Cover photo © 2024 Laura Carbone
According to writer Samuel Charters, blues lyrics are “a profound, cultural experience that could connect all people who love poetry.” And writer Susanna Steinfeld expressed her belief that “blues songs are sung to transcend reality in order to accept it” and do so “with unprecedented clarity, honesty and simplicity…as a raw expression of intimate feelings”. Chicago born (but internationally celebrated) guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Toronzo Cannon, would likely agree with both of those writers’ sentiments. He expressed similar beliefs when Blues Blast Magazine had the opportunity to catch up with him recently, as he was performing on the 40th Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise.
“I get tired of the ‘my woman left me’ songs. I don’t think we should ‘dumb down’ the blues. We should make people think a little bit. There are other stories lying around. I want to write real blues songs about real things in the world. I credit people like Robert Cray and Bobby Womack with inspiring me as songwriters. Curtis Mayfield was another one. He was a beautiful writer. If I could just ‘touch the hem of the garment’ of some of these writers, I’ll be happy. I want to write something that is not just a steering wheel tapper. I write about my life situations, and it resonates with a lot of men. Sometimes you must put medicine in sugar, so I’ll include a couple of jokes, but the public service announcement might be ‘go get a colonoscopy’ and it might make someone think that they need to go get one. There’s racism, sexism, ageism. The nuances in life, or the not-so-nuanced. There is social commentary that needs to be expressed. Maybe issues can be solved if it hits people from different directions. If no-one else writes it, I’ll write it. I wouldn’t feel good as a musician if I held it in because I feared the outcome. I’m not saying anything wrong—it’s all about hope and the future of our sanity. We need to come together, to just join in love, join in consciousness and respect for each other. The nation now just must respect each other. You ain’t gotta love me, but respect me, because I respect you. Don’t legislate laws where my kids can’t read about their history. That’s not respect. A race of people wants to teach their children about the real history. Respect what really happened. If you don’t look at it now, you might repeat it. If you dig Black culture and you see we’re getting shot, you need to speak out about it.”
Toronzo acknowledges there will be some fans who might tell him to “shut up and play” and believe entertainers should not address political matters. But, in response to that belief, he pointed to a long history of popular musicians who sang songs that made the audience think about important issues.
“Elvis sang a protest song (“If I Can Dream”). You can bring something to light in a song, and if you put it in a song, people might digest the message better. Jimi Hendrix did the National Anthem. Those sounds you hear were bombs dropping and people screaming. It was a protest song about the Vietnam War. ‘Strange Fruit’ brought light to the situation (lynchings).”
Toronzo was raised in Chicago by his mother (who was single and still a teenager when she gave birth to him) and his grandparents. His grandfather gave him the name “Toronzo” to honor the Cherokee and Choctaw heritage on his grandfather’s side of the family. Toronzo heard blues and soul music while growing up in his home. He also grew up close by Theresa’s Lounge, (a famous blues club on the Southside), and heard some of the blues’ greats play there as he stood on the sidewalk outside the door, too young to enter the club.
“The music I heard didn’t have a genre to me—it was just the music my grandparents played. And I was just a little kid, so I didn’t know at the time how important Theresa’s Lounge was to the genre. So, I was living around the club as a ten and eleven-year-old, and later there was a full circle moment when I could rub elbows with people like John Primer and Billy Branch, who knew my uncles from going to that club.”
“I first started playing when my sister bought me a guitar after I couldn’t play basketball anymore. At that time, I was listening to John Cougar Mellancamp and reggae and initially I wanted to play reggae. I played in a reggae band for two years, and then started going to blues jams in the area, so I kind of came into the blues sideways.”
Although he did finally retire from his full-time job, Toronzo is well-known for keeping his job as a city bus driver while he performed internationally as a musician. While it was impressive that he managed to do this, (and the daily contact with those riding the bus offered inspiration for many songs), he was also criticized and overlooked at times by those who assumed he did not take his musical career seriously enough.
“People have this idea about the ‘starving artist’, but I had a family and pride in myself. I had to provide for them. I got my work ethic from my grandfather and never had to ask for anything from anyone. I always prided myself on keeping up with the other musicians and still holding down a forty-hour a week job. I would fly back from a show and get three hours of sleep and get up at 6 am.”
Toronzo is currently included on the highly respected label, Alligator Records. Bruce Iglaur, (Founder and CEO of Alligator records), has stated that he particularly likes how engaging a performer Cannon is, often bantering with the audience. Iglaur also noted the following about Toronzo: “Toronzo is a thrilling guitar player, a powerful, intense singer, and a great live entertainer, but, above all, I was drawn in by his original songs. He writes not only about love found and love lost, but also about health insurance, domestic abuse, the plight of undocumented immigrants, midlife crisis, divorce lawyers, corrupt politicians and preachers, and life in the big city. And, although these sound like serious topics, a lot of his songs are hilarious.” Toronzo was asked how it came to be that he joined the Alligator label.
“I would ask Bruce Iglaur to lunch about twice a year to ask questions because I realized this guy seemed very connected to my heroes like Luther Allison. I gained so much information that could help me in the future. One time he asked me if I could go over to Belgium and front with Kai Strauss, and I already happened to be there. Two weeks later, he called and this time he asked me to lunch. He asked me my goals and told me not to sign any contracts. Alligator was able to get me TV time, too. It was on channel 9 about the bus driver who plays the blues, and it won an Emmy.”
