John Henry "Ace" Cannon (May 5, 1934 – December 6, 2018)
[ was an American ]tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors i ...
and alto saxophonist. He played and toured with Hi Records
Hi Records is an American soul music and rockabilly label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch (formerly producers for Sun Records), and three silent p ...
stablemate Bill Black's Combo, and started a solo
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career with his record
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"Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...
" in 1961, using the Black combo as his backing group. "Tuff" hit #17 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1962, and the follow-up single "Blues (Stay Away from Me)" hit #36 that same year. In April 1965, he released ''Ace Cannon Live'' (HL 12025); according to the liner notes by Nick Pesce the album was recorded in front of a live audience inside Hi's recording studio, and Pesce claims this was the first time such an album had ever been recorded (as opposed to previous live albums recorded in concert venues).
Cannon was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2000. In May 2007, his hometown of Calhoun City, Mississippi, hosted its first annual Ace Cannon Festival, and on December 9, 2008, he was honored with induction into the Mississippi Musicians' Hall of Fame.
After years of traveling and entertaining fans the world over, he moved back to Calhoun City in the late 1980s, where he resided until his death. He played numerous dates each year, and would be found most days working on his golf game at his home course.
He died at his home on December 6, 2018, at the age of 84.
Selected Discography
Albums
* 1962 - ''Tuff Sax'' (US Hot Albums #24)
* 1964 - ''Plays the Great Show Tunes''
* 1964 - ''Aces Hi''
* 1964 - ''The Moanin' Sax of Ace Cannon''
* 1964 - ''Christmas Cheers from Ace Cannon'' (US Hot Albums #44)
* 1965 - ''Live''
* 1966 - ''Sweet & Tuff''
* 1967 - ''Incomparable Sax of Ace Cannon''
* 1967 - ''Memphis Golden Hits''
* 1967 - ''The Misty Sax of Ace Cannon''
* 1969 - ''Ace of Sax''
* 1972 - ''Cannon Country - Ace, That is!''
* 1972 - ''Country Comfort''
* 1973 - ''Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me''
* 1974 - ''That Music City Feeling''
Singles
* A Peaked at #3 on US R&B charts
* B Peaked at #73 on US Country Singles
References
External links
*
DiscographyAce Cannon Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2012)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, Ace
1934 births
2018 deaths
People from Grenada, Mississippi
American male saxophonists
Hi Records artists
People from Calhoun City, Mississippi
Musicians from Mississippi
21st-century American saxophonists
21st-century American male musicians
20th-century American saxophonists