GoldenOldies

View Profile

Frederick Anthony Picariello Jr. was born Dec 4, 1936 in Lynn, MA, USA. He made his recording debut as a singer in 1958, singing and playing rhythm guitar on a single, "Cha-Cha-Do". He became a regular on a local TV dance show, Boston Ballroom. In 1959, "Tallahassee Lassie" peaked at # 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first of his 22 songs to appear on the Billboard chart, and also reached #13 on the R&B singles chart. In the UK, where his early records were issued on the Top Ran...

Frederick Anthony Picariello Jr. was born Dec 4, 1936 in Lynn, MA, USA. He made his recording debut as a singer in 1958, singing and playing rhythm guitar on a single, "Cha-Cha-Do". He became a regular on a local TV dance show, Boston Ballroom. In 1959, "Tallahassee Lassie" peaked at # 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first of his 22 songs to appear on the Billboard chart, and also reached #13 on the R&B singles chart. In the UK, where his early records were issued on the Top Rank label, it reached #17. "Tallahassee Lassie" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.
He became known as Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon, for the thumping power of his recordings. Dick Clark brought him national exposure through his numerous appearances on his television program, American Bandstand - a record of 110 appearances in total.
In the words of writer Cub Koda:
"Freddy Cannon was a true believer, a rocker to the bone. Freddy Cannon made rock & roll records; great noisy rock & roll records, and all of them were infused with a gigantic drum beat that was an automatic invitation to shake it on down anyplace there was a spot to dance.