July 20, 2026

Early Rock Star Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon Dies at Age 89 After a Brief Bout with Cancer Featured

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Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" 45 cover Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" 45 cover

The very first rock star I ever met was Freddy Cannon. It was by accident. He was doing an in-store promotion in a record shop. I was not aware that he was going to be there when I waked into the store looking to buy something else. That was the last time I spoke with him until just a few months ago when we were both guests on the Father Jim Drucker show.

Freddy had a Philadelphia connection. He was the biggest selling artist on the Philly based record company Swan Records until “She Loves You” by The Beatles was released.

Born Frederick Anthony Picariello Jr, “Boom Boom” broke out of Philadelphia. His appearance on American Bandstand led to several big hit including “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans” in 1959. In total, Freddy appeared on American Bandstand 110 times.

Despite being from the Boston area, he did songs about life elsewhere. His biggest hit, written by native Philadelphian Chuck Barris, was about the joys of going to the long gone New Jersey amusement park known as Palisades Park. While Freddy Cannon’s stardom was somewhat brief, Chuck went on to be the king of the game shows and even had a movie made about his life.

Dick Clark, who was part owner of Swan Records, brought his career back to life briefly in 1965 when Freddy’s song “Action” became the theme song for Dick Clark’s “Where the Action is”. Despite his decline in popularity, “Boom Boom” continued to tour all around the world. 

Unlike many artists, all of his songs are property of Freddy Cannon and he has released a CD that is available through his website www.freddycannon.com. On that same website you can checkout Freddy’s other love. He has done drawings of many other rock stars and they are presented in a gallery on the website. 

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