Freddy Cannon, Rock and Roller Behind Hits “Palisades Park” and “Tallahassee Lassie,” Dies at 89

Freddy Cannon, the rock and roller whose hits include “Palisades Park” and “Tallahassee Lassie,” has died. He was 89. Cannon died Friday at a hospice facility in California, his friend, iHeart Radio’s Tom Cuddy, announced. Cuddy said that Cannon was scheduled to interview with DJ Cousin Brucie Morrow on July 11, however he was taken to the hospital a day before the appearance. The rocker, who was nicknamed Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon, was born on Dec. 4, 1936, in Lynn, Massachusetts, where he started his music career. An early recording of the soon-to-be hit track “Tallahassee Lassie” intrigued Dick Clark. He and his wife, Jeanette, then moved moved to Philadelphia in his late teens, partly thanks to Clark who urged him to do so. The track later came out in 1959, peaking at No. 6 on Billboar