Conny Francis

Connie Francis was born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in the Italian Down Neck, or Ironbound, neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey. She is considered to be one the most prolific and popular female rock 'n' roll hit-maker of the early rock era — the late 1950s to the early 1960s. After an appearance on Ford Startime, Francis was advised to change her name from Franconero to something more easily pronounceable — as well as to quit the accordion and focus on singing. Francis' first single, "Freddy", (1955) met with little success. Her next nine singles were also failures. During this time Connie was introduced to then up and coming singer/songwriter Bobby Darin. Bobby's manager arranged for Darin to help write several songs for Connie in order to help jump-start her singing career. Initially the two artists couldn't see eye to eye on potential material but after several weeks Bobby and Connie developed a romantic interest in one another. Unfortunately Connie had a very strict Italian father who would separate the couple whenever possible. When Connie's father learned that Bobby had suggested the two lovers elope after one of Connie's shows, he ran Darin out of the building while waving a gun telling Bobby to never see his daughter again. Bobby saw Connie only two more times after this happened, once when the two were scheduled to sing together for a television show and again later when Connie was spotlighted on the tv series This Is Your Life. To date Connie has said that not marrying Bobby was the biggest mistake of her life. After considering a career in medicine due to the failure of her first few demos, a cover version of the song "Who's Sorry Now?" (1923) by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby launched Francis into super-stardom worldwide. She recorded the song at what was to have been her final recording session for MGM; the label was about to drop her owing to her previous singles' poor sales. Francis has said that she recorded it at the suggestion of her father, who convinced her it stood a chance of becoming a hit because it was a song adults already knew and that teenagers would dance to if it were released with a more contemporary arrangement. The gamble paid off. On January 1, 1958, the song debuted on Dick Clark's American Bandstand television show, and by mid-year over a million copies were sold. In April 1958, "Who's Sorry Now" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and number four in the USA. As Francis explains at each of her concerts, she began searching for a new hit immediately after her 1958 single Who's Sorry Now? became a success. She was then introduced to Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, who played every ballad they had written to date, for Connie. After a few hours, Francis began writing in her diary while the two songwriters played the last of their ballads. After they finished their last song of the session, Francis told them that they wrote very beautiful ballads but that she considered them too intellectual for the young generation of the time. Greenfield then suggested to Sedaka a song they had written that morning for another girl group. Sedaka protested, believing that Francis would be insulted. Greenfield said that she hated all the other songs they had performed and that they had nothing more to lose. Sedaka reluctantly agreed to play Stupid Cupid with Greenfield for Francis. As soon as they finished playing the song, Francis told them that they had just played her new hit record. Francis song reached #14 on the Billboard charts. While Francis was writing in her diary, Sedaka asked her if he could read what she had written. After she refused, Sedaka was inspired to write The Diary, which was his first hit single. Through the rest of her early career Sedaka and Greenfield wrote many of Connie Francis' hits such as Fallin and Where the Boys Are. Singing career Connie specialized in downbeat ballads (often remakes of old standards) delivered in her trademark "sobbing" style, such as "My Happiness", "I'm Sorry I Made You Cry", "Among My Souvenirs", "Together", "Breakin' In a Brand New Broken Heart", and the Italian song "Mama". However, she also had success with a handful of more upbeat, rock-and-roll-oriented compositions, such as "Stupid Cupid", "Lipstick On Your Collar", and "Vacation". Among Francis' other notable performances were "In the Summer of His Years" (a tribute to slain U.S. President John F. Kennedy) and Bert Kaempfert's "Strangers in the Night" (although the latter song is more often identified with Frank Sinatra). Both "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" went to number one on the Billboard music charts in 1960. In 1962, Francis had another number one hit with "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You". Francis remade many of her hits in foreign languages, including "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and her signature song, "Where the Boys Are". Francis recorded in thirteen languages throughout her career: English, German, Swedish, Dutch, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian (and its dialect Neapolitan), Hebrew, Yiddish, Japanese, Latin and Hawaiian. During a concert at the Golden Stag Festival in Braşov, Romania in March 1970, Francis performed live in Romanian. Francis' biggest hit album in the U.S. was 1959's Italian Favorites; she followed it with several more albums of Italian songs over the years, as well as collections of Spanish-language and Jewish songs, among others. In the 1960 motion picture Where the Boys Are Connie was able to highlight her acting talents to a broader range of audiences. During the first half of the 1960s, she starred in three additional films: Follow the Boys (1963) (the title song of which became a No. 17 Billboard single for Francis), Looking for Love (1964), and When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965). In 1960, Francis became the youngest headliner to sing in Las Vegas, where she played 28 days a year for nine years. In 1961, she starred in her own television special on ABC television sponsored by Brylcreem titled Kicking Sound Around, singing and acting alongside Tab Hunter, Eddie Foy Jr. and Art Carney. Francis appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on July 1, 1962 with French singing star Johnny Hallyday in a show that was taped at the famous Moulin Rouge nightclub in Paris, France. On July 3, 1963, she played a Command performance before Queen Elizabeth II at the Alhambra Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland. By 1967, Francis had 35 U.S. Top 40 hits, three of which were number ones. During the height of the Vietnam War in 1967, Connie Francis performed for U.S. troops. Francis ended her recording career in 1969. She returned in 1973 with "The Answer", a song written just for her, and soon began performing again. Francis recorded several albums of country standards during her pop career. In 1969, she had a modest country hit with, "The Wedding Cake." She appeared on the country charts again in 1982 with "There's Still a Few Good Love Songs Left in Me." Several country singers found chart success remaking Francis' pop hits for the country market, including Marie Osmond ("Who's Sorry Now" in 1975), Susan Raye ("My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" in 1972), Margo Smith ("Don't Break The Heart That Loves You" in 1978), and Debby Boone. Connie released her autobiography, Who's Sorry Now? in 1984. It was her second attempt at writing as she had previously released the book For Every Young Heart in 1962. In 2000, "Who's Sorry Now" was named one of the Songs of the Century. Her latest CD The American Tour contains performances from recent shows. In late December 2004, Francis headlined in Las Vegas for the first time since 1989. In March and October 2007, Francis performed to sold-out crowds at the Castro Theater in San Francisco. In December 2007, Connie Francis was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. Francis appeared in concert in Manila, Philippines on Valentines Day 2008.