Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
native, recording producer, director, musical stage lighting and production designer. Gannon's career began as road manager for
the Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...
in the band's early days of its greatest success. He later operated and managed
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity and satire of ...
’s record company and produced records for CBS. Gannon also worked as road manager for
Bill Cosby
William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...
and staged
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
's first film appearance. He toured internationally as a producer, director and lighting designer for such stars as
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...
,
Teddy Pendergrass
Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musi ...
,
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...
,
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include " Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", " I Write the Songs", " C ...
,
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...
.Joe Gannon ''sickthingsuk.co.uk'', Retrieved October 31, 2007
The Kingston Trio
In the early 1950s after serving the
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
, Gannon attended Menlo Park College, School of Business Administration in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. There he met
Dave Guard
Donald David Guard (October 19, 1934 – March 22, 1991) was an American folk singer, songwriter, arranger and recording artist. Along with Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane, he was one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio.
Guard was born in ...
,
Nick Reynolds
Nicholas Wells Reynolds (July 27, 1933 – October 1, 2008) was an American folk musician and recording artist. Reynolds was one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio, whose folk and folk-style material captured international attention du ...
and singer Barbara Bogue (she later became his wife) who together began a singing group called "Dave Guard & the Calypsonians" and later, "The Kingston Quartet". The group performed at college frat parties and were regulars playing the Cracked Pot Club across the street from campus, Gannon playing
stand-up bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
. He left the group after graduation in 1956, moving to Minneapolis where he went into business. The Calypsonians regrouped with Guard, Reynolds and
Bob Shane
Robert Castle Schoen (February 1, 1934 – January 26, 2020), known professionally as Bob Shane, was an American singer and guitarist who was a founding member of The Kingston Trio. In that capacity, Shane became a seminal figure in the revi ...
becoming known as
The Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...
. Gannon returned to California and eventually became the long-time road manager and later business manager for the Trio. In 2000, the Kingston Trio was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
In 1967, Gannon was credited as recording engineer on the ''Lost Kingston Trio Album'', which was recorded in 1966 at the breakup of the group with John Stewart.
Neil Diamond
In 1970, Gannon was one of the first production designers to use moving sets on rock concert tours while working with
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...
. Joe Gannon was Neil's road manager, lighting director and show consultant in the early 70's. Gannon's involvement was credited as the reason for the great improvement in Neil's stage presentations by the time of the legendary 1972 ''
Hot August Night
''Hot August Night'' is a 1972 live double album by Neil Diamond. The album is a recording of a Diamond concert on August 24, 1972, one of ten sold-out concerts that Diamond performed that month at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. This also mar ...
'' concert series.
Alice Cooper
Expanding upon creative input from
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...
and Shep Gordon, Gannon was responsible for turning Cooper's vision into a tangible, three-dimensional nightmare reality of magic and wonderment. These set designs resulted in some of the most elaborate stage and light presentations of any rock show, setting a new standard in terms of sheer massive size. In 1974, Gannon directed the documentary film, ''Good To See you Again, Alice Cooper'', which was re-released in 2005.
Maui
The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, whic ...
Hawaii Business Magazine
''Hawaii Business'' is a Honolulu-based business magazine founded in 1955. Its parent company, PacificBasin Communications, also publishes '' Honolulu Magazine'', ''Hawaii Home + Remodeling'', ''Island Family'', ''Ala Moana magazine'', ''Hawaii ...
Maui Time
''Maui Time Weekly'' (also known as ''Maui Time Magazine'', ''Maui Time'', and the ''Maui Times'') is a free alternative newspaper published weekly in the county of Maui, state of Hawaii. The newspaper is owned mostly by its publisher, Tommy Russo ...