A Fun, Informative Musical Tree
Cannon’s Jug Stompers
The Musical Tree
Cannon’s Jug Stompers
The Musical Tree

Cannon’s Jug Stompers

left to right – Gus Cannon, Ashley Thompson, Noah Lewis

I was born in the desert, raised in a lion’s den

I was born in the desert, raised in a lion’s den

My number one occupation, stealing women from their men.

Welcome to this week’s Musical Tree! This week we are going to explore a legendary jug band that influenced a legendary sixties band. Get ready to read about Cannon’s Jug Stompers!

The origins of jug bands can be traced to around 1900 in Louisville, Kentucky. A jug band usually consisted of a jug, fiddle, banjo, and sometimes a mandolin or a guitar. Early jug bands played a mixture of early jazz, country, and popular music that had its roots in ragtime. By the 1920’s jug bands were becoming increasingly popular, especially in the south. 

Gus Cannon was born on a plantation near Red Banks, Mississippi. The year of his birth is unclear. By the early 1900’s when he was twelve he had moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi where he was impressed by W.C. Handy and his band. Cannon made himself a banjo out of a bread pan and racoon skin (you can see it at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale). He was a self-taught musician who quickly began earning money playing sawmills and railroad camps (like previous Musical Tree subject Jimmie Rodgers) throughout Mississippi. At the age of 15 Gus finally came into his first real banjo when his brother won it in a craps game. 

Gus was able to rig a contraption around his neck to hold the jug, allowing him to play both the jug and the banjo at the same time! After performing under the name ‘Banjo Joe’ for a few years, Gus was in Memphis where the Memphis Jug Band had taken center stage, filling clubs up and down Beale Street. In fact, the Memphis Jug Band grew so large and popular that they resorted to splitting into two Memphis Jug Bands and would play multiple clubs around Memphis on the weekends. The Memphis Jug Band was recorded by the Victor Recording Company in 1927. In 1928 Victor returned to record more jug bands. Gus found out that Victor was in town, quickly gathered Ashley Thompson (guitar) and Noah Lewis (harp), and Cannon’s Jug Stompers was formed! All three had known each other for years, having met playing various gigs around Memphis and Mississippi. Noah Lewis, the harp player, supposedly could play two harps at once – one with his mouth, and one with his nose. Take that Bob Dylan! For the next three years, Cannon’s Jug Stompers would record a total of 24 songs for Victor Records. Ashley Thompson appeared on some of the tracks, others featured Elijah Avery or Hosea Woods on guitar. Most of the songs were written by Noah Lewis. The band would continue to perform live in Memphis throughout the rest of the 1930’s and are considered one of the best jug bands ever. There is no question that they influenced a tremendous amount of Memphis and Mississippi musicians during the 1920’s and 1930’s, but it’s their influence on a 1960’s era psychedelic band from the Haight Ashbury district in San Francisco that is most intriguing.

The Grateful Dead

Jug band music was part of the 1960’s folk revival, exposing young musicians to Cannon’s Jug Stompers and the Memphis Jug Band. Prior to The Grateful Dead, future members Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and Ron ‘Pigpen’ McKernan were in a jug band called Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions. Garcia would play guitar, banjo, and kazoo, Pigpen was on harmonica, and Weir would play guitar, washtub bass, jug, and kazoo. This band lasted about a year before they turned electric and eventually became The Grateful Dead. The first album released by The Grateful Dead in 1967, titled ‘San Francisco’s Grateful Dead’, featured two songs originally recorded by Cannon’s Jug Stompers – ‘New Minglewood Blues’ and ‘Viola Lee Blues’.

The song ‘Minglewood Blues’ has an interesting story. Written by Noah Lewis, Cannon’s Jug Stompers recorded it in Memphis on January 30, 1928. In 1930 Noah Lewis rewrote the song with different lyrics and called it ‘New Minglewood Blues’. He recorded this song as the Noah Lewis Jug Band in November of 1930. 

The Grateful Dead’s version was titled ‘New New Minglewood Blues’, which suggests that the Dead were aware of the history of the song and were offering this version as a continuance of the song. Lyrics from both ‘New Minglewood Blues’ and ‘New New Minglewood Blues’ contain lines that were clearly ‘borrowed’ from blues songs by Texas Alexander and Charley Patton. As a further twist in 1978 The Dead completely overhauled the lyrics except for the first verse and released a version titled ‘All New Minglewood Blues’. As the song goes, if you’re ever in Memphis, better stop by Minglewood – but for now let’s move on!

As I had mentioned, Cannon’s Jug Stompers only recorded 24 songs, yet The Grateful Dead would play three of their songs for most of their career. The other Cannon’s Jug Stompers song covered by The Grateful Dead was the song ‘Big Railroad Blues’. Also written by Noah Lewis, The Dead’s version featured slightly different lyrics but more or less stayed true to the original. While the Dead would never release this on a studio album, it did appear on their 1971 live album ‘Skull and Roses’ and was a concert staple for their entire career. What I find interesting is that a band like The Grateful Dead–one of the preeminent bands of the San Francisco counter culture, hippie movement and house band for Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests–were so taken by this jug band that they played not one, but three of their songs as part of their psychedelic rock repertoire.

Another song recorded by Cannon’s Jug Stompers, ‘Walk Right In’, became a hit in the 1960’s for The Rooftop Singers and was also a hit for Dr. Hook in the 1970’s. Gus Cannon had stopped playing at the end of the 1930’s but he recorded a few songs for Folkway Records in 1956. During the blues revival of the 1960’s he made a few appearances at college campuses before he had to sell his banjo to pay his winter heating bill. Soon thereafter The Rooftop Singers had their hit with ‘Walk Right In’ and that led to Gus recording one final album for Stax Records titled ‘Walk Right In’. The album consisted of traditional songs recorded by Gus along with fellow Memphis musicians Will Shade (formerly of The Memphis Jug Band) and Milton Roby. One of the songs they recorded was ‘Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor’, a song that can be traced back to early 1900’s New Orleans and jazz great Buddy Bolden. 

When Gus Cannon died in 1979 in Memphis he was believed to have been 96 years old. Noah Lewis died in poverty in 1961, his death due to gangrene caused by frostbite. He was 70 years old. 

Cannon’s Jug Stompers influence is still being felt today as jam bands, the musical genre created by The Grateful Dead, continue to play their music. For someone who’s first instrument was made from a bread pan, I find that quite remarkable. If you are ever in Memphis and decide to go down to Minglewood I’m certain Gus Cannon and the rest of the Jug Stompers will join you in the lion’s den.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s Musical Tree. Feel free to leave suggestions for future articles in the comments. Don’t forget to subscribe to be notified via email when there is a new post. And you can now follow Tekesmusings.com on your social media of choice by clicking on the links at the bottom of the page! Until then, follow your passion, stay happy, and be thankful for whatever inspires you.

Cannon’s Jug Stompers Musical Tree

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