Palisades Park (Freddy Cannon song)

"Palisades Park" is a song written by Chuck Barris[1] and recorded by Freddy Cannon.

"Palisades Park"
The original hit recording by Freddy Cannon
Single by Freddy Cannon
A-side"June, July and August"
ReleasedJuly 1962
GenreRock and roll
Length1:53
LabelSwan
Songwriter(s)Chuck Barris
Freddy Cannon singles chronology
"Teen Queen of the Week"
(1962)		 "Palisades Park"
(1962)		 "What's Gonna Happen When Summer's Done"
(1962)

Background

Barris wrote a song about an amusement park and it was suggested he use the name of an amusement park as the title. One night he was in Manhattan when he looked toward the New Jersey Palisades Cliffs, on which the amusement park sat. That was when inspiration hit and the title was added. Years later the Palisades Amusement Park closed, on September 12, 1971.[2] A tribute to New Jersey's Palisades Amusement Park, it is an up-tempo rock and roll tune led by a distinctive organ part. The track also incorporates amusement park sound effects, including the sounds of screaming riders on the roller coasters, and the quoting of a slower version of "Entrance of the Gladiators", played on an organ imitating a hurdy-gurdy or calliope. In the song, the singer takes a walk after dark and discovers Palisades Park, where he meets and falls in love with a girl. Among the list of rides and attractions listed in the song are: Shoot the Chute, Rocket Ship, Roller Coaster, Loop the Loop, Merry Go Round, Tunnel of Love, and the Ferris Wheel.

Chart performance

Released by Swan Records as a B-side to "June, July and August," "Palisades Park" broke in when a Flint, Michigan radio DJ played it by mistake. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 23–30 June 1962,[3] On the Hot R&B Sides chart, the song went to #15.[4] "Palisades Park" was the biggest hit of Cannon's career.[5]

Cover versions
  • The song is excerpted in the Buchanan and Goodman novelty number "Ben Crazy" (1962, based on the Ben Casey TV show).

The song was played over the public address system as the intro music each night for the Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band Tunnel of Love Express Tour in 1988.[9]

References
  1. https://secondhandsongs.com/work/9474
  2. "Carousel, Anyone? A 1928 'Heirloom' Offered for $80,000". The New York Times. November 15, 1971. Retrieved 2009-01-27. Irving Rosenthal has the Christmas present for the man who has everything. Preferably a man in search of high camp or deep nostalgia. ... Mr. Rosenthal sold the Palisades Amusement Park site to tho Centex-Winston Corporation, which plans to erect 3800 high-rise condominiums on the tract ...
  3. "23 June 1962 Hot 100". Billboard. 23 June 1962. Retrieved 2012-11-22.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 101.
  5. "Read expert reviews on Electronics, Cars, Books, Movies, Music and More". Epinions.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  6. Loco Live
  7. "Official Web Site". Thestompers.com. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  8. "Official Web Site". Thestompers.com. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 6, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Kennywood Park / With a Little Love". Rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  11. "Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon – Oldies 103 WODS FM Jingle/Palisades Park". YouTube. 1990-11-06. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
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