Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon, the rock and roll pioneer behind "Palisades Park" and "Tallahassee Lassie," died July 17 at a hospice facility in Oxnard, California, following a brief battle with cancer. He was 89.
Cannon's death was announced by longtime friend and iHeartRadio executive Tom Cuddy, who said the singer had been scheduled for what would have been his final interview with DJ "Cousin Brucie" Morrow on July 11, but was hospitalized the day before. Cuddy noted Cannon kept working on music almost until his hospitalization.
Born Frederick Picariello on December 4, 1936, in Lynn, Massachusetts, Cannon broke through in 1959 with "Tallahassee Lassie," a song he co-wrote with his mother, which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. His signature hit, 1962's "Palisades Park," climbed to No. 3 and became one of the defining sounds of the pre-Beatles rock era. Across his career, Cannon logged 22 Billboard Hot 100 entries and made a record 110 appearances on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand."
His influence reached further than the charts - Mick Jagger has said Cannon's beat shaped "Brown Sugar," and Stephen King referenced his music in four novels.
Cannon is survived by his children Conny Weber and Billy Cannon, sister Mary Lou, five grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son John, who died in April, and his wife of decades, Jeanette, who passed in 2024.
"He will be remembered as a rock and roll icon," Weber said in a statement. "His music will live forever in our hearts."
