Adderley is remembered for his 1966 single "Mercy Mercy Mercy", a crossover hit on the pop charts, and for his work with trumpeter Miles Davis, including on the epochal album Kind of Blue (1959). He was the brother of jazz cornetist Nat Adderley, a longtime member of his band.
The name 'Canonball' is supposed to have originated from his being nicknamed 'cannibal' in his youth, on account of his prodigious eating
Early life and career
Originally from Tampa, Florida, Adderley moved to New York in the mid-1950s. His nickname derived originally from "cannibal", a title imposed on him by high school colleagues as a tribute to his voracious appetite.
His educational career was long established prior to teaching applied instrumental music classes at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Cannonball moved to Tallahassee, Florida when his parents obtained teaching positions at Florida A&M University. Both Cannonball and brother Nat played with Ray Charles when Charles lived in Tallahassee during the early 1940s. Cannonball was a local legend in Florida until he moved to New York City in 1955, where he lived in Corona, Queens.
It was in New York during this time that Adderley's prolific career began. Adderley visited the Cafe Bohemia, where Oscar Pettiford's group was playing that night. Adderley had brought his saxophone into the club with him, primarily because he feared that it would be stolen, and he was asked to sit in as the saxophone player was late. That performance established his reputation.
Prior to joining Miles Davis' band, Adderley formed his own group with his brother Nat after signing onto the Savoy jazz label in 1957. He was noticed by Miles Davis, and it was because of his blues-rooted alto saxophone that Davis asked him to play with his group.
Adderley joined the Miles Davis Sextet in October 1957, three months prior to John Coltrane's return to the group. Adderley played on the seminal Davis records Milestones and Kind of Blue. This period also overlapped with pianist Bill Evans' time with the sextet, an association that led to recording Portrait of Cannonball and Know What I Mean?.
His interest as an educator carried over to his recordings. In 1961, Cannonball narrated The Child's Introduction to Jazz, released on Riverside Records.
Band leader
The Cannonball Adderley Quintet featured Cannonball on alto sax and his brother Nat Adderley on cornet. Cannonball's first quintet was not very successful; however, after leaving Davis' group, he formed another, again with his brother, which enjoyed more success.
Later life
By the end of the 1960s, Adderley's playing began to reflect the influence of the electric jazz, avant-garde, and Davis' experiments on the album Bitches Brew. On his albums from this period, such as Accent on Africa (1968) and The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free (1970), he began doubling on soprano saxophone, showing the influence of Coltrane and Wayne Shorter. In that same year, his quintet appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival in California, and a brief scene of that performance was featured in the 1971 psychological thriller Play Misty for Me, starring Clint Eastwood. In 1975 he also appeared (in an acting role alongside Jose Feliciano and David Carradine) in the episode "Battle Hymn" in the third season of the TV series Kung Fu.
Joe Zawinul's composition "Cannon Ball" (recorded on Weather Report's album Black Market) is a tribute to his former leader. Pepper Adams and George Mraz dedicated the composition "Julian" on the 1975 Pepper Adams album (also called "Julian") days after Cannonball's death.
Songs made famous by Adderley and his bands include "This Here" (written by Bobby Timmons), "The Jive Samba", "Work Song" (written by Nat Adderley), "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" (written by Joe Zawinul) and "Walk Tall" (written by Zawinul, Marrow and Rein). A cover version of Pops Staples' "Why (Am I Treated So Bad)?" also entered the charts.
Adderley was initiated as an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity (Gamma Theta chapter, University of North Texas, '60, & Xi Omega chapter, Frostburg State University, '70) and Alpha Phi Alpha (Beta Nu chapter, Florida A&M University).
Adderley died of a stroke in 1975. He was buried in the Southside Cemetery, Tallahassee, Florida. Later that year he was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.
Masquerade Is Over
Cannonball Adderley Lyrics
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And my dreams are drifting away
Your eyes don't shine like they used to shine
And the thrill is gone when your lips meet mine
I'm afraid the masquerade is over
And so is love, and so is love
Your words don't mean what they used to mean
They were once inspired, now they're just routine
I'm afraid the masquerade is over
And so is love, and so is love
I guess I'll have to play Pagliacci
And get myself a clown's disguise
And learn to laugh like Pagliacci
With tears in my eyes
You look the same, you're a lot the same
But my heart says "no, no, you're not the same"
I'm afraid the masquerade is over
And so is love, and so is love
I guess I'll have to play Pagliacci
And get myself a clown's disguise
And learn to laugh like Pagliacci
With tears in my eyes
You look the same, you're a lot the same
But my heart says "No, no, you're not the same"
I'm afraid the masquerade is over
And so is love, and so is love
The lyrics of Cannonball Adderley's song "Masquerade is Over" are a deeply introspective and sorrowful reckoning with the end of a romantic relationship. In the opening lines, the singer laments the fading vibrance of their world, as their "blue horizon is turning grey" and their dreams "are drifting away." They go on to describe how the passion has gone out of the relationship, with their partner's eyes no longer shining as they once did and the thrill being gone when their lips meet. The singer recognizes that this is the end of the "masquerade" of their relationship and that love itself is also over.
The second half of the song finds the singer considering how they will carry on. They mention Pagliacci, a tragic opera about a clown who must play the buffoon even as his own heart is breaking, as an analogy for the false front they will have to put on after the end of their relationship. They will need to wear a clown's disguise and learn to laugh through their tears. The song ends with the realization that their partner may look the same, but they can no longer see them in the same way as before. The masquerade is over, and along with it, love.
Line by Line Meaning
My blue horizon is turning grey
The optimistic view of my future is fading away, and my outlook is becoming more pessimistic.
And my dreams are drifting away
The goals and aspirations I once had are slipping out of reach and losing their significance.
Your eyes don't shine like they used to shine
The spark that was once in your gaze has faded, and it's apparent that your feelings towards me have changed.
And the thrill is gone when your lips meet mine
The passion and excitement that we used to feel when we kissed, has disappeared.
I'm afraid the masquerade is over
I now realize that we were pretending to be something we weren't and the facade we had is no longer sustainable.
And so is love, and so is love
Our love has been revealed to be nothing more than an act, and therefore, it has come to an end.
Your words don't mean what they used to mean
The things you say no longer hold the same depth and sincerity as they once did.
They were once inspired, now they're just routine
Your choice of words and phrases have become predictable and lack passion, whereas they used to be thoughtful and poetic.
I guess I'll have to play Pagliacci
I must now put on an act or mask like the character Pagliacci in the opera 'Pagliacci' and pretend as though I'm not hurt.
And get myself a clown's disguise
I need to find a way to hide my emotions and project an image that is opposite to how I feel.
And learn to laugh like Pagliacci
I need to master the art of masking my emotions behind a facade of happiness or humor.
With tears in my eyes
Despite putting on a brave face, inside, I am still hurting and heartbroken.
You look the same, you're a lot the same
Although you physically appear unchanged, you have changed emotionally and are a different person from who I fell in love with.
But my heart says 'no, no, you're not the same'
Intuitively, I recognize and accept that you are no longer the person I fell in love with, despite your physical appearance remaining the same.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Allie Wrubel, Herbert Magidson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind