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Freddy Cannon

Freddy Cannon

Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon: the pounding bass drum and hollered "whoo!" that made early rock and roll impossible to sit still through.

APPLE MUSIC

Freddy Cannon

NOT ON APPLE MUSIC

About

MOODS · energetic · dance-driven · raucous · upbeat · nostalgic · rhythmic · exuberant · retro · boisterous

BIOGRAPHY

Freddy Cannon, born Frederick Anthony Picariello Jr. in Revere, Massachusetts, grew up in nearby Lynn listening to rhythm and blues from Big Joe Turner and Buddy Johnson. He began recording in 1958, and a song reworked by Bob Crewe and Frank Slay became "Tallahassee Lassie," reshaped by Dick Clark with hand claps and a driving bass drum into a signature sound. That single, released on Swan Records, launched a run of hits including "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" and "Palisades Park," earning him the nickname Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon and a record 110 appearances on American Bandstand. Later, at Warner Bros. Records, he scored with "Abigail Beecher" and "Action," cut with session players Leon Russell, James Burton, Glen Campbell, and David Gates.

WHY THEY'RE COOL

Freddy Cannon built his career on sheer rhythmic force, records engineered with Dick Clark to hit harder on the dance floor than almost anything else on the radio. Critic Cub Koda called him "a true believer, a rocker to the bone," praising the gigantic drum beat running through his catalog as "an automatic invitation to shake it on down anyplace there was a spot to dance." His string of hits and unmatched Bandstand tenure made him a defining, if sometimes overlooked, architect of early rock and roll's physical, dance-driven side.

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