Freddy Cannon, a renowned rocker, was born in Swampscott, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb. His father, a truck driver and part-time musician, played the trumpet and sang with local bands in the Boston area. Freddy taught himself to play the guitar and, after graduating high school in 1955, landed a job playing guitar on a record by the Spindrifts, "Cha-Cha-Do". The record became a regional hit, leading to more studio work, including playing lead guitar on The G-Clefs' record "Ka-Ding Dong", which reached #24 on the Billboard national charts.
Although he took a full-time job as a truck driver to support his family, he continued to pursue his musical career. He formed a group called Freddy Karmon and the Hurricanes, which gained popularity in the Boston area. His appearances on a Boston dance show led to a management contract with a Boston DJ, and he cut a demo record, "Rock and Roll Baby", written by his mother.
The demo caught the attention of the producing team of Frank Slay and Bob Crewe, who saw potential in it. After some tweaking, they sent Freddy back into the studio to re-record the song, now called "Tallahassee Lassie". The song's driving guitar solo, pounding bass drums, and Cannon's shouts and cries of "Whoo!" made it a major hit, reaching #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959.
With his name changed to Freddy Cannon and dubbed "Boom Boom" due to his boisterous style, he achieved his dream of becoming a singing star. He had numerous appearances on Dick Clark's American Bandstand show and had 22 songs place on the Billboard Top 100 list over the years. His follow-up song, "Okeefeenokee", did disappointing business, but his next song, "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", was one of his biggest hits, going gold and reaching #3.
He continued to tour and record, with chart hits until 1962. His best-known song and biggest hit, "Palisades Park", about a famous New Jersey amusement park, was written by Chuck Barris. He continued to tour and record, but his career faded somewhat until 1965, when he recorded the song "Action", which was the theme song for the Dick Clark-produced TV series Where the Action Is.
He appeared in a few movies, including Just for Fun and Village of the Giants. He left Swan Records and signed with Warner Bros. Records, and after leaving them in 1967, he recorded for various labels. In the 1970s, he was working for Buddah Records, both as a performer and promotions man. He kept busy with recording and touring in rock-n-roll revival shows and made an appearance in the film The Junkman in 1982.
Today, Freddy Cannon lives in Tarzana, California, where he is honorary fire chief, and continues to tour.
