Freddy Cannon interview, 1985

What this episode covers

Happy birthday, Freddy Cannon! Freddy's music was a rock'n'roll radio staple in the late 50's and early 60's. His first hit "Tallahassee Lassie" was written by Freddy and producers Bob Crewe and Frank Slay. As Freddy tells me in the interview, the idea for the song came from his mother! Dick Clark (who co-owned Freddy's label Swan Records) suggested the record be edited to highlight the pounding bass drum, and Freddy became known as Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon for the thumping power of his music. "Tallahassee Lassie" hit the Top Ten in July 1959, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. His next record, "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans", rocketed up the charts in January 1960. It was his biggest hit and also sold a million. One of Freddy's biggest hits came in June 1962 with "Palisades Park", written by Chuck Barris. The song was originally written for Dion and it was called "Amusement Park" but producers Crewe and Slay changed the title. Another Top 10 million seller! Freddy came to Vancouver in 1963 for a show with Gene Pitney, The Chiffons, and Bobby Vinton. He signed with Warner Brothers that same year and he recorded his last two hits "Abigail Beecher" in 1964 and "Action" (the theme song to the TV series "Where the Action Is", a spin-off of American Bandstand) in 1965. Both failed to crack the Top 10. After leaving WB in 1967, he continued to work with Dick Clark at his Bandstand reunion concerts and to tour all over the world. Did you know Freddy appeared on "Bandstand" more than 100 times? Freddy returned to Vancouver in 1985 for The Legends Of Rock'n'Roll preview show. That's where we recorded this interview. Freddy lives in sunny Oxnard, CA today and you can keep in touch at freddycannon.com

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