Connie Francis, one of the top recording artists during the late '50s and early '60s, has passed away on July 16th at the age of eighty-seven. She was the first woman to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, achieving a total of three and went on to sell well over one hundred million records throughout her career. Francis enjoyed a recent resurgence with her 1962 song, "Pretty Little Baby" becoming a viral hit several months ago on TikTok and other social media platforms.
She was born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in Newark, NJ on December 12, 1937. Encouraged by her father, George to show off her gift of singing, she performed as a child at talent shows and other local events. An opportunity to sing on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts in 1950, a variety show that showcased promising talent, lead to the host suggesting that she change her name to the simpler to pronounce, "Connie Francis". She would eventually accept this stage name and worked hard to get her career off the ground. Francis would record demos for songwriters and her father and manager helped finance recording sessions for singles to attract record labels. She even did vocal stunt work as the singing voice for actors in a trio of movies. Francis was signed to MGM Records in 1955 yet none of the singles released gained much attention and she was informed that she would be dropped from the label.
But one final single was released from MGM and it was a cover of a 1923 jazz tune. Francis had not wanted to record the song, feeling it was too old-fashioned, but her father insisted, certain it would be perfect for her. And he was right. "Who's Sorry Now" became a big hit in 1957, reaching number four on the US pop chart and number one in the UK. This song went on to sell a million copies and would become Francis' signature song.
This was the start of a string of popular, international hits for Francis like "Stupid Cupid", "My Happiness", "Among My Souvenirs", "Lipstick on Your Collar", "Frankie" and "Everybody's Somebody's Fool". She would even record albums of favorite songs in Italian, German, Hebrew and Spanish. Hollywood soon came calling and Francis made her acting debut in the 1960 romantic-comedy, "Where The Boys Are" with her also singing the popular title track which became another signature song for the performer. Following this hit film, she would make three more comedies.
The arrival of the Beatles and the British Invasion would cause a seismic shift in popular music and Francis would struggle to reach the charts by 1963. She still remained a top concert draw and would go on to record country albums and reach the adult contemporary chart.
The arrival of the Beatles and the British Invasion would cause a seismic shift in popular music and Francis would struggle to reach the charts by 1963. She still remained a top concert draw and would go on to record country albums and reach the adult contemporary chart.
But Francis would suffer some tragic personal situations by the 1970's. Following a concert at a music fair in New York in 1974, she was sexually assaulted in her hotel room, largely due to a lack of proper security at the location. Francis would later sue the hotel, winning over two million in a settlement and with the verdict helping reform security in the hotel industry. Four years later, Francis had nasal surgery and developed complications that caused her to temporarily lose her voice which she would not recover for several years. And her brother, George Franconero Jr, an attorney who had testified against mafia, was murdered by hitmen in 1981.
During this period, Francis retreated into seclusion, suffering from depression and drug addiction. But she recovered enough by 1982 to begin recording and performing in front of audiences once again. But this would be short-lived for Francis as she was diagnosed with manic depression, committed to multiple psychiatric hospitals and even attempted suicide a few years later. Her doctors would later determine that most of her mental health troubles stemmed from post-traumatic stress disorder following her attack. Francis would get her life and career back in order, recording and touring again which included headlining in Las Vegas in 1989. She would retire from show business in 2018 and settle in Florida.
Early in her career, Francis had a passionate affair with singer, Bobby Darin not long before he achieved fame but her father stood firmly in the way of the relationship developing into anything serious. She was married four times, most of them brief with all but one not lasting more than a year. During her third marriage to Joseph Garzilli, a restaurateur, the couple adopted a son, Joey. Francis would meet Tony Ferretti in 2003 and have a long-term relationship with him until his death in 2022.
Early in her career, Francis had a passionate affair with singer, Bobby Darin not long before he achieved fame but her father stood firmly in the way of the relationship developing into anything serious. She was married four times, most of them brief with all but one not lasting more than a year. During her third marriage to Joseph Garzilli, a restaurateur, the couple adopted a son, Joey. Francis would meet Tony Ferretti in 2003 and have a long-term relationship with him until his death in 2022.
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