‘Pretty Little Baby’ singer Connie Francis dies

Connie Francis
Connie Francis FILE PHOTO: Entertainer Connie Francis records in the studio with producer Ray Ellis at MGM on July 10, 1959 in New York. Francis died on July 16 at the age of 87.(Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) (Donaldson Collection/Getty Images)

A singer and actress known for such 1950s and 1960s songs as “Who’s Sorry Now?” and “Pretty Little Baby” has died.

Connie Francis was 87 years old.

Francis’ death on July 16 was announced by her publicist, Ron Roberts, who did not give any details, The Associated Press reported.

She had been hospitalized for pain from a broken hip, The Washington Post reported.

Francis was consistently producing hits from 1957 to 1964, and had fans across generations with songs like the No. 1 hits “The Heart Has a Mind of Its Own and ”Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You." Overall, she had 35 songs that were in the Top 40.

The New York Times said Francis “had an easy, fluid vocal style, a powerful set of lungs and a natural way with a wide variety of material: old standards, rock ‘n’ roll, country and western, and popular songs in Italian, Yiddish, Swedish and a dozen other languages.”

But Francis wasn’t just a singer. She was also an actress, appearing in such quintessential 1960s films as “Where the Boys Are” and “Follow the Boys,” according to her IMDB profile.

She performed the theme song for “Where the Boys Are,” which was written by Neil Sedaka.

“What struck me was the purity of the voice, the emotion, the perfect pitch and intonation,” Sedaka said, according to the Times. “It was clear, concise, beautiful. When she sang ballads, they just soared.”

Francis was born Concetta Franconero on Dec. 12, 1938, in Newark, New Jersey.

Her father, a roofer and dockworker who also played the concertina, is credited with giving her an accordion at the age of 3.

He controlled her musical training and career. At the age of 4, she took the stage singing “Anchors Aweigh” and playing accordion at Olympic Park in Irvington, New Jersey, the Times reported.

By the age of 11, she was a regular on “Marie Moser’s Starlets.” Ted Mack told her to drop the accordion while Arthur Godfrey told her to change her name from Franconero to Francis.

When she was no longer a child performer, she started singing in clubs and lounges, using forged papers, and imitating the styles of Patti Page and Rosemary Clooney, the Times said.

From 1958 to 1964, Francis released more than 30 albums and earned more than $1 million a year, the Post reported.

While her string of hits pushed her into the limelight, she struggled with mental health and over the past few decades performed not to huge crowds, but to nightclubs, riding the nostalgia wave, the Post reported.

She spoke about how her father controlled her professional and private life, calling it a form of “emotional abuse,” the Post reported.

She said only had one date while in high school and was not allowed to go to her prom.

Francis shared one incident from when she and her boyfriend, singer Bobby Darrin, were practicing for “The Jackie Gleason Show” and her father came in.

“Bobby and I were sitting in the audience holding hands at rehearsal,” Francis shared in 2002, “and he came in brandishing a gun, intent on shooting Bobby. It took four men to restrain him.”

She regretted that the relationship with Darren ended, calling the time they were together “the most significant relationship of my life,” the Post reported.

Francis was married four times, each ending in divorce.

But the incident with her father at “The Jackie Gleason Show” was not the only time she was a victim of violence.

In 1974, Francis was in a Long Island hotel room when a man broke in, held a knife to her neck, and raped and beat her for two hours. She was left on the floor of the room, tied to a chair, and under two mattresses. The man was never caught.

“You don’t ever really get over a thing like that,” she said in 2005, “no matter how hard you try.”

She sued the hotel chain for negligence and was awarded $2.5 million.

Her younger brother was shot and killed after allegedly giving federal authorities information during a mob investigation.

Francis had a prescription medication addiction, tried to commit suicide and was arrested for allegedly hitting her hairdresser, for not putting out a cigarette on a flight and for threatening a police officer, the Post reported.

She also would go on spending sprees, once buying three stretch limos in one day and spending $178,000 on clothes the next day.

Francis was declared incompetent to handle her affairs twice and was institutionalized for mental illness 11 times. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had electric shock treatments as well as lithium as part of her treatment, the Post reported.

She went into seclusion at one point for seven years after having plastic surgery on her nose that affected her voice, the Post reported.

Her music, however, was recently rediscovered thanks to TikTok and millions of people lip-syncing to the 1962 song “Pretty Little Baby,” a song that Francis herself had forgotten about. The 17 million videos have been viewed 27 billion times, the Post reported.

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t even remember the song,” she told People magazine last month. “I had to listen to it to remember. To think that a song I recorded 63 years ago is touching the hearts of millions of people is truly awesome. It is an amazing feeling.”

0
Comments on this article
0
On AirPower 100.1 - Athens #1 Hit Music Station Logo

mobile apps

Everything you love about powerathens.com and more! Tap on any of the buttons below to download our app.

amazon alexa

Enable our Skill today to listen live at home on your Alexa Devices!