john "ace" cannon (may 5, 1934 – december 6, 2018) was an american tenor and alto saxophonist. he played and toured with hi records stablemate bill black's combo, and started a solo career with his record "tuff" in 1961, using the black combo as his backing group. "tuff" hit #17 on the u.s. "billboard" hot 100 in 1962, and the follow-up single "blues (stay away from me)" hit #36 that same year. in april 1965, he released "ace cannon live" (hl 12025); according to the liner notes by nick pesce the album was recorded in front of a live audience inside hi's recording studio, and pesce claims this was the first time such an album had ever been recorded (as opposed to previous live albums recorded in concert venues).