Freddy Cannon, 1936 – 2026
- missevegolden
- 21 hours ago
- 1 min read
Pop singer Freddy Cannon, 89, died on July 17. Cannon had 1960s hits with "Tallahassee Lassie,” "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans,” and "Palisades Park.” His first hit was as singer and guitarist on 1958’s "Cha-Cha-Do," and after he was discovered and promoted by Dick Clark, Cannon went on to score 22 hits on the Billboard charts. His white-hot fame faded with the British Invasion, but Cannon kept touring, releasing an album as recently as 2023. Cannon told music writer Gary James, “I never thought I should be a teenage idol. I never wanted to be a teenage idol. I'm a rock 'n' roll act. I don't have a great voice, but I'll tell you something right now, I'll rock with the best out there, live onstage. If they want to come and see me, they'll find out how good I am onstage. ‘Tallahassee Lassie’ . . . to me, that's my favorite record and it's the best record. Not ‘Palisades Park.’ Not ‘Way Down Yonder In New Orleans.’ The second record I would say would judge me is ‘Buzz Buzz A-Diddle.’ It's another rock record. It didn't go as high on the charts, but that's Freddy Cannon. That's who I want to be and that's who I am.”
