Connie Francis, the chart-topping pop singer of ’50s and ’60s classics like “Foolish Cupid,” “The place the Boys Are” and the simply currently TikTok viral “Pretty Little Youngster,” has died, in response to the New York Events. She was 87.
Francis’ longtime good buddy and president of Concetta Data Ron Roberts launched the knowledge in a Fb publish on Wednesday night, which Francis’ official account reposted. “It’s with a heavy coronary coronary heart and extreme unhappiness that I inform you of the passing of my dear good buddy Connie Francis ultimate night,” he wrote. “I do know that Connie would approve that her followers are among the many many first to review of this sad data. Additional particulars will observe later.”
She had simply currently been hospitalized for “extreme ache,” nevertheless had posted on Fb July 4 that she was “feeling quite a bit higher after an outstanding night.”
Francis grew to turn into one in all many defining female singers of the ’50s and ’60s, topping the charts on quite a lot of occasions and selling over 200 million data worldwide with hits like “Foolish Cupid,” “Who’s Sorry Now” and “Frankie.” In 1960, she grew to turn into the first woman to attain No. 1 on the Billboard Scorching 100 with “All individuals’s Anybody’s Fool,” and later grew to turn into the first woman to have three songs hit No. 1.
She simply currently expert a resurgence when B-side “Pretty Little Youngster” went viral on TikTok, resulting in over 30 million new streams of the tune and its entry into Spotify’s world and U.S. charts along with reaching the very best 5 of iTunes’ U.S. pop songs chart. Francis then joined TikTok, the place she thanked her newfound followers in a video, saying she was “flabbergasted and excited” by the tune’s status over 60 years later.
Born Connie Franconero in Newark, N.J. on Dec. 12, 1937, Francis ceaselessly carried out at experience contests and pageants throughout the neighborhood and was lastly advised, sooner than an look on choice current “Arthur Godfrey’s Experience Scouts,” to range her ultimate determine to Francis for easier pronunciation. She had a rocky start throughout the music enterprise, collectively along with her first eight singles failing commercially after she signed to MGM Data in 1955. Though she had her first fashion of success in 1957 with the Marvin Rainwater duet “The Majesty of Love,” which broke into the Billboard Scorching 100, her recording contract with MGM bought right here to an end.
Francis considered pursuing a career in medication and was accepted into New York School, nevertheless at what was meant to be her final session, she recorded a cover of the 1923 tune “Who’s Sorry Now.” Though the tune had a gradual start, Dick Clark carried out it on his “American Bandstand” in January 1958 and invited her to hold out it on “The Saturday Night Beechnut Current” (which could later become “The Dick Clark Current”). The effectivity launched her career, and “Who’s Sorry Now” reached No. 1 on the U.Okay. Singles Chart and No. 4 throughout the U.S., resulting in MGM Data renewing her contract.
After teaming up with the songwriting duo Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, Francis had a slew of charting hits comprising every genuine and cover songs like “Foolish Cupid,” “My Happiness,” “Amongst My Souvenirs,” “Lipstick on Your Collar” and “Frankie.” She adopted that with an album of Italian songs, “Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites,” which launched in late 1959 and broadened her attain to a further grownup viewers. Nonetheless her success with pop continued into the early Nineteen Sixties, incomes further hits that reached the very best 10: “Breakin’ in a Mannequin New Coronary coronary heart,” “When the Boy in Your Arms (Is the Boy in Your Coronary coronary heart),” “Second Hand Love” and “The place the Boys Are.”
Francis grew to turn into one in all many first recording artists to ceaselessly make albums sung totally in numerous languages, along with in Italian, Yiddish, German, Romanian, Spanish and Irish. Her 1960 German-language tune “Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel” reached No. 1 in West Germany and led to her becoming a vastly well-liked artist in Europe, representing the epitome of a female American pop singer to the worldwide a lot. Even in the middle of the Chilly Battle, her songs had been carried out and successfully obtained throughout the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.
Inside the mid-Nineteen Sixties, Francis’ grip on the U.S. charts began to weaken as a result of the Beatles and Rolling Stones took over. Nonetheless, she remained a worthwhile dwell performer and persistently purchased out live performance occasions throughout the U.S. and everywhere in the world. In 1969, her contract with MGM expired.
The ’70s launched a hard interval for Francis as she alleged she had been raped at a motel whereas displaying on the Westbury Music Sincere in New York. Though the assailant was in no way found, she sued the motel chain for inadequate security and gained a a $2.5 million settlement. Nonetheless, the incident plummeted Francis into melancholy and he or she solely recorded one album, “Who’s Happy Now?,” in 1978. She later underwent nasal surgical process and misplaced her voice, rendering her unable to hold out until 1981. That exact same 12 months, her brother was killed by the mafia and Francis as quickly as as soon as extra retreated from the spotlight. In 1984, she wrote about her struggles throughout the memoir “Who’s Sorry Now?,” which grew to turn into a bestseller.
All through her later career, Francis continued to file music and perform dwell, headlining quite a lot of reveals in Las Vegas. She launched one different autobiography, “Amongst My Souvenirs,” in 2017 and formally retired in 2018.
Francis was married 4 situations and was moreover in a relationship with singer Bobby Darin. All through her third marriage to restaurateur Joseph Garzilli, she adopted a son named Joey. She was in a relationship with Tony Ferretti from 2003 until his demise in 2022.
She is survived by her son, Joey Garzilli.
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