Bio & Other Fun Facts
Rivanna Records
bobcannonmusic.com
Life has a way of throwing you curveballs. But somehow through the twists and turns of everyday living, I keep making music. As a singer-songwriter, I’m based nowadays in Chatham, NJ (Exit 142), where I’ve been making the rounds of local music spots, teaching lessons in person and on Zoom, and toiling away in the studio on an upcoming collection of original tunes.
It’s my latest stop in what’s been a circuitous career path. I was raised in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Wilmington, Delaware, and enjoyed lengthy says in New Hampshire, Florida and New Jersey, with a stint in Nashville thrown in.
Along the way, I’ve also raised a family and enjoyed a day job writing about music for magazines like Entertainment Weekly, Country Weekly and the late great Performing Songwriter. But lately I’ve stepped away from the computer to record my third album, Left-Handed Salute, on Rivanna Records. It will be released in June 2023.
You can find updates here at bobcannonmusic.com, and purchase my music at Amazon.com, CDBaby,com, and iTunes, as well as streaming it on Spotify.
On my first album, Unbreakable Heart, I offered up 14 songs that often sound like a different artist than the previous track. In my book that’s a good thing. Back in the day, a record label might say, “Give us one sound that people can identify right away.” But here in 2023 we have no such restrictions. And being the sole artist and owner of Rivanna Records, I can do whatever I like. So you’ll find touches of country, bluegrass, rock, pop and electronic noise all in one place – “a buffet table of modern sounds,” as a real publicist might say.
For my second album, On Second Thought, I was helped out by Grammy-nominated fiddler/guitarist E.J. Ouellette (Crazy Maggy) and legendary drummer Dave Mattacks (Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson, XTC, Paul McCartney, and just about everyone else in that stratosphere). I assembled some quick picking on various guitars and mandolins, some Big Ballads to break your heart, a side trip to Bakersfield to summon the ghost of Buck Owens, a visit to Cajun country, then plugged in for some old time rock ‘n’ roll, plus “Pray the Gay Away,” a satirical gospel number for modern times.
While we're at it, I’ve been posting songs on Facebook in my LapTop of the Pops online series, featuring my originals along with tunes from artists who have influenced me along the way such as Springsteen, Dylan, Richard Thompson, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Randy Newman, Buffalo Springfield and too many others to count. You can find some of these on my YouTube channel as well.
You can find those at www.facebook.com/bob.cannon.35
In the meantime, enjoy the sounds, and thanks for joining me on the journey.
For lessons and bookings, call:
Rivanna Records
(908) 415-9135
To purchase Unbreakable Heart, the single "Chlamydia," On Second Thought, and (soon) Left-Handed Salute, go to
Cdbaby.com, Spotify, Amazon.com, iTunes or here, Bobcannonmusic.com
