Song:Bring It With You When You Come
Album:The Best Of Cannon's Jug Stompers
Banjo player Gus Cannon was a pioneer in jug band music. His late 1920s recordings served as a bridge between minstrel show music and the blues. And he was around long enough to enjoy the 60s blues boom. He was born Sept. 12, 1883 in Red Banks, MS. His tombstone actually gives his birth year as 1874. At age 12 he moved to W.C.Handy's home in Clarksdale and taught himself banjo using a frying pan and a raccoon skin. He ran away from home at age 15 and entertained people at sawmills and work camps in Mississippi. Cannon learned to play guitar and fiddle and then moved to Memphis in 1907. He started playing in local jug bands and met harmonica player Noah Lewis and guitarist Ashley Thompson. These three became Cannon's Jug Stompers and toured the medicine show circuit in the south for decades. Cannon first recorded as Banjo Joe for Paramount Records in 1927. With the success of the Memphis Jug Band, Cannon's Jug Stompers recorded for RCA Victor in 1928-30 and those are the historic recordings on this CD from Yazoo. Cannon wrote a lot of folk and blues standards including Bring It With You When You Come and Walk Right In. His music is still very engaging today and was very influential on others. Gus Cannon continued to tour the south for decades but didn't record until the blues boom of the late 50s-early 60s. Gus Cannon died on Oct. 15, 1979 at age 96. Here's a video for Bring It With You When You Come by Cannon's Jug Stompers.
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