Today I'm going to review another one of my favorite artists who doesn't get much playtime anymore, although she is still around and still performing. That artist is Connie Francis. Growing up I had heard many of Francis' standards like Whose Sorry Now? and Together
. I also vaguely remember her appearing in films during the 60's, usually beach movies for the teenage crowd. When I rediscovered the "B4" music (see an earlier post for an explanation) my search naturally led me to Connie Francis as one of those artists.Connie Francis was born Italian-American Concetta Rosemarie Franconero on December 12, 1938 in Newark, NJ. Francis started her music career at three, playing an accordion bought for her by her contractor father, George. Her father's dream was not for his daughter to become a star, but for Francis to become independent of men as an adult with her own accordion school of music. At age ten, she was accepted on Startime, a New York City television show that featured talented child singers and performers. The show had no one else who played an accordion. Its host, legendary TV talent scout Arthur Godfrey, had difficulty pronouncing her name and suggested something "easy and Irish," which turned into Francis. After three weeks on Startime, the show's producer and Francis' would-be manager advised her to dump the accordion and concentrate on singing. Francis performed weekly on Startime for four years.
By 1957 Francis had had little professional success and was considering leaving the singing profession when by chance she was asked to record a 1923 song called Who's Sorry Now?
After a false start, she sang it in one take. When Dick Clark played Who's Sorry Now? on American Bandstand, he told the show's eight million viewers that Connie Francis was "a new girl singer that is heading straight for the number one spot.Who's Sorry Now?
was the first of Francis' long string of worldwide hits. By 1967, she had sold 35 million worldwide, with 35 U.S. Top 40 hits and several number ones (Everybody's Somebody's Fool
, My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own
, Don't Break the Heart That Loves You
, and Stupid Cupid
) to her credit. She still challenges Madonna as the biggest-selling female recording artist of all time which makes me very happy, since I've never bothered to acquire any music performed by this tasteless artist. 
Released in 1963, In the Summer of His Years
, written as a tribute to the assassinated John F. Kennedy, remains one of the earliest known charity records, with proceeds donated to dependents of the policemen shot during the incident. I just recently heard In the Summer of His Years and it is a very stirring song and one I have added to my library of music.Francis had an affinity for languages and was one of the first pop singers to record her songs in other languages; 1961's title song from the movie Where the Boys Are
was recorded in six languages. She starred in four (nondescript) films, sang voice-overs in movies for actresses who could not sing, and was a guest star on innumerable TV shows. Music critics who didn't take kindly to Francis' pop music years were eventually won over by her versatility. Her Italian and Jewish albums transformed Francis from a teenage idol to a mature performer at leading nightspots around the world. She has also had a long history being a composer's first choice to interpret songs that went on to become major hits for other artists, including Somewhere My Love
, Strangers in the Night, Angel in the Morning, and When Will the Apples Fall.Francis' personal life has been filled with much tragedy also. She has had several failed marriages and in fact had decided to retire to domestic life in 1969 with her third husband. Encouraged by her husband to return to the entertainment world in 1974, she was subsequently raped in the hotel where she was staying after only her third performance. This incident ultimately led to a divorce from her then husband. In 1975 she underwent nasal surgery that temporarily robbed her of her singing voice. She was on the comeback trail in 1981 when her brother, George, was brutally murdered. It took seven years to determine that through all of those events, she was also a manic depressive. She finally made her return to the stage and recording in 1989, and Connie Francis has continued to sing to sold-out audiences into the new millennium. She has recorded more than 70 LPs.
Okay, on to what this blog is about, the music. In my my never ending search for new "B4" music I have discovered countless Connie Francis songs that I never knew existed and that have also become some of my favorites. She is one of those artists I can just sit and listen to without losing interest after a while and switching to other artists for variety. I am a romantic at heart and one of my favorite Francis' songs is That's My Desire
. It would be great to slow dance to this number with your significant other. A sexy song by Francis is Love Eyes and I think this song holds up very well by contemporary standards. She is the only artist so far that I have found that has performed Melancholy Serenade
. You may remember the instrumental version of this song by the Jackie Gleason orchestra for the TV show The Honeymooners. I love both the slower and faster versions of Lock Up Your Heart. 
Other greats that I often return to are You Are My Special Angel, Be Anything
, I'll Close My Eyes, It's The Talk Of The Town and No One
. A couple of songs that I really enjoy and that might be considered more pop oriented are Roundabout and It's A Different World. I could go on and on. Francis' catalog of music is wide and deep and I find new discoveries all the time. Here are some other of my favorite artists performing That's My Desire:
