Follow Here To Purchase Where the Action Is!

Authors: Freddy Cannon and Mark Bego

ISBN-10: 1462639739

ISBN-13: 978-1462639731

The title of Freddie “Boom Boom” Cannon’s Where the Action Is! is spot on. For one matter, it’s the title of one of Cannon’s many hit singles, in this case the theme for the Dick Clark produced ABC  TV series. For another, once Cannon’s string of chart-toppers began with 1959’s “Tallahassee Lassie,” Cannon was in the thick of ‘60s rock ‘n roll action. He  enjoyed constant radio airplay, numerous TV and film appearances, and performing on the road with many of the top performers of the era.

With a lively pace and unusually positive tone for a rock memoir, Cannon admits his career was marked by a considerable streak of luck. To begin, using lyrics composed by a very supportive Mother, “Tallahassee Lassie” was an immediate hit for Cannon and Swan Records.     From that point forward, while not every Cannon single soared up the charts, many of them did, and the stories behind the songs are the heart of this memoir. There’s “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans,” a rock version of an old Al Jolson standard. There’s “Palisades Park” composed by the eccentric Chuck Barris. (The song’s composition played an important part in the 2002 bio-pic of Barris, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.) After Cannon moved up to Warner Brothers records, his final top-sellers included “Abigail Beecher” and the 1966 AM anthem, “The Dedication Song.”

Throughout these years, Cannon’s luck included a long association with Dick Clark who wrote the book’s introduction.  As Cannon lived in Philadelphia, he was available when Clark needed a fill-in guest on American Bandstand which resulted in Cannon appearing on that show more than any other performer. Cannon not only sang the theme for Where the Action Is!, he was a frequent performer on that show from 1965 to 1967 and also worked on a number of Clark’s package tours. Unique for the music business, Cannon ended up owning his own masters which meant that, to the present day, he owns all the licensing rights to his, pun intended, musical canon. No surprise, then, that he feels like he was blessed with much good fortune in an industry not always kind to its brightest stars.

Throughout his autobiography, Cannon recounts his encounters with his peers, including Elvis, Cher, Eddie Cochran, and his love of The Rolling Stones. He discusses his recordings backed by such musicians as Danny and the Juniors and The Belmonts. In short, nearly every page has one rock anecdote or another that are sometimes quick brushes with the famous, sometimes revealing insights into the pop circuit of the times.

Tightly woven, Cannon’s memoir should clearly interest fans of his music and those interested in how pop music was made during the 1960s. Cannon is remembered for his distinctive voice and driving melodies—perhaps his story will encourage readers to re-visit his music.  It was a ton of fun, and so is this autobiography.