"Cannonball" is the opening track from Supertramp

Supertramp

Supertramp are a British rock band formed in 1969 under the name Daddy before renaming to Supertramp in early 1970. Though their music was initially categorised as progressive rock, they have since incorporated a combination of traditional rock and art rock into their music...

's 1985 album Brother Where You Bound

Brother Where You Bound

Brother Where You Bound is the ninth album by progressive rock band Supertramp, released in 1985 . It was their first album after original member Roger Hodgson left the band, leaving Richard Davies to handle the songwriting and singing on his own...

. It was written and sung by keyboardist Rick Davies

Rick Davies

Rick Davies is an English musician, best known as the founder and keyboardist of progressive rock band Supertramp...

 entirely in the chord of G. Davies stated in an interview "I did it simply to see if it could be done".

The lyrics to the song may have been seen as a veiled message to former member Roger Hodgson

Roger Hodgson

Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson is a British musician and songwriter, best known as the former co-frontman, and founding member, of progressive rock band Supertramp....

 but Davies revealed in a French radio interview that they were inspired by a less than perfect concert promoter whom he refused to name.

The track became Supertramp's last US Top 40 single to date peaking at #28 on the Billboard singles charts in the spring of 1985. It also crossed over to the dance charts, peaking at number nine.

Personnel

• Rick Davies: piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  , synthesizer
  Synthesizer
  A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
  
  s, vocals
• John Helliwell: saxophones
• Bob Siebenberg: drums
• Dougie Thomson: bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Marty Walsh: guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Doug Wintz: trombone
  Trombone
  The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
  
  

Chart performance

Chart (1985)	Peak position
Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...	35
German Singles Chart	60
Swiss Singles Chart	25
US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	28
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	4
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	9