Gus Cannon

Complete Recorded Works C. November 1927 – 1 October 1929

Vol. 2: 12 September 1929 to 1 October 1929

Noah Lewis

Complete Recorded Works

2 October 1929 – 28 November 1930

Featuring the recordings of:

Cannon And Woods (The Beale Street Boys): Gus Cannon, guitar / vocal (lead vocal on 1); Hosea Woods, banjo / vocal (lead vocal on 2). Cannon’s Jug Stompers: Gus Cannon, banjo / jug / vocal (4,6); Hosea Woods, banjo / vocal (3,6) / kazoo (6) / vocal interjections (4, 5); Noah Lewis, harmonica / vocal (5). Noah Lewis, harmonica solo / speech (8). Cannon’s Jug Stompers: Gus Cannon, banjo / jug / vocal (9,11,13); Hosea Woods, banjo / vocal (9,10,14)/kazoo (9) / vocal interjections (11, 12); Noah Lewis, harmonica / vocal (12). Noah Lewis’ Jug Band: Noah Lewis, harmonica / vocal; Sleepy John Estes, guitar; Yank Rachel, mandolin; Ham Lewis, jug. Noah Lewis’ Jug Band: Noah Lewis, harmonica / vocal; John Estes, guitar; Ham Lewis, jug; Mrs. Van Zula Carter Hunt, vocal (18). Cannon’s Jug Stompers: Gus Cannon, banjo / jug / vocal (20); Hosea Woods, banjo / vocal (21); Noah Lewis, harmonica.

Genres; Blues, Memphis Blues, Tennessee Blues, Country Blues, Jug Band, Blues Guitar, Country Blues Guitar, Blues Banjo, Blues Harmonica, Blues Mandolin

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. After Cannon’s Jug Stompers recorded in September 1928 (see Document album DOCD-5032) it was about a year before Gus Cannon next faced the mikes; when he did, it was as one half of “Cannon And Woods” (The Beale Street Boys)”, making a disc for Brunswick in breach of his contract with Victor. “Woods” was Hosea Woods, older even than Gus, a splendid singer with a strong falsetto, and about to replace Elijah Avery as the Stompers’ second banjoist and guitarist. Gus Cannon is said to play guitar on the Beale Street Boys sides, but as the instruction to “Percolate that banjo!” is given to “Joe” (i.e. Banjo Joe), it seems more likely that Woods is the guitarist. The Jug Stompers reassembled to record on 1st and 3rd October 1929. On the intervening day, Noah Lewis made his debut as a name artist with three harmonica solos; a white fiddle piece, with Lewis’s falsetto whoops replacing the fiddler’s pizzicatos; and a meditative blues that admirably demonstrates Noah’s masterful breath control. The full jug band started with remakes: Last Chance had been one of the Cannon And Woods numbers, and Tired Chicken Blues was “Heartbreakin’ Blues” from the previous year, with a new, ribald last verse. Going To Germany, on the other hand, really is heartbreaking; there are few songs more yearningly sung than this Noah Lewis performance. The most famous song from this session, though, was undoubtedly Walk Right In, Gus’s theme song, which he’d made up with Ashley Thompson around 1910. In the ’60s, it was recorded by a white folk group, the Rooftop Singers, and went to No. 1 in the charts. Cannon’s Jug Stompers made their last session in November 1930, adding Wolf River Blues to their list of songs about places around Memphis. Bring It With You When You Come shows a hillbilly influence in its first verse, and Prison Wall Blues marries a pop-influenced, sixteen bar structure to some rather edgy jokes about the Southern prison system. In their time, they had been the finest jug band in Memphis, bringing emotional depth to their blues, enthusiastic humour to their novelty numbers, and exceptional musicianship to all their songs and instrumentals.

DOCD-5033