Freddy Cannon, one of early rock and roll's most energetic hitmakers, has died aged 89 in a California hospice facility following a brief battle with cancer. He passed away on 17 July, with his death confirmed by longtime friend Tom Cuddy of iHeartRadio, and his children Conny and Billy at his side in his final days. Nicknamed "Boom Boom" for the heavy bass drum sound on his records, Cannon helped define the exuberant pop radio sound of the late 1950s and early 1960s and worked alongside contemporaries including Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Little Richard.

Born Frederick Anthony Picariello Jr in Massachusetts in 1936, Cannon scored three US top 10 hits: "Tallahassee Lassie" (1959), "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" (1960) and "Palisades Park" (1962), and notched 23 Billboard Hot 100 entries between 1959 and 1981. He reportedly holds the record for the most appearances on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, with 110, and his album The Explosive! Freddy Cannon topped the UK charts in March 1960, making him only the fourth rock and roll act to do so after Bill Haley & the Comets, Elvis Presley and Tommy Steele. His songs have since featured in films including Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and X-Men: First Class, and he published a memoir, Where the Action Is, in 2011.