Frogtoon Music

Among My Souvenirs by Connie Francis

Artist Biography For Connie Francis

Connie Francis born 12 December 1937 In Newark New Jersey USA 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". Born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero In Newark's Italian Down Neck Or Ironbound Section Of Newark New Jersey Neighbourhood 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 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 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. Francis Recorded The Song At What Was To Have Been Her Final Recording Session For MGM As The Label Was About To Drop Her Since Her Previous Singles Had Generated Little Activity. She Has Said paraphrased From The Billboard Book Of Number One Singles By Fred Bronson 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. In April 1958 "Who's Sorry Now" Reached No. 1 On The UK Singles Chart number Four In The USA In 2000 It Was Named One Of The Songs Of The Century. 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 Many Other Hits Over The Next Decade As Connie Francis Became One Of The Most Popular Vocalists In The World. Francis Specialized In Downbeat Ballads 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 " Many Of Which Were Remakes Of Old Standards. However She Also Had Success With A Handful Of More Upbeat Rock-And-Roll-Oriented Compositions Such As "Stupid Cupid " "Lipstick On Your Collar " And "Vacation." Among Her 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 Identified With Frank Sinatra . Both "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" And "My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own" Went To No.1 On The Billboard Music Charts In 1960. In 1962 She Had Another No.1 Hit With "Don't Break The Heart That Loves You." Francis Recorded In Nine Languages During Her Career Including English Italian French Spanish German And Even Japanese And Remade Many Of Her Hits In Foreign Languages Including "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" And Her Signature Song "Where The Boys Are." In Fact Her Biggest Hit Album In The U.S. Was 1960's Italian Favorites And 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. "Where The Boys Are " One Of Many Neil Sedaka/Howard Greenfield Compositions Francis Recorded During Her Career others Included "Stupid Cupid" And "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" Gained Wide Exposure Through Its Inclusion In The 1960 Motion Picture With The Same Title. Francis Had A Role In The Film And Sang The Title Song. 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 Where She Played 28 Days A Year For Nine Years. In 1961 She Was Successful In Starring In Her Own Television Special On ABC Television Sponsored By Brylcreem Titled Kicking Sound Around Singing And Acting Along-Side Tab Hunter Eddie Foy Jr. And Art Carney. She 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 She Had 35 U.S. Top 40 Hits And Three Number Ones. Connie 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" And Made 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. 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. Her Son Joey Was Born In 1974. Tragedies Followed Soon After. In 1974 She Was Sexually Assaulted 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' Autobiography Who's Sorry Now? Was Published In 1984. Francis Was Diagnosed With Bipolar Disorder A Mental Disease Which Includes Severe Depressions And Manic Highs. She Uses The Drug Lithium To Balance Out The Emotional Highs And Lows Caused By The Disease. Connie Francis Resumed Her Career In 1989 After Discovering The Drug And Has Continued Singing And Recording Since Then. Francis Still Holds A World-Wide Appeal Shown Through Continued Music Sales And Sold-Out Appearances. 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 Of 2007 Francis Performed To A Sold-Out Crowd -- Composed Of Gay Urbanites And Conservative Suburbanites -- In San Francisco. The "little Diva" Belted Out Versions Of Her "woebegone Ballads . . . In Full Force " According To The San Franciso Chronicle's Music Critic. Connie's Fan Club Www.Conniefrancis.Com Read More On Last.Fm. User-Contributed Text Is Available Under The Creative Commons By-SA License Additional Terms May Apply.

50 Similar Tracks:

HOME CONNIE FRANCIS
POPULAR TRACKS MIXES ALBUMS
Video 1 : 50

Connie Francis - Top Tracks

Wishing It Was You
Views: 5.8M
Connie FrancisProvided To YouTube By Universal Music Group Wishing It Was You · Connie Francis The Ultimate Collection A Republic ...
Connie Francis Where The Boys AreConnie FrancisConnie Francis : Where The Boys Are : Souvenirs 1996 Where The Boys Are, Someone Waits For Me A Smilin' Face, A Warm ...
Connie Francis Never On A SundayConnie FrancisConnie Francis : Never On A Sunday : Souvenirs 1996 La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, ...
Everybody' S Somebody' S FoolConnie FrancisProvided To YouTube By Universal Music Group Everybody's Somebody's Fool · Connie Francis The Very Best Of Connie Francis ...
Frankie 1959 - CONNIE FRANCIS - LyricsConnie FrancisI Oldies Frankie 1959 - CONNIE FRANCIS - Lyrics Though You've Found A New Love, I Still Miss You So I Just Can't Forget You, ...
Connie Francis - Fallin
Views: 282.6K
Connie FrancisI Got The Feelin I'm Fallin' Like A Star Up In The Blue Like I Was Fallin' Off Niagara In A Paddle Boat Canoe I Got The Feelin' I'm A Fallin' ...
You' Re Gonna Miss Me
Views: 272.1K
Connie FrancisProvided To YouTube By Universal Music Group You're Gonna Miss Me · Connie Francis The Very Best Of Connie Francis ...
Guaglione
Views: 152.5K
Connie FrancisProvided To YouTube By Universal Music Group Guaglione · Connie Francis More Italian Favorites 1960 Universal Records, ...
Connie Francis Lipstick On Your CollarConnie FrancisLyrics Of "Lipstick On Your Collar" By Connie Francis: Verse 1 When You Left Me All Alone At The Record Hop Told Me You Were ...