Julian “Cannonball” Adderley (alto sax) was born in Tampa, Florida in 1928. In high school, he managed to get stuck with the name Cannonball because of his voracious appetite – derived from the word “cannibal”. I was hoping for a more fascinating reason but… it is what it is. While living in New York in the 1950’s, he walked into the Café Bohemia one night, saxophone in hand (he was afraid of someone stealing it). Oscar Pettiford’s group was performing and they asked him to sit in because their sax player was late. Such was the beginning of his prolific career in the “hard bop” entertainment field of the 50’s and 60’s.
The song “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” was written by his piano player in the Cannonball Adderley Sextet. It was an unexpected crossover hit – sailing to #2 on the pop charts. “The Buckinghams” from Chicago put lyrics to the song and had great success with it in 1966. I’ve got their rendition on my Pop/Rock list for all you singers – including a sweet sax solo in the middle. Be sure to dedicate it to Cannonball when you do it.