{"id":2051282,"date":"2026-07-19T18:56:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T15:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2051282"},"modified":"2026-07-19T18:56:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T15:56:49","slug":"freddy-cannon-early-rock-and-roll-era-hitmaker-dies-at-89","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2051282","title":{"rendered":"Freddy Cannon, Early Rock and Roll Era Hitmaker, Dies at 89"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/freddy-cannon-1961-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\tFreddy Cannon, who brought energy and vigor to pop radio playlists in the late 1950s and early 1960s, died on Friday (July 17) in a California hospice facility.\u00a0 He was 89. <\/p>\n

\n\tCannon\u2019s longtime friend, iHeart Radio\u2019s Tom Cuddy, confirmed that Cannon died following a brief bout with cancer. His children Conny and Billy were with him in the days before his death.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tBob Crewe, Singer\/Songwriter Behind Many Four Seasons Hits, Dies at\u00a083\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Dick<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tDick Clark Leaves a Rockin\u2019 Legacy: An\u00a0Appreciation\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tCannon landed three top 10 Hot 100 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: \u201cTallahassee Lassie\u201d (No. 6 in 1959), \u201cWay Down Yonder in New Orleans\u201d (No. 3 in 1960) and \u201cPalisades Park\u201d (No. 3 in 1962). His nickname \u201cBoom Boom\u201d was inspired by the big bass drum sound on his records.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWay Down Yonder in New Orleans,\u201d a rock and roll cover version of a song that dates to 1922, also made No. 3 on the Official UK Singles Chart. Cannon\u2019s album, The Explosive! Freddy Cannon<\/em>, reached No. 1 on the Official UK Albums Chart in March 1960. Cannon was just the fourth artist connected to rock and roll to top the UK album chart, following Bill Haley & the Comets, Elvis Presley and Tommy Steele.<\/p>\n

\n\tCannon reportedly holds the record for the most appearances on Dick Clark\u2019s American Bandstand<\/em> (110 appearances). Cannon made the top 15 on the Hot 100 in 1965 with \u201cAction\u201d from Clark\u2019s daily ABC-TV series Where the Action Is<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\tCannon notched 23 Hot 100 hits between 1959 and 1981. His first name was spelled \u201cFreddie\u201d instead of \u201cFreddy\u201d on four of his chart hits, including \u201cWay Down Yonder in New Orleans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCannon landed his final Hot 100 entry in 1981 with a song called \u201cLet\u2019s Put the Fun Back in Rock N Roll,\u201d on which he was joined by The Belmonts, who were Dion\u2019s backing group.<\/p>\n

\n\tFrederick Anthony Picariello Jr. was born on Dec. 4, 1936 in Revere, Mass. He was raised in Lynn, Mass. He lived in the state until he was in his late teens when he and his wife Jeanette moved to Philadelphia on the advice of legendary TV host Dick Clark. That was where Clark produced his daily American Bandstand<\/em> broadcast for ABC-TV.<\/p>\n

\n\tCannon worked with some of the top musical performers of that era, including Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Chubby Checker, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, Connie Francis and Brenda Lee. He performed on many of the popular music TV shows of the era, including Shindig, The Midnight Special, Hullabaloo, Where the Action Is <\/em>and Sha Na Na<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\tCannon co-wrote \u201cTallahassee Lassie\u201d with Bob Crewe and Frank Slay. Crewe was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985. \u201cPalisades Park\u201d was written by Chuck Barris, who achieved his greatest fame as the host of The Gong Show<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\tSeveral movies over the years have featured Cannon\u2019s hits, including Confessions of a Dangerous Mind<\/em> (director George Clooney\u2019s 2002 film about Barris) and 2011\u2019s X-Men: First Class.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n\tCannon wrote a biography with author Mark Bego in 2011 entitled Where the Action Is<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\tAll three of Cannon\u2019s top 10 hits have been covered by other artists.<\/p>\n

\n\tJan & Dean covered \u201cTallahassee Lassie\u201d on their 1963 album Surf City and Other Swingin\u2019 Cities<\/em>, which reached No. 32 on the Billboard 200. The Peter Green edition of Fleetwood Mac covered the song on their 1995 album Live at the BBC<\/em>. The Rolling Stones released a version of the song on their 2011 re-release of their classic 1978 album Some Girls<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Beach Boys covered \u201cPalisades Park\u201d on 15 Big Ones<\/em>, a top 10 album on the Billboard 200 in 1976. Another track on that album (\u201cTalk to Me\u201d) included an interpolation of \u201cTallahassee Lassie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRamones included \u201cPalisades Park\u201d on their 1989 album Brain Drain<\/em>, which reached No. 122 on the Billboard 200. Shelley Fabares and Gary Lewis & the Playboys also included it on Billboard 200-charting albums.<\/p>\n

\n\tPete Fountain, Jan & Dean and Merle Haggard are among the artists who covered \u201cWay Down Yonder in New Orleans\u201d in the wake of Cannon\u2019s revival of the evergreen. Harry Connick Jr.\u00a0performed the song on A Concert for Hurricane Relief, <\/em>a fundraiser that aired on NBC in September 2005.<\/p>\n

\n\tAuthor Stephen King wrote, \u201cOn a Webcor turntable growing up I played my 45s by Elvis, Chuck Berry and Freddy Cannon.\u201d King mentioned Cannon\u2019s music in four of his books.<\/p>\n

\n\tCannon was reportedly working on music at his home in Oxnard, Calif., right up to his death.<\/p>\n

\n\tCannon is survived by his children, Conny and Billy; his sister, Mary Lou; his son-in-law, Jim, and daughter-in-law, Beth; five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. Cannon is pre-deceased by his wife (and high school sweetheart) Jeanette, who died on Sept. 25, 2024, and son, John, who died on April 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

\n\tDaughter Conny Weber said \u201cWe would like to thank everyone for their love and support throughout our dad\u2019s life. He will be remembered as a rock and roll icon. His music will live forever in our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Billboard<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/freddy-cannon-1961-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024″] Freddy Cannon, who brought energy and vigor to pop radio playlists in the late 1950s and early 1960s, died on Friday (July 17) in a California hospice facility.\u00a0 He was 89. Cannon\u2019s longtime friend, iHeart Radio\u2019s Tom Cuddy, confirmed that Cannon died following a brief bout with cancer. His children Conny and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2051282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2051282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2051282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2051282\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2051282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2051282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2051282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}