Ace Cannon

Video

Oral History Information

Interview Date
Birth Date
Deceased Date
Job Title
Musician, Saxophonist

Ace Cannon grew up in Mississippi singing with his father on street corners and in church, and he knew even as a small child that he wanted to have a life in music.  When he was ten years old his father drove him to Amro Music in Memphis and let him pick out an alto saxophone by CG Conn.  Right there in the store he played "Beer Barrel Polka". After high school he began playing as a sideman for Sun Records and Hi Records in Memphis and can be heard with many early Rockabilly musicians.  In 1962 he recorded his first solo endeavor, an instrumental he wrote that would hit the charts and stay there for several months, a song called "Tuff." Ace went on to have three hits on the charts at the same time and later recorded and toured with many of the top names in 50s rock and roll including Dick Clark's All Star Band, and with Carl Perkins, when they traveled overseas.