R.I.P.: Freddy Boom Boom Cannon, 60s Hitmaker

Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon, the rock ’n’ roll singer-songwriter and guitarist known for high-energy hits and a record 110 appearances on American Bandstand, died Friday, at a California hospice facility.

He was 89. Cannon passed after a very brief battle with cancer, his longtime friend iHeart Radio executive Tom Cuddy confirmed.

A three-time Top 10 pop artist whose career spanned seven decades, Cannon scored 29 Billboard Hot 100 entries, including the million-selling 1959 smash “Tallahassee Lassie,” 1962’s “Palisades Park,” and “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans.” Other signature upbeat hits included “Action,” “Transistor Sister,” and “Abigail Beecher.”

Born Frederick Anthony Picariello Jr. on Dec. 4, 1936, in Lynn, Massachusetts, Cannon was a former truck driver whose mother’s poem inspired his breakthrough hit. Encouraged by Dick Clark, he and his wife Jeanette moved to Philadelphia in his late teens. Clark’s American Bandstand became the launchpad for his long television career.Cannon performed with rock legends including Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Bo Diddley, and appeared on nearly every major 1960s music show from Shindig and Hullabaloo to The Midnight Special. Robert Plant once told him that Led Zeppelin had recorded a blues version of “Tallahassee Lassie” before settling on their name. 

Cuddy recalled that Dick Clark always asked Cannon to open oldies concerts “because he knew Freddy would get the audience on their feet with up-tempo rock and roll.” Cannon remained active, working on new music at his Oxnard, California, home until days before his death. 

He was set to give what would have been his final interview on July 11 with friend “Cousin Brucie” Morrow on 77WABC, NYC but entered the hospital the day before.

He is survived by children Conny and Billy, sister Mary Lou, son-in-law Jim, daughter-in-law Beth, five grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife Jeanette in 2024 and son John earlier this year. Cannon co-authored his 2011 biography, Where the Action Is, with Mark Bego.