Connie Francis was born Concetta Maria Franconero on December 12 1937 in Newark, New Jersey. Her father was a roofing contractor who also played the accordion. She began taking accordion lessons when she was only three years old and it was not long before her father was booking singing engagements for her. She regularly performed at talent contests and pageants in her neighbourhood.
Connie Francis was a regular on the local television show Marie Moser's Starlets when she was eleven. Afterwards she appeared on The Original Amateur Hour. It was the host of The Original Amateur Hour, Ted Mack, who told her that she should abandon the accordion. Having tired of the heavy musical instrument, she complied with his wishes. It was in December 1950 when she was about to appear on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts that Arthur Godfrey suggested she use "Connie Francis" as her stage name as it would be easier to pronounce than her given name. Connie Francis attended Newark Arts High School form 1951 to 1952. Her family moved to Belleville, New Jersey and she finished high school there. She graduated as salutatorian from Belleville High School in 1955.
It was while she was still in high school that Connie Francis was a regular on the NBC variety television show Star Time Kids. George Scheck, who ws a producer on Star Time Kids, became her manager and had a demo record of four songs made for her. She was rejected by several record companies, including Columbia Records, whose A&R man was Mitch Miller. She was finally signed by MGM Records.
Her first single was "Freddy," which failed to chart. Neither did most of her early singles. While she was beginning her recording career, Connie Francis made extra money by recording the vocals for actresses in movies. She recorded the vocals for Tuesday Weld in Rock, Rock, Rock! (1956), Fred Holloway in Jamboree (1957), and Jayne Mansfield in The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958).
Connie Francis's contract with MGM Records was set to expire and she was considering going to New York University to study medicine when her father persuaded her to record the 1923 song "Who's Sorry Now?." The song was a hit for Isham Jones in 1923 and was later featured in the movies A Night in Casablanca (1946) and Three Little Words (1950). Heavily promoted by Dick Clark on his television show American Bandstand, the song went to no. 4 on the Billboard Top 100.
"Who's Sorry Now?" was the first in a string of hits Connie Francis would have for the next several years. Among her hits in the late Fifties were such songs as 'Stupid Cupid (no 14 on the Top 100)", "My Happiness (no. 2 on the Hot 100)," "Lipstick on Your Collar (no. 5 on the Hot 100)," '"Everybody's Somebody's Fool (no. 1 on the Hot 100)," and "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" (no. 1 on the Hot 100). She continued to have hits into the Sixties, including such songs as "Where the Boys Are (no. 4 on the Hot 100)," "Together (no. 6 on the Hot 100)," and "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You" (no. 1 on the Hot 100)."
It was during this period that Connie Francis also had a brief movie career. She was one of the stars of Where the Boys Are? (1960). Afterwards she appeared in Follow the Boys (1963), Looking for Love (1964), and When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965). Connie Francis' also appeared on television in the episode "The Sister and the Savage" on Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre n 1965.
Connie Francis's last top forty hit would be "Be Anything (But Be Mine)" in 1964, although her singles would continue to chart until 1969. She continued to be a popular performer on television variety shows throughout the Sixties. She would continue to be popular performer in concerts years after she released her last single. It was just this year that her song "Pretty Little Baby," a track from her 1962 album Connie Francis Sings "Second Hand Love" and the B-side of "I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter"in the United Kingdom, went viral on TikTok, introducing her to an entire new generation.
For many today it might be difficult to grasp just how popular Connie Francis was in the late Fifties and early Sixties. Quite simply, she remains one of the most successful female singers of all time. Indeed, her song "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" was the first song by a female singer to go no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, which was two years old at the time. She had 15 top ten hits in the Billboard Hot 100 during her career.
Of course, the reason for Connie Francis's enormous success is obvious to anyone who had heard one of her songs. She had a powerful voice that was also extremely versatile. She could perform everything from a novelty song like "Stupid Cupid" to broken-hearted ballads like "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You." In a 2007 review of one of Connie Francis's concerts, SFGate critic Neva Chonin wrote, "Francis had a powerful voice that could sound like a sob while staying on key." For those familiar with the oeuvre of Connie Francis, it should have come as no surprise that "Pretty Little Baby" went viral on TikTok. A voice and talent like Connie Francis transcends generations.
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