CONNIE FRANCIS
Name: Connie Francis
Birth name: Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero
Born: 12 December 1938 Newark, New Jersey, United States
Connie Francis (born December 12, 1938 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American pop
singer best known for international hit songs such as "Who's Sorry Now?", "Where
The Boys Are", and "Everybody's Somebody's Fool". She is known to have one of
the most distinctive voices in the history of pop music.
Connie Francis was born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in the Italian Down Neck,
or Ironbound, neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey. She is considered 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. This was followed by many
other hits over the next decade, as Connie Francis became one of the most
popular vocalists in the world.
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.
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", "Robot Man" 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,[citation needed]
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 has always been a great fan of country music, and
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, the Philippines, on Valentine's Day 2008.
Name: Connie Francis
Birth name: Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero
Born: 12 December 1938 Newark, New Jersey, United States
Connie Francis (born December 12, 1938 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American pop
singer best known for international hit songs such as "Who's Sorry Now?", "Where
The Boys Are", and "Everybody's Somebody's Fool". She is known to have one of
the most distinctive voices in the history of pop music.
Connie Francis was born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in the Italian Down Neck,
or Ironbound, neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey. She is considered 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. This was followed by many
other hits over the next decade, as Connie Francis became one of the most
popular vocalists in the world.
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.
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", "Robot Man" 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,[citation needed]
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 has always been a great fan of country music, and
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, the Philippines, on Valentine's Day 2008.