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Famous song has Connellsville ties

By Patty Yauger 4 min read

CONNELLSVILLE – When calliope musician Ed Meyer begins his afternoon concert Saturday along Crawford Avenue in conjunction with the city’s 200th anniversary celebration, one of the tunes he will be playing has ties to the city. “Bill Bailey Won’t You Please Come Home” performed by countless artists from Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Jimmy Durante to Elvis Presley and Bobby Darin and often played at Preservation Hall in New Orleans was penned by Hughie Cannon, the son of actors John Cannon and Mae Brown.

Born in Detroit, Mich., in 1877, Hughie Cannon traveled from theater to theater with his mother after his parents divorced, according to information compiled by the Connellsville Historical Society.

His mother later married Robert Leroy Smith, a Connellsville man, but it is not known how the two met, although it is speculated the encounter took place while she was performing at one of the city theaters. The couple had two children, Louis and George.

It was during this time that Hughie Cannon, at the age of 16, wrote the popular saga about Bill Bailey, although it was not published until 1902.

There are two versions as to the background of the song. One is that Hughie Cannon put to music the trials and tribulations of a friend of his who was a brakeman for the B&O Railroad in Connellsville and was having marital problems.

A second opinion is that the song is based on a “real” Bill Bailey who was a black vaudeville performer.

According to historical accounts, Bailey was locked out of his house by a wife who would no longer tolerate his late night carousing with friends that included Hughie Cannon.

It is believed Hughie Cannon advised his friend that a night away from his wife would inspire her to beg for his return.

Although Hughie Cannon spent some time in Connellsville, he later was found on the road working in shows, playing and singing in saloons and composing other ragtime music, according to historic society archives.

Sometime in the 1890s, the Smith marriage dissolved and Mae Smith married another Connellsville man, Fred Robbins.

After some travel, the couple returned to Connellsville and became the managers of the Newmyer Opera House located on North Pittsburgh Street. Following a fire that destroyed the theater, the two oversaw live stage productions at the Soisson and Colonial theaters.

Hughie Cannon, meanwhile, kept in touch with his now Connellsville family, but visits were limited.

In a note to his mother, he admitted that he was drinking heavily and purposely stayed away from his loved ones.

“Let’s switch and say I’m drinking and every word is true,” Hughie Cannon wrote. “And that’s the reason mother that I keep away from you.”

In 1905, Hughie Cannon met and married Emma Dorsom of Jackson, Mich., but the couple separated in 1907.

Hughie Cannon died in Lucas County Hospital on June 17, 1912.

According to the death certificate, the cause of death was cirrhosis of the liver, brought about by alcoholism.

He was brought to Connellsville by his mother and buried in the Robbins plot in the Hill Grove Cemetery. His stepfather, Fred Robbins, was interred nearby four years later and his mother, between them in 1933.

Family member and bicentennial parade chairwoman Judy Keller is the great granddaughter of Louis Smith Robbins and recalls her father, Herbert Wrote, talking about the family ties to Hughie Cannon as a way to encourage her while she learned to play the clarinet and piano as a youngster.

Hughie Cannon’s relatives, through his mother’s marriage, include former Connellsville Township businessman and former township Supervisor Fred Robbins, along with others, said Keller.

“There are quite a few of us with ties to Hughie Cannon,” she said.

The musical group, Brass Knuckles, which will perform on the main stage Saturday at 6:30 p.m., has also agreed to pay tribute to Hughie Cannon by playing his signature song, according to Keller.

“We are celebrating the city’s history and Hughie Cannon is part of that history,” she said.

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