Cannon's Jug Stompers
| Cannon's Jug Stompers | |
|---|---|
 Cannon's Jug Stompers, around 1928 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | blues |
| founding | 1928 |
| resolution | 1930 |
| Founding members | |
| Gus Cannon | |
Guitar , banjo, vocals |
Ashley Thompson |
Harmonica , vocals, youth |
Noah Lewis |
| Hosea Woods | |
Cannon's Jug Stompers was an American jug band that enjoyed great popularity in the late 1920s. The band was led by the blues musician Gus Cannon .
Career
Beginnings
Gus Cannon had been involved in music before 1927. At the time, Cannon was living in Memphis , Tennessee , where the Memphis Jug Band was enjoying great success and recording for Victor . Cannon often saw the band play in Church Park in Memphis and was deeply influenced by them. In 1928 Victor's producer Ralph Peer returned to Memphis to put together a band similar to the Memphis Jug Band.
successes
Charlie Williams, director of the Palace Theater , persuaded Cannon to audition with Peer. With friends Noah Lewis and Ashley Thompson, Cannon recorded four tracks as Cannon's Jug Stompers on January 30, 1928 in the Victor's mobile recording studio . The first record was the Minglewood Blues on the A-side and the Madison Street Rag on the B-side. The record sold well, so the band was allowed to record more records. Their second recording session followed in September of the same year. However, Thompson was replaced by Elijah Avery and with Hosea Woods at the kazoo a new member found entry into the band.
In total, the Jug Stompers recorded 27 tracks between 1928 and 1930, including hits like Walk Right In , Prison Wall Blues and Viola Lee Blues . Cannon and his band had become one of the most successful blues bands in their genre. They combined traditional blues with minstrel music. Cannon's Jug Stompers held their last session on November 28, 1930, after which their popularity quickly declined. The band broke up, Noah Lewis started a solo career afterwards and Cannon did not appear again until the folk revival in the 1960s.
Rediscovery
Since folk, blues and hillbilly were extremely popular in the 1960s, Cannon's Jug Stompers were also rediscovered. The Rooftop Singers achieved a number-one hit with Walk Right In 1963. Other bands have also successfully covered the band's titles.