Godspeed Freddy Cannon

Freddy Cannon, best known for such songs as "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans," "Palisades Park," and "Action," died on July 17, 2026, at the age of 89. He also appeared on Svengoolie and wrote the songs "Svengoolie Stomp" and "Hey, Svengoolie" for the show.

Freddy Cannon was born Frederick Anthony Picariello, Jr. on December 4, 1936, in Revere, Massachusetts. He grew up in Lynn, Massachusetts. His father was a truck driver, but also sang and played the trumpet in local bands. Exposed to music early in life, Freddy Cannon listened to such music artists as Big Joe Turner and Buddy Johnson on the radio. He was very young when he learned to play guitar. He made his recording debut playing guitar on the single "Cha-Cha-Do" by The Spindrifts, which proved to be a local hit in the Lynn, Massachusetts area. He also played guitar on The G-Clefs' single "Ka-Ding Dong," which peaked at no. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Freddy Cannon formed his own band, Freddy Karmon & The Hurricanes, which achieved popularity in the Greater Boston Area. About the same time, he became a regular on the local TV program Boston Ballroom. It was an early recording of the song Tallahassee Lassie" that drew the attention of Dick Clark, who at the time owned part of Swan Records. The song was eventually released by Swan Records, and it  was Swan Records president Bernie Binnick who suggested the stage name "Freddy Cannon."

"Tallahassee Lassie" peaked at no. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959, becoming Freddy Cannon's first hit. It was followed by such hits as "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" in 1959, "Jump Over" in 1960, "Palisades Park' in 1962, "Abigail Beecher' in 1964, and "Action" in 1965. His first album, "The Explosive Freddy Cannon," was released in 1960. It was followed by several more albums.

Although his last major hits were in the 1960s, he continued to record singles into the Eighties. He recorded the Boston Red Sox anthem "The Sox Are Rockin'" in 2013. He later recorded the songs "Svengoolie Stomp" and 'Hey Svengoolie" for the TV show Svengoolie, on which he also appeared. 

Freddy Cannon appeared on such shows as Shindig!, Shivaree, Hollywood Discotheque, Hollywood a Go Go, Where the Action Is, and American Bandstand at the height of his career. He later appeared on such shows as The Midnight Special and Hollywood Squares. He also guest starred on the shows No Time for Sergeants and Never Too Young, and the movie Village of the Giants (1965).

Freddy Cannon was nicknamed "Boom Boom," and it was a fitting nickname for him. His songs were the equivalent of a good, adrenaline-driven, popcorn. movie. Freddy Cannon's vocals were high-energy and belted out raw and raspy. He definitely was not a crooner. Adding more energy to his songs were booming bass drums and handclaps, hard-driving guitars, and conspicuous saxophones and pianos. In the end, his songs were high-energy fun. He never was one for ballads.And he would have an impact on music artists from The Rolling Stones to Alex Chilton of The Box Tops and Big Star to The Ramones.