Hughie Cannon
Encyclopedia
Hughie Cannon was a composer and lyricist who was born in Detroit 1877 and died in 1912 in Toledo
.
. He wrote the song at the age of sixteen and this ragtime
song was published in 1902. Many renditions of this song were done by Louis Armstrong
, Ella Fitzgerald
, Pearl Bailey
, Marion Montgomery
and Bobby Darin
.
The first singer of this song was Blackface
John Queen a contemporary of Hughie Cannon. The song was an instant hit. Another greatly popular song was his Frankie and Johnny
published in 1904.
Cannon wrote a featured song 'I love the Two Steps (With my Man)' for a New York Theatre show 'Mrs. Black in Back' that opened in 1904, ending with seventy nine performances. Mrs. Black was played by May Irwin, who appeared in one of Thomas Edison's earliest productions, "The Kiss."
Cannon also wrote music for "A Venetian Romance" at the Knickerbocker Theater.
Cannon is buried in Connellsville, Pa., where he mother lived. His mother, May Cannon Robbins, was in show business and played the role of "Little Trixie" in a production that toured the nation for several years in the late 1800s. By the time her son became a well-known composer she was managing a theater in Connellsville with the help of her third husband Fred Robbins. Not much is known about his father, John Cannon.
Not long before his death, Cannon told a Detroit newspaper that he sold the rights to most of his songs. In a letter to his mother he lamented "the songs I once had."
He told the same newspaper that while he used drugs it was booze that was the hardest to kick. Married briefly to Emma Dorsam and divorced, he died penniless.
Cannon's other songs include "For Lawdy Sakes, Feed My Dog," "I Hates To Get Up Early In The Morning", "Frankie and Johnny", "Possum Pie", "Just Because She Made Dem Goo-Goo Eyes" and "You Needn't Come Home."
Music scholar Peter Muir called the latter song "truly remarkable for 1901" because both its chorus and verse are a 12-bar arrangement. "In terms of popular songs at the turn of the century, the enterprise, to the best of my knowledge, is quite unique."
Thornton Hagert (founder of Vernacular Music Research
), in 1971, noted Cannon's use of a 12-bar structure. "A few" of Cannon's better known songs, Hagert found, "are very close to the classic blues structure."
Two years after "Bill Bailey" swept the nation, Cannon composed a tune called "He Done Me Wrong." This "death of Bill Bailey" tune is sad, Muir noting "a powerful ambivalence often found in the blues."
Muir argued that Cannon's "music represents in its way the birth of commercial blues in American culture."
Cannon died at the age of 35 at the Lucas County, Ohio
, Infirmary. The official cause of death was cirrhosis of the liver.
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
.
His Works and Bio
His best known composition was the popular song Won't You Come Home Bill BaileyWon't You Come Home Bill Bailey
" Bill Bailey", originally titled "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?" is a popular song published in 1902. It is commonly referred to as simply "Bill Bailey"....
. He wrote the song at the age of sixteen and this ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
song was published in 1902. Many renditions of this song were done by Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, Pearl Bailey
Pearl Bailey
Pearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...
, Marion Montgomery
Marion Montgomery
Marion Montgomery was a United States born jazz singer who lived in the United Kingdom.Born Maud Runnells in Natchez, Mississippi, she began her career in Atlanta working clubs, and then in Chicago where singer Peggy Lee heard her on an audition tape and suggested she should be signed up by...
and Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
.
The first singer of this song was Blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
John Queen a contemporary of Hughie Cannon. The song was an instant hit. Another greatly popular song was his Frankie and Johnny
Frankie and Johnny
-Films:*Frankie and Johnny , 1936 film co-starring Lilyan Tashman*Frankie and Johnny , a film starring Elvis Presley*Frankie and Johnny , a 1991 film based on McNally's play-Other:...
published in 1904.
Cannon wrote a featured song 'I love the Two Steps (With my Man)' for a New York Theatre show 'Mrs. Black in Back' that opened in 1904, ending with seventy nine performances. Mrs. Black was played by May Irwin, who appeared in one of Thomas Edison's earliest productions, "The Kiss."
Cannon also wrote music for "A Venetian Romance" at the Knickerbocker Theater.
Cannon is buried in Connellsville, Pa., where he mother lived. His mother, May Cannon Robbins, was in show business and played the role of "Little Trixie" in a production that toured the nation for several years in the late 1800s. By the time her son became a well-known composer she was managing a theater in Connellsville with the help of her third husband Fred Robbins. Not much is known about his father, John Cannon.
Not long before his death, Cannon told a Detroit newspaper that he sold the rights to most of his songs. In a letter to his mother he lamented "the songs I once had."
He told the same newspaper that while he used drugs it was booze that was the hardest to kick. Married briefly to Emma Dorsam and divorced, he died penniless.
Cannon's other songs include "For Lawdy Sakes, Feed My Dog," "I Hates To Get Up Early In The Morning", "Frankie and Johnny", "Possum Pie", "Just Because She Made Dem Goo-Goo Eyes" and "You Needn't Come Home."
Music scholar Peter Muir called the latter song "truly remarkable for 1901" because both its chorus and verse are a 12-bar arrangement. "In terms of popular songs at the turn of the century, the enterprise, to the best of my knowledge, is quite unique."
Thornton Hagert (founder of Vernacular Music Research
Vernacular Music Research
Vernacular Music Research is an archival and historical collection of music. It includes print , 78' records, and other media featuring American music and dance from the early 19th century to the 1960s....
), in 1971, noted Cannon's use of a 12-bar structure. "A few" of Cannon's better known songs, Hagert found, "are very close to the classic blues structure."
Two years after "Bill Bailey" swept the nation, Cannon composed a tune called "He Done Me Wrong." This "death of Bill Bailey" tune is sad, Muir noting "a powerful ambivalence often found in the blues."
Muir argued that Cannon's "music represents in its way the birth of commercial blues in American culture."
Cannon died at the age of 35 at the Lucas County, Ohio
Lucas County, Ohio
----...
, Infirmary. The official cause of death was cirrhosis of the liver.