Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon, a 50s and 60s singer known for his hit songs “Palisades Park” and “Tallahassee Lassie,” has passed away. He was 89 years old.
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A representative of Cannon shared the news with Variety, stating that the musician died in a hospice facility after being recently diagnosed with cancer. Cannon’s longtime friend, iHeart Radio’s Tom Cuddy, also confirmed his passing.
Although he was scheduled to do “what would have been his final interview” on July 11 with DJ Cousin Brucie Morrow, Cannon was forced to cancel the appearance due to being hospitalized the day before.
Born in December 1936, Cannon kicked off his music career in the late 50s. While Cannon was growing up, his father, a truck driver, also played the trumpet and sang in local bands.
Cannon made his recording debut in 1958, singing and playing rhythm guitar ot “Cha-Cha-Do” by the Spindrifts. He wrote a song called “Rock and Roll Baby,” which he rewrote with Bob Crewe and Franky Slay. It was later titled “Tallahassee Lassie,” and featured a guitar solo by Kenny Paulson. The song was officially released in 1959.
Other songs he wrote were “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans” and “Palisades Park.”
Along with his music, Cannon became a regular on the TV dance show, Boston Ballroom. He also appeared in Village of the Giants and the soap opera Never Too Young.
He is survived by his children, Conny Weber and Billy Cannon; his sister, Mary Lou; son-in-law, Jim; daughter-in-law, Beth; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Cannon was preceded in death by his son John, who died in April, and his wife Jeanette, who died in 2024.
Cannon Previously Opened Up About the Early Years of His Career
During a 2017 interview with VC Star, Cannon opened up about the start of his music career.
“Those tours in the ’50s were kinda rough. They were long tours,” he explained. “40 or 50 dates in a row like, one nighters, so they were a little hard. Today, it’s a little easier, but back then, it was fun. I was young and when you’re young, you can do a lot of things and you don’t think about anything.”
Speaking about who was the coolest act he ever saw, Cannon shared, “The best performer to this day — he’s not here anymore — he died a few months ago, but the greatest performer I ever saw live on stage was Chuck Berry. He was best … over anybody and everybody. He could steal the show; I mean, he stole the show on any show he was on. The people waited for him…”
Regarding performing on American Bandstand 110 times, Cannon added, “Yeah, is that a lot or what?”