 1970s until he died in 1979 at the age of ninety-six.
Timeline
- 1883-Gus Cannon was born in Bed Banks, Mississippi (Marshall County).
- 1895-worked with brother, Tom, in the cotton fields
-made his own banjo from a guitar neck and a bread pan - 1898-got his first real banjo
- 1901-job working for railroad at Belzoni (near Greenville, MS)
- 1907-worked on plantation near Ashport, TN
- 1910-married to Louis Brown’s daughter
- 1914-was playing the medicine show circuit under the name “Banjo Joe”
- 1916-moved to Memphis from Clarksdale, MS
- 1927-recording career began with Paramount Records
- 1928-formed “Gus Cannon and the Jug Stompers”
- 1956-resumed recording career with Folkways
- 1960s-played at folk and blues festivals
- 1962-album-Walk Right In
- 1963-made it to the top of the chart with Walk Right In
- 1969-appeared in videos such as: The Blues and The Devil’s Music: A History of the Blues
- 1979-Gus Cannon died at the age of ninety-six
Related Websites
- Gus’s Jug Stompers called Roots of the Grateful Dead (with biography).
- The complicated story of Bluesman Gus Cannon (2014) WNYC
- Biography of Gus Cannon and discography (Stax)
- Can you blame Gus Cannon? By Dom Flemons, Oxford American (2013)
Bibliography
- James, Steve. “Gus Cannon”. All Music Guide. 2000. 19 April 2000. http://allmusic.com/cg/x.dll?p=amg&sql=B24144.
- “Gus Cannon and the Jug Stompers”. 19 April 2000. http://www.blueflamecafe.com/Gus_Cannon_And_The_Jug_Stompers.html