About me: guc cannon was born on September 12, 1883, in Bed 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 bad 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 through the 1970s but died in 1979 at the age of ninety-six.
Who I'd like to meet: -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
Please check out our new comedic “vampire bankers” music video. The guy who directed this also directed Madonna’s first music vid. We think it’s pretty funny. It’s available as a free mp3 download on http://www.ukejackson.com
Thanks for being our friend! Uke Jackson and the NY Ukulele Ensemble
