LOS ANGELES, California — Legendary pop singer Connie Francis died peacefully Wednesday at 87, her longtime friend and label president,
Ron Roberts, confirmed in a Facebook post
.
“it is with a heavy heart and extreme sadness that i inform you of the passing of my dear friend Connie Francis last night. I know that Connie would approve that her fans are among the first to learn of this sad news,” he wrote early morning Thursday.
On July 9, Roberts wrote a status update indicating that Francis was remaining under hospital care and undergoing tests
to determine the cause of her pain
.
Her cause of death has not been released.
“Connie Francis didn’t get a lot of respect during her heyday in the late 1950s and early 1960s because her brand of pop wasn’t considered hip or current during the early rock era,” said Michael Norman, cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer’s life and culture edior. “But fans loved her and her music. She had a big voice and an easygoing way about her, and she was a hit machine, putting 35 songs into the top 40, including No. 1 hits like “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” and “My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own.”
Francis’ career, which began in the late 1950s, earned 15 Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 records, including “Who’s Sorry Now?” and the chart-topping “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,” making her the most successful female solo artist of her era.
Francis experienced a late-life resurgence when her 1962 song “Pretty Little Baby” went viral on social media. The track unexpectedly climbed streaming charts and gained traction on TikTok. Videos featuring animals have become central to the song’s viral success.
In a
recent interview with People
, following her viral resurgence, Francis admitted surprise and delight at the song’s popularity.
“To tell you the truth, I didn’t even remember the song! I had to listen to it to remember,” she admitted. “To think that a song I recorded 63 years ago is touching the hearts of millions of people is truly awesome.”
Born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in Newark, New Jersey, Francis was raised in an Italian-American household where music played a central role.
She took accordion lessons and appeared on various talent shows before breaking into the recording industry. Her breakthrough came in 1958 with the release of “Who’s Sorry Now?” It became a surprise hit after Dick Clark featured it on American Bandstand.
She recorded in several languages, including German, Italian, Spanish and Hebrew, expanding her global reach.
“Connie Francis was (a) chart topping pioneer who achieved many professional triumphs while also enduring a series of personal and public tragedies,” Malcolm X Abram, music and entertainment reporter for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer said. “The recent revival of ‘Pretty Little Baby’ shows that her unique voice and style can still move people.”
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This story was created with assistance from AI.
