Connie Francis
Connie Francis (born December 12, 1938 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American singer and one of the best-selling female singers of all time. She is considered the most prolific female rock 'n' roll hit-maker of the early rock era -- the late 1950s to the early 1960s. After an appearance on Startime, Francis was advised to change her name from Concetta Rosemarie Franconero to something more easily pronounceable, as well as to quit the accordion and focus on singing.
Francis' first single Freddy (1955) was a failure and she began considering a career in medicine. However, Who's Sorry Now (a cover version of a 1923 song) launched her into super-stardom worldwide. On January 1, 1958, she debuted it on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" television show; by mid-year over a million copies were sold. This was followed by Don't Break the Heart That Loves You, Everybody's Somebody's Fool, Stupid Cupid, In the Summer of his Years (written after the assassination of John F. Kennedy), Strangers in the Night and Where the Boys Are, her signature song, (from the [movie of the same name), which became one of the first pop songs to be recorded in foreign languages.
From 1958 until 1963, Francis had 25 singles that were top 100 hits in the United States. She recorded her songs in nine languages and became an international star in the late 50s.
In the first half of the 1960s she starred in three additional films -- "Follow the Boys" (1963), "Looking for Love" (1964) and "When the Boys Meet the Girls" (1965).
She has a grown son, Joey, born in 1974, who is a flight instructor.
During the height of the Vietnam War in 1967, she performed for U.S. troops.
In 1960 Francis became the youngest headliner to sing in Las Vegas, where she played 28 days a year for nine years.
Her latest CD "The American Tour" contains performances from recent shows.
Francis' autobiography, "Who's Sorry Now?" was published in 1984.
Francis ended her recording career 1969, returning in 1973 with The Answer, a song written just for her, and soon began performing again. Tragedies followed soon after. In 1974 she was raped in a hotel following a performance in Westbury, New York. Nasal surgery to correct a sensitivity to air conditioning deprived her of her ability to sing professionally for four years. Her brother was murdered in 1981. Francis was diagnosed as manic depressive but resumed her career in 1989 and has continued singing and recording since then.
Francis is currently working on the script for a movie based on her life. Latin music great Gloria Estefan will produce and play the lead. Estefan said, "She [Francis] isn't in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, and yet she was the first pop star worldwide, [she] recorded in nine languages. She has done a lot of things for victims' rights since her rape in the '70s . . . There's a major story there." Filming has not started on the yet untitled film. No release date is set.
In late December 2004, Francis headlined in Las Vegas for the first time since 1989.
"Connie Francis" is also a character in Victory Gundam, one of the five (of the six) original members of the Shrike Team who are named in homage to 20th century female singers.