Freddy Cannon

Freddy Cannon

Freddy Cannon (born December 4, 1940 in Lynn (Massachusetts) ; actually Frederico Anthony Picariello Jr. ) is an American rock 'n' roll singer who had some hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Life

Cannon grew up in the suburb of Lynn north of Boston and became interested in black music at an early age. This interest was reinforced by the musical commitment of his parents (his father played the trumpet , his mother was a songwriter ). His influences include Buddy Johnson , Big Joe Turner and especially Chuck Berry .

Cannon joined a group called The Spindrifts, where he sang and played rhythm guitar . After releasing a song with the group called Cha-Cha-Do , the band split and Cannon formed Freddy Karmon & the Hurricanes, with whom he performed a number of appearances.

Cannon and his band recorded a demo tape of the rock and roll song Rock and Roll Baby , which his mother had written for him. This tape got music producer Bob Crewe and together with Frank Slay he rewrote the song to Tallahassee Lassie . Cannon got a record deal with Swan Records , moved to Philadelphia and changed his name from Freddy Karmon to Freddy Cannon at the request of Swan boss Bernie Binnick .

Over the next several years, Cannon had a number of hits including Palisades Park , Okefenokee , Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy , Way Down Yonder In New Orleans , Muskrat Ramble and later Humdinger , Transistor Sister , Teen Queen of the Week and If You Were a Rock and Roll record . In the first half of the 1960s, Cannon moved to Warner Brothers Records , where he released hits like Abigail Beecher , Action , Beechwood City, and The Dedication Song . Even after the successes waned, Cannon continued to perform regularly.

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		UK	US
1960	The Explosive Freddy Cannon	UK1 (11 weeks) UK	-

More albums

• 1960: Freddy Cannon Sings Happy Shades of Blue
• 1960: Freddy Cannon's Solid Gold Hits
• 1962: Palisades Park
• 1962: Steps Out
• 1963: Bang On
• 1964: Freddy Cannon
• 1965: Action
• 1966: Freddy Cannon's Greatest Hits
• 1982: 14 booming hits
• 1991: His Latest & Greatest
• 1995: The Best of Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon
• 2002: Where The Action Is The Very Best 1964-1981
• 2002: Have A Boom Boom Christmas !!
• 2003: The Best of Freddy Cannon
• 2009: Boom Boom Rock 'n' Roll: The Best Of Freddy Cannon

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		UK	US
1959	Tallahassee Lassie The Explosive Freddy Cannon	UK17 (8 weeks) UK	US6 (15 weeks) US
	Way Down Yonder In New Orleans The Explosive Freddy Cannon	UK3 (17 weeks) UK	-
1960	Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy The Explosive Freddy Cannon	-	US34 (7 weeks) US
	California Here I Come The Explosive Freddy Cannon	UK33 (3 weeks) UK	-
	Indiana The Explosive Freddy Cannon	UK42 (1 week) UK	-
	Jump Over Freddy Cannon's Solid	UK18 (10 weeks) UK	US28 (10 weeks) US
	The Urge Freddy Cannon's Solid	-	US60 (3 weeks) US
	Humdinger Freddy Cannon's Solid	-	US59 (4 weeks) US
	Muskrat Ramble Freddy Cannon's Solid	UK32 (5 weeks) UK	US54 (6 weeks) US
1961	Buzz Buzz A-Diddle-It The Explosive Freddy Cannon	-	US51 (8 weeks) US
	Transistor Sister Palisades Park	-	US35 (8 weeks) US
	For Me And My Gal Palisades Park	-	US71 (6 weeks) US
1962	Twistin 'All Night Long	-	US68 (5 weeks) US
	Teen Queen of the Week Palisades Park	-	US92 (2 weeks) US
	Palisades Park Palisades Park	UK20 (9 weeks) UK	US3 (15 weeks) US
	What's Gonna Happen When Summer's Done Freddy Cannon Steps Out	-	US45 (4 weeks) US
	If You Were A Rock And Roll Record Freddy Cannon Steps Out	-	US67 (5 weeks) US
1963	Patty Baby Freddy Cannon Steps Out	-	US65 (7 weeks) US
	Everybody Monkey Freddy Cannon Steps Out	-	US52 (7 weeks) US
1964	Abigail Beecher Freddie Cannon	-	US16 (8 weeks) US
1965	Action action	-	US13 (9 weeks) US
1966	The Dedication Song	-	US41 (6 weeks) US
1981	Let's Put The Fun Back In Rock N Roll	-	US81 (4 weeks) US

More singles

• 1959: Okefenokee
• 1960: Happy Shades of Blue
• 1961: Opportunity
• 1963: Four Letter Man
• 1963: That's The Way Girls Are
• 1963: Sweet Georgia Brown
• 1963: The Ups And Downs Of Love
• 1964: Odie Cologne
• 1964: Gotta Good Thing Goin '
• 1964: Too Much Monkey Business
• 1964: In The Night
• 1965: Let Me Show You Where It's At
• 1965: She's Somethin 'Else
• 1966: The Greatest Show On Earth
• 1966: The Laughing Song
• 1966: Run For The Sun
• 1966: In My Wildest Dreams
• 1967: Maverick's Flat
• 1967: 20th Century Fox
• 1968: Rock Around The Clock
• 1968: Sea Cruise
• 1969: Beautiful Downtown Burbank
• 1969: Strawberry Wine
• 1970: Charged-Up, Turned-Up Rock-N-Roll Singer
• 1970: Night Time Lady
• 1971: Rockin 'Robin
• 1972: If You've Got The Time
• 1974: Rock N'Roll AB-C’s
• 1975: I Loves Ya
• 1976: Sugar
• 1981: Suzanne Somers
• 1983: Dance To The Bop
• 1988: Rockin 'In My Socks
• 2013: The Sox Are Rockin '
• 2016: Svengoolie Stomp

Web links

• Freddy Cannon at Discogs (English)
• Freddy Cannon at Allmusic (English)
• Freddy Cannon in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Catalog number Swan 4031, No. 6 in the US singles charts in 1959; see Joel Whitburn: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993. Record Research, Menomonee Falls / Wisconsin 1994, p. 87
2. ↑ Catalog number Warner 5409, 1964 at number 16 on the US singles charts
3. ↑ Title tune from Dick Clark's TV show Where The Action Is , catalog number Warner 5645, at number 13 on the US singles chart in 1965
4. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: UK US