We received the sad news that Freddy Cannon passed away on Friday (7/17) from cancer. He was 89 years old.
I know he had been sick for a while and even cancelled an appearance on last Saturday's Cousin Brucie show. Yet he just recorded a brand new record that's doing great on the World Charts right now. (We've featured it a couple of times already in Forgotten Hits.)
Freddy was a good friend to us over the years ... we talked several times and I think we had a real bond. I was once able to reunite him with one of his very first recordings, a demonstration record that predated "Tallahassie Lassie" but used the same tune with different lyrics.
We displayed several of his charcoal drawings over the years and were able to finally bring him to Chicago for a show at The Arcada Theatre, where I got to meet the love of his life, Jeanette, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago. Freddy, of course, was devastated, but he pressured on by devoting himself to making new music. He even made appearances on Svenghoolie's TV show and wrote a couple of songs for him as well.
He was a real sweetheart of a guy and I will miss talking to him. Thank you for all the great music you gave us over the years ... and thank you for being a good friend to Forgotten Hits. (kk)
Here are just a handful of links I found using the Forgotten Hits Search Engine (located in the upper left hand corner of the web page) pertaining to some of the highlights we experienced over the years with Freddy Cannon.
Browse around and check these out … and then search for more if you like …
But there are a couple of REALLY special moments shared here:
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2018/07/freddy-boom-boom-cannon-concert-review.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2014/10/freddy-cannon-forgotten-hits-exclusive.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2014/10/freddy-cannon-forgotten-hits-worldwide.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2012/02/freddy-cannon-available-now.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2011/04/sunday-comments-04-10-11.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-on-freddy-cannon.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-sunday-comments-07-22-18.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2025/12/more-monday-madness.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-friday-flash-freddy-cannon-edition.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2014/10/get-well-wishes-to-freddy-cannon.html
Here is the official obituary, as put together by Tom Cuddy and David Salidor, both close personal friends of Freddy Cannon and great assets to Forgotten Hits over the last few decades ...
50s & 60s ROCKER FREDDY CANNON, WITH THREE BILLBOARD TOP TEN HITS, DIES AT 89
Singer, songwriter and guitarist, Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon, who holds the record for the most appearances on Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand (110 times), died July 17th at a California hospice facility. He was 89 years old.
His longtime friend, iHeart Radio’s Tom Cuddy, confirmed that Cannon passed after a very brief bout with cancer. His children Conny and Billy were with him in the days before his passing.
Frederick Anthony Picariello, Jr. was born on December 4, 1936, in Lynn, Massachusetts and lived in the state till his late teens when he and his wife Jeanette moved to Philadelphia on the encouragement of Dick Clark. Philly was where Clark produced his daily “American Bandstand” broadcast for ABC-TV.
Clark became aware of Cannon as a result of his first Top Ten record “Tallahassee Lassie,” which originated from a poem his mom wrote and he put to music. His initial smash led to 29 of his recordings landing on the Billboard Hot 100, including three Top Ten songs: “Palisades Park,” “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans,” and “Tallahassee Lassie.”
His other hits included “Action,” Transistor Sister,” and “Abigail Beecher,”
Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones said in an interview “Freddy Cannon inspired ‘Brown Sugar.’ I wrote the song in Australia and it has a good groove. The groove is similar to Freddy’s song.”
Once after seeing Cannon perform in the U.K., musician Robert Plant came backstage and told Freddy “I love ‘Tallahassee Lassie’ so much that before we named ourselves Led Zeppelin, we recorded a blues version of it.”
Author Stephen King wrote “On a Webcor turntable growing up I played my 45s by Elvis, Chuck Berry and Freddy Cannon.” King went on to mention Cannon’s music in four of his books.
Over a career that spanned 70 years, the former truck driver worked and performed with some of the top musical performers of that time: 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, CA right up to his death. Currently he has a Top 20 song in the United Kingdom on the Heritage Charts with a tune he wrote called “All She Wants To Do Is Dance.” The song is also in regular rotation on the Sirius XM 60s channel.
Over the decades Cannon performed on many of the popular music TV shows of that era, including Shindig, The Midnight Special, Hullabaloo, Where the Action Is, and Sha Na Na.
Last weekend the well-known horror movie host, Svengoolie on Me-TV paid tribute to Cannon by airing the 1960s film “Village of the Giants” that featured a performance by Freddy. Cannon had written songs for Svengoolie’s program. Freddy was a huge fan of horror films.
Many movies over the years spotlighted his hits. Among them George Clooney’s “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” and 2011’s “X-Men: First Class.”
Freddy was scheduled to do what would have been his final interview on July 11th with longtime friend and legendary NYC DJ “Cousin Brucie” Morrow, but he was brought to the hospital the day before.
Cannon 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 son, John, on April 13, 2026.
Daughter Conny Weber said “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.”
The love of his life, his high school sweetheart and wife Jeanette, passed on September 25, 2024.
Cannon wrote a biography with Mark Bego in 2011 entitled “Where the Action Is.”
“I met Freddy through a concert he did in Providence for WPRO, a radio station I was programming in the early 80s and we had remained friends ever since. I had never seen a performer who kept his performance so upbeat and fun. Freddy didn’t do ballads. 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,” said Cuddy.
Freddy Cannon has died?
He was the RNR soundtrack of my youth!
Clark Besch
Long-time FH Reader Frank B was the first one in with the news ... I heard from him just a little before noon on Saturday ... and then I got confirmation just a few minutes later from Tom Cuddy, who hooked me and Freddy up in the first place nearly twenty years ago.
KENT ...
The Cousin Brucie Group Is Reporting That Freddy "BOOM BOOM" Cannon Has Died. He Was 89 Years Old.
Last Saturday Cousin Brucie Was Supposed To Interview Freddy But He Called It Off Because He Was Sick & Going To The Doctor.
Tonight, For The First Time Ever, Cousin Brucie Opened His Show Without Playing His Theme Song By Frankie Valli.
Instead He Opened With "PALISADES PARK." He Said That Later He'll Play Freddy's New Song + A Medley & Talk About Him.
Frank B.
From Variety ...
From Deadline ...
https://deadline.com/2026/07/freddy-boom-boom-cannon-dead-1236997570/
From Best Classic Bands ...
https://bestclassicbands.com/freddy-cannon-obituary-early-rocker-with-3-top-ten-singles-7-18-26/
More ...
https://www.mensjournal.com/news/american-rock-and-roll-icon-freddy-cannon-dies-at-89
Me, Sven and Freddy, backstage at The Arcada Theatre!
And how about this ... a photograph of Burton Cummings, holding a copy of Freddy's book!!!
60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
7/19/66 – Frank Sinatra marries Mia Farrow in Las Vegas
Also on 7/19, Johnny Rivers begins recording his future #1 Hit “Poor Side Of Town”
Meanwhile, elsewhere on 7/19, The Monkees record the theme song to their new NBC television series
