Tom White - Song - 2019
photo by Styrous®
Today is the birthday of saxophonist Ace Cannon who was born on May 5, 1934, in Grenada, Mississippi. I need to qualify as to why this is so important to me.
First, I have had a life-long love of the saxophone with its reedy, breathy sound, a sound only reed instruments have that a human is performing it and the sax has that in spades.
Second, I was in my early twenties when Tuff came out, just slightly after I did as well, and my hormones were totally out of control in new ways and the song Tuff matched the erotic feelings I was experiencing (especially when slow dancing) and trying to make sense of them. Also he wasn't hard on the eyes. The song was re-recorded by him a decade or so later; it is slower & sexier with a subtle chorus backup but it lacks the raw, down 'n dirty feeling of the original. However, the original has an end that fades out; I've always hated songs that fade (why do they do that?). The later version has a definite end.
Third, fifteen or so years later, when I worked on Broadway, I used the newer version with the girls I worked with, who LOVED it; especially Marilyn (links below)!
Tuff reached No,3 on the U.S. R&B chart and No.17 on the U.S. pop chart in 1962. The song ranked No.40 on Billboard magazine's Top 100 singles of 1962. It was recorded by many other musicians: Billy Vaughn, Ray Anthony, Charlie Musselwhite, Hank Crawford, Clifford Scott, John Fahey and Cul de Sac but none matched the raw feeling of the original by Cannon.
Cannon began playing the saxophone when he was ten years old and enrolled in a music course at the Memphis State University. His father worked as a violinist and guitarist in Memphis and the surrounding area and encouraged him on with his music. Cannon signed with Sun Records and played there with Billy Lee Riley and Brad Suggs. He played with the Bill Black's Combo and did much work as a session musician at Hi Records from 1959 to 1961. He begam his solo career with the single Tuff. A documentary about him, Aces High was made in 1979.
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.
Disc jockey, songwriter and record producer Sam Philips said, "Ace Cannon is the greatest saxophone player who ever lived" and called him the "Godfather of Sax". Cannon died at his home on December 6, 2018, he was 84 years old.
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
Fandom ~ Ace Cannon
Loving Life Music ~ Remembering Ace Cannon
Music VF ~ Ace Cannon Top Songs
NAMM ~ interview
Oldies ~ Ace Cannon song list
Rockabilly Hall of Fame ~ Ace Cannon
YouTube links:
Ace Cannon ~
