Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon Dies: ‘Palisades Park’ & ‘Tallahassee Lassie’ Rock & Roller Was 89

Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon, the early rock & roller who scored big, joyful radio hits with, among others, 1959’s “Tallahassee Lassie” and 1962’s “Palisades Park,” died yesterday, July 17, at a California hospice facility following a brief battle with cancer. He was 89.

His death was announced by Tom Cuddy, a longtime friend and iHeart Radio producer. Cuddy noted that Cannon’s children Conny Weber and Billy Cannon were with him in the days before his passing.

Cannon, who earned the nickname “Boom Boom” from the percussive power of his songs as well as the double entendre of his last name, took a spot in the post-Elvis/pre-Beatles rock & roll landscape through a string of hits and, perhaps more significantly, repeated appearances on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand musical variety series.

While Clark’s program introduced Cannon to TV audiences – at first when the show was produced locally in Philadelphia and later when it went national – the singer-guitarist would also appear on such music programs of the era as Shindig, Hullabaloo, Where the Action Is and, later, The Midnight Special.

“Freddy didn’t do ballads,” Cuddy said. “Dick Clark once told me that every time he hosted an oldies concert, he asked Freddy to open it, because he knew Freddy would get the audience on their feet with up-tempo rock and roll.”

In addition to “Tallahassee Lassie” (cowritten with The Four Seasons’ Bob Crewe) and “Palisades Park,” the latter remembered for its prominent use of circus calliope sounds as a recurring motif, Cannon’s other hits included “Way Down Yonder In New Orleans,” “Too Much Monkey Business,” “Action” (used as the theme song for Clark’s Where The Action Is series), “Transistor Sister” and “Abigail Beecher.”

Born Frederick Anthony Picariello Jr. on December 4, 1936, in Lynn, Massachusetts, Cannon lived in the state until his late teens, enjoying some musical success in the Boston area before he and his wife Jeanette moved to Philadelphia at the encouragement of TV host Clark, who had become aware of Cannon’s music through “Tallahassee Lassie.” Clark suggested Cannon re-edit and overdub the recording with the stronger bass drums that would become Cannon’s trademark sound and nickname inspiration.

Cannon is thought to hold the record for appearing on American Bandstand over the years, with estimates putting the number of his visits to over 100.

His visibility and chart success – he scored three Top 10 songs and 29 Top 100 – led to a fan base that would include such future superstars as Mick Jagger and Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, who once told Cannon during a backstage visit that he and his Zeppelin bandmates loved “Tallahassee Lassie” so much they recorded a blues version of it (if true, the recording has never surfaced).

Jagger has said in interviews that “Tallahassee Lassie” inspired the Stones’ hit “Brown Sugar,” noting, “The groove is similar to Freddy’s song.” (The Stones recorded their own cover of “Tallahassee Lassie” in 1978, with the song surfacing as a bonus track on the band’s 2011 re-issue of Some Girls.)

Another fan was a young Stephen King, who mentioned Cannon in at least four of his books, most notably in the time-travel novel 11/22/63, in which “Palisades Park” features prominently.

Over a career that spanned 70 years, Cannon, a longtime resident of Oxnard, California, performed on bills with some of the top musical performers the early rock & roll era, including Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Chubby Checker, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, Connie Francis and Brenda Lee.

Cannon was working on music at his home in Oxnard right up to his death, Cuddy notes. He currently has a Top 20 song in the United Kingdom on the Heritage Charts with a number he recorded this year called “All She Wants To Do Is Dance.” The song is also in regular rotation on the Sirius XM 1960s channel.

Cannon’s songs have appeared in such films as George Clooney’s Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and 2011’s X-Men: First Class. The MeTV horror host Svengoolie has featured Cannon’s music and recently paid tribute to the singer with an airing of 1965’s Village of the Giants, which includes an acting performance by Cannon.

According to Cuddy, Cannon was scheduled to do what would have been his final interview on July 11 with longtime friend and NYC DJ Cousin Brucie Morrow, but was forced to cancel when he was hospitalized the day prior.

Cannon published his autobiography Where the Action Is (with Mark Bego) in 2011.

In addition to his children Conny and Billy, Cannon is survived by sister Mary Lou, son-in-law Jim, daughter-in-law Beth, five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. He was pre-deceased by his son John, who died this past April 13, and wife Jeanette, who died in 2024.

Daughter Weber said in a statement, “We would like to thank everyone for their love and support throughout our dad’s life. He will be remembered as a rock and roll icon. His music will live forever in our hearts.”