Cannon made his recording debut as a singer in 1958, singing and playing rhythm guitar on a single, "Cha-Cha-Do" by the Spindrifts, which became a local hit. He had also played lead guitar on a session for an R&B vocal group, the G-Clefs, whose record "Ka-Ding Dong" made No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1956.[3] At a young age he joined the National Guard, took a job driving a truck, married, and became a father.[4]
Inspired musically by Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Little Richard, he formed his own group, Freddy Karmon & the Hurricanes, which became increasingly popular in the Greater Boston area, and began to develop a trademark strained singing style.[2] He also became a regular on a local TV dance show, Boston Ballroom, and, in 1958, signed up to a management contract with Boston disc jockey Jack McDermott.[4] With lyrics written by his mother, he prepared a new song which he called "Rock and Roll Baby", and he produced a demo which McDermott took to the writing and production team of Bob Crewe and Frank Slay. They rearranged the song, rewrote the lyrics, and offered to produce a recording in return for two-thirds of the composing credits.[4] The first recording of the song, now titled "Tallahassee Lassie", with a guitar solo by session musician Kenny Paulson, was rejected by several record companies, but was then heard by TV presenter Dick Clark who part-owned Swan Records in Philadelphia.
Clark suggested that the song be re-edited and overdubbed to add excitement, by highlighting the pounding bass drum sound and adding hand claps and Freddy's cries of "whoo!", which later became one of his trademarks.[4] The single was finally released by Swan Records, with the company president, Bernie Binnick, suggesting Freddy's new stage name of "Freddy Cannon".[2][3][4] After being promoted and becoming successful in Boston and Philadelphia, the single gradually received national airplay. In 1959, it peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first of his 22 songs to appear on the Billboard chart, and also reached No. 13 on the R&B singles chart.[3][5] In the UK, where his early records were issued on the Top Rank label, it reached No. 17. "Tallahassee Lassie" sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.[6]
He stayed on the Swan label with producer Frank Slay for the next five years and 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.[4] 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."[2]
His second single "Okefenokee" (credited to Freddie Cannon, as were several of his other records) only made No. 43 on the charts, but the next record, "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans", a rocked-up version of a 1922 song, became a gold record and reached No. 3 in the pop charts in both the US and the UK, where it was the biggest of his hits.[3] It also sold over one million copies.[6] Cannon toured in Britain and, in March 1960, his albumThe Explosive Freddy Cannon became the first album by a rock and roll singer to top the UK Albums Chart.[7][8]
For the next two years, until early 1962, he continued to have lesser chart hits in the U.S., in some cases with versions of old standards including "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" and Edward "Kid" Ory's "Muskrat Ramble". His hits also included "Twistin' All Night Long", recorded with Danny & the Juniors and also featuring Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons on backing vocals.[4] However, one of his biggest hits came in May 1962 with "Palisades Park", written by future TV Gong Show host Chuck Barris. Produced by Slay with overdubbed rollercoaster sound effects, it reached No. 3 on the Hot 100, No. 15 on the R&B chart, and No. 20 in the UK. This release also sold over one million copies, gaining gold disc status.[9]
Cannon also appeared with Bobby Vee, Johnny Tillotson and others, in the movie Just for Fun, made in the UK in 1962.[3] Although his popularity in the US faded, he remained a popular touring act in Britain and elsewhere in the world for some years. In 1963, he signed for Warner Bros. Records where he recorded his last two US top twenty hits, "Abigail Beecher" (No. 16) in 1964 and the following year "Action" (No. 13), from Dick Clark's TV show Where the Action Is, which he recorded with top Los Angeles session musicians including Leon Russell, James Burton, Glen Campbell, and David Gates.[4] "Action" got a fourth gold disc for Cannon.[10] Also in 1965, Slay acquired Cannon's Swan recordings and sold them to Warner Bros.[11] He appeared, along with the Beau Brummels, in Village of the Giants, a teen movie with early film appearances by Beau Bridges and Ron Howard, and played himself, performing one of his songs, in the final episode of the teen soap opera, Never Too Young, on June 24, 1966.[citation needed]
After leaving Warner Bros. Records in 1967, Cannon released singles on several labels, including Sire, Royal American, Metromedia, MCA, Andee, Claridge, Horn, and Amherst.[12] In the 1970s he recorded and became a promotional man for Buddah Records, but returned to the lower reaches of the charts in 1981 with "Let's Put the Fun Back in Rock'n'Roll," recorded with the Belmonts for MiaSound Records[4] and in 1982 appeared in the independent movie, The Junkman.[3] After that, he continued to work with Dick Clark at his American Bandstand reunion concerts and toured all over the world.[5] In 2002, he released an album of seasonal songs, Have A Boom Boom Christmas!![13]
One notable fan of Cannon's was the late Box Tops and Big Star singer Alex Chilton; Chilton reportedly had a portrait of Cannon hanging on the wall of his home in New Orleans and had once offered the following comment about Cannon to a friend: "Freddy Cannon’s shows always worked, because he moved through life with ease."[14]
Harold "Chuck" Willis was an American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll singer and songwriter. His biggest hits, "C. C. Rider" (1957) and "What Am I Living For" (1958), both reached No.1 on the Billboard R&B chart. He was known as The King of the Stroll for his performance of the 1950s dance the stroll.