Toronzo first released an album in 2007 on Ta Music, and then two more on the Delmark label (2011 and 2013). However, it was when Chicago Way was released on the Alligator Record label in 2016 that he became a household name. Two examples from that album of his excellent songwriting abilities can be seen in “The Pain Around Me” and “Strength to Survive”.
“’The Pain Around Me’ is about a good honest man who just can’t afford to live in a better neighborhood and is fearful when his children go out. The ‘Strength to Survive’ was probably the most therapeutic, cathartic song for me to write. It talks about when I looked in the mirror and didn’t like what I saw—that broken man looking right back at me. I didn’t like where I was at that time and found the strength to survive through my music.”
In 2019, Toronzo released “The Preacher, The Politician or the Pimp”, on which he notes the similarities in all three professions. On that album, he has clearly continued his practice of writing meaningful lyrics, including a song about marginalized and misunderstood groups of individuals in “I’m Not Scared,” (which features some guest singers and Joanna Connor on slide guitar) and a song about death (“The First 24”).
“’I’m Not Scared’ is about the struggles of an abused woman, a gay teen, and an immigrant. It might not get much airplay, but I had to write about it. I asked a gay man, an abused woman and an immigrant ‘does this sound right’ and they said, ‘yes—it sounds right’. I want my songs to be heard not listened to. ‘The First 24’ is about what you might see the first 24 hours of death. Would I see my great-grandfather, who was allegedly hanged from a tree? Will I see my ancestors reaching out to me? Would you see a Black Jesus or a white Jesus? I leave it up to the imagination of the listener—what do you think you’ll see when you die?”
Toronzo is not bothered by “blues purists” who might criticize his more contemporary sound and noted that the genre must keep evolving to keep the blues alive.
“I don’t have a problem with traditional bluesmen. I love Elmore James, JB Hutto, Hound Dog Taylor. But the blues must progress a little bit. Muddy Waters was revolutionary in his time. He took what he loved and brought it to Chicago where he plugged it in to get louder. When I’m doing my thing with blues-based lyrics, I’m giving honor to some full-fledged traditional sounding music. It may sound like R&B, but it is blues based. People might say some slick things, but how can you tell me my songs aren’t authentic?”
When asked which young, emerging artists he finds exciting, Toronzo named several.
“Steven Hull, out of Wisconsin, is a new artist who is getting some traction lately. Also, Ivy Ford and Joseph J. Saye. I took them on the Black and Blues Tour in Europe. Joseph did the acoustic versions and Ivy did the sassy woman thing, and I came in as the Chicago bluesman. The European audience is all about nuance. The promotor told me it was one of the best shows in recent memory.”
One young, exciting, emerging artist is Toronzo’s daughter. However, he noted that he made sure he did not to try to influence her decision regarding her career.
“My daughter is 21 now and in her last year at DePaul, studying music management. Her name is Gayun Cannon and she’s on Instagram and Spotify. I had nothing to do with her going into music and everything to do with it. She wanted to be a musician and I didn’t push it. I bought her instruments but never sat down and taught her. She just figured it out. She has her own voice, but I did give her some insights about the industry. I had wanted her to play piano on my latest album, but it just didn’t work out scheduling-wise.”
Toronzo has a new album due to come out in June. He revealed that it will be comprised of twelve original songs, which are sure to be dynamic and contain social commentary. The album begins with a song titled “Can’t Fix the World” and includes various songs about relationships and family dynamics. The most emotional track describes the difficulties parents face when they need to divorce but fear the effects on their children. The album ends with the title track, a song that repeats that response Toronzo sometimes hears when he is commenting on important issues, “Shut Up and Play”.
“It was a hard album to write. One song, ‘Message to my Daughter” is a heartfelt message about divorce, about things I wanted to apologize for. When I wrote it, I was afraid I wouldn’t have her love again. But then she came around and asked if she could live with me for her last year of college. I told her everything, to help fill up the holes. I wasn’t trying to win an argument—this was my truth. It repaired itself and I ended up having to change the ending of the song. Initially it was what I thought she would be doing at my grave, but we changed the ending to where everyone is alive. It is just cool that my daughter is very well-adjusted. I’m happy to be there as her father.”
Toronzo Cannon had one more point to make about the importance of the lyrics in blues music:
“If we hit the public with real music, we might get more respect as artists. Also, if someone like Beyonce or JZ promoted a bluesman, it would be good for the genre. If Beyonce would reach back and say, ‘I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the blues, the blues is the basis of all music’, it would help bring respect to us. The blues awards aren’t even televised on the Grammies. It’s like they’re ashamed of how music came to be. They don’t give it the time they should.”
We can only hope that Toronzo Cannon might be the bluesman they choose to promote, as he is sure to continue to be a talented and powerful force in contemporary blues. You can find out more about Toronzo Cannon atwww.toronzocannon.com. His shows are booked through Intrepid Artists: https://intrepidartists.com And, his new album will be released in June on Alligator Records: www.alligator.com