Swan Records was a mid-20th century United States–based record label, founded in 1957 and based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It had a subsidiary label called Lawn Records.
Brian Hyland is an American pop singer and instrumentalist who was particularly successful during the early 1960s. He had a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" in 1960. Other hits include "Sealed with a Kiss" and "Gypsy Woman", which both reached No. 3. Hyland continued recording into the 1970s. AllMusic journalist Jason Ankeny said: "Hyland's puppy-love pop virtually defined the sound and sensibility of bubblegum during the pre-Beatles era." Although his status as a teen idol faded, he went on to release several country-influenced albums and had additional chart hits later in his career.
Thomas David Roe is an American rock and pop singer-songwriter.
Dick and Dee Dee are an American singer-songwriter duo who reached popularity in the early to mid-1960s. The group was founded by California classmates Richard Gosting and Mary Sperling. They eventually changed their names to Dick St. John and Dee Dee Sperling. They had their first hit in 1961 when "The Mountain's High" reached No. 2 on the Billboard 100. They toured with the Beach Boys and opened for the Rolling Stones during the Stones's 1964 tour of California. Regulars on the show Shindig!, the duo had multiple hit songs before St. John and Sperling disbanded in 1969. In the 1980s, St. John toured with his wife, Sandy. Dick St. John died on December 27, 2003, after a fall at his home. Dee Dee Phelps began performing with actor/singer Michael Dunn as Dick and Dee Dee in 2008, appearing in large doo wop and rock and roll shows throughout the United States.
Robert James Byrd, known by the stage name Bobby Day, was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit record "Rockin' Robin", written by Leon René under the pseudonym Jimmie Thomas. Day also wrote the top-10 Billboard hits "Little Bitty Pretty One" and "Over and Over".
Robert Lee Helms was an American country singer, who is best remembered for his 1957 Christmas hit "Jingle Bell Rock". Additionally, he had two other hit records from that year: "Fraulein" and "My Special Angel".
John Preston Courville, known professionally as Johnny Preston, was an American rock and roll singer, best known for his 1960 international number one hit "Running Bear".
Brownsville Station is an American rock band from Michigan popular in the 1970s. Original members included Cub Koda (guitarist/vocalist), Mike Lutz (guitarist/vocalist), T.J. Cronley (drummer), and Tony Driggins (bassist/vocals). Later members included Henry "H-Bomb" Weck (drummer) and Bruce Nazarian (guitarist/vocalist).
Dee Dee Phelps is a singer-songwriter and author from Santa Monica, California, best known as half the popular 1960s musical duo Dick and Dee Dee. She became a professional writer in 2007, publishing her award-winning memoir Vinyl Highway. In 2008, Dee Dee joined with singer/actor Michael Dunn to revive the Dick and Dee Dee act live. More recently, in 2013, Dee Dee is now teamed with Deke Detanna, lead singer of Deke and the Blazers. The duo performs all over the country, singing classic Dick and Dee Dee hits.
Marvin Karlton Rainwater was an American country and rockabilly singer and songwriter who had several hits during the late 1950s, including the self-penned "Gonna Find Me a Bluebird" and "Whole Lotta Woman," which hit #1 on the UK Singles Chart. He was known for wearing Native American fashion-themed outfits on stage and claimed to have quarter-blood Cherokee ancestry.
Jimmy Clanton is an American singer who became known as the "swamp pop R&B teenage idol". His band recorded a hit song "Just a Dream" which Clanton had written in 1958 for the Ace Records label. It reached number four on the Billboard chart and sold a million copies. Clanton performed on Dick Clark's American Bandstand and toured with popular artists like Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Platters.
Eddie Rambeau is an American singer, songwriter, and actor.
Joe Barry was an American swamp pop singer active on the early rock and roll scene.
Billy & Lillie were an American pop vocal duo, composed of Billy Ford and Lillie Bryant.
The Marketts were an American instrumental pop group, formed in January 1961 in Hollywood, California, by Michael Z. Gordon. They are best known for their 1964 million-seller, "Out of Limits".
The Explosive Freddy Cannon is the debut album of Freddy Cannon. Released in 1960, it spent one week at number one in the United Kingdom; it was Cannon's only number one album. It was also the first rock 'n' roll album to reach No. 1 on the UK albums chart, in part due to its cheaper price.
"Out of Limits" is a 1963 surf rock instrumental piece written by Michael Z. Gordon and performed by The Marketts.
Frank Conley Slay Jr. was an American songwriter, A&R director, record producer, and record label owner. He wrote with Bob Crewe in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the partnership's most successful songs including "Silhouettes", a hit for several artists including The Rays and Herman's Hermits, "Daddy Cool", and "Tallahassee Lassie". As a producer, his biggest hit was "Incense and Peppermints" by the Strawberry Alarm Clock.
"Tallahassee Lassie" is a song written by Bob Crewe, Frank Slay, and Frederick Picariello and performed by Freddy Cannon . The song was featured on his 1960 album The Explosive! Freddy Cannon. The song was produced and arranged by Bob Crewe and Frank Slay.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
