Connie Francis, the beloved pop icon of the 1950s and 1960s, whose iconic hit “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” propelled her to become the first female artist to claim the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960, has passed away at the age of 87. Her publicist, Ron Roberts, confirmed the heartbreaking news in a Facebook post on Thursday morning, July 17th, stating, “With a heavy heart and profound sadness, I must inform you of the passing of my dear friend Connie Francis last night. I am certain Connie would approve that her loyal fans are among the first to learn of this tragic news.”
At the time of publication, Roberts had yet to disclose the location of Francis' passing or the cause of her death, which came just two weeks after the singer informed her fans that she had been rushed to the intensive care unit of a Florida hospital, battling what she described as "excruciating pain." Earlier in March, Francis had shared with her fans that she was confined to a wheelchair due to a painful hip issue and was undergoing stem cell therapy for relief.
Francis retired from the music industry in 2018, following a storied career marked by a string of chart-topping hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her catalog included bubblegum pop tunes like “Pretty Little Baby” and “Stupid Cupid,” as well as tearjerker ballads such as “Where the Boys Are,” “Who’s Sorry Now,” and “Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You.”
After scoring her first No. 1 with “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,” Francis achieved another chart-topper with “My Mind Has a Heart Of Its Own” and a third with “Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You” in 1962. With her versatile, easy-on-the-ears voice and confident demeanor, Francis also amassed a number of top-five hits, including “My Happiness” and “Lipstick on Your Collar” in 1958, and “Where the Boys Are” in 1961. However, by the mid-1960s, her chart dominance began to decline as popular tastes shifted towards the uptempo rock of acts like The Beatles and other British invasion bands.
Born Concetta Franconero on December 12, 1937, in Newark, New Jersey, Francis sold over 40 million records and emerged as one of the most popular female singers in the United States, amassing 35 top-40 hits, including 16 top-10 singles and three No. 1s.
Though long retired from singing and acting, Francis was surprised earlier this year when her obscure 1962 song “Pretty Little Baby” went viral thanks to a TikTok trend. She admitted to hardly remembering the track, stating, “I had to listen to it to identify it,” she told Billboard, of the song that has inspired over three million TikTok videos to date. “Then, of course, I recognized the fact that I had done it in seven languages.”
Francis' journey began in pageants and variety shows like Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour and Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts in the mid-1950s, where she often played the accordion. After signing with MGM Records in 1955 and releasing a series of ten unsuccessful singles, Francis was on the brink of abandoning her showbiz dreams and heading to college. However, her father convinced her to record a cover of the 1923 ballad “Who’s Sorry Now,” a song she initially deemed too outdated for her. Though it initially seemed destined for chart obscurity, six months after Dick Clark played the track on his American Bandstand show in January 1958, the song sold one million copies, launching Francis into a career filled with hit singles in multiple languages, including Yiddish, Italian, and Irish, as well as a sideline acting career.
Despite her initial skepticism, “Who’s Sorry Now” became such an integral part of her identity that Francis chose it as the title of her 1984 memoir. “I had 18 flop records,” Francis said in an interview with UPI in 1996. “He wanted me to record a song written in 1923. I said, ‘Forget about it — the kids on American Bandstand would laugh me right off the show.’ He said, ‘If you don’t record this song, dummy, the only way you’ll get on American Bandstand is to sit on the TV.’"
Originating as the unseen vocal talent behind stars such as Tuesday Weld in the vibrant 1956 hit "Rock, Rock, Rock!" and Freda Holloway in the lively 1957 production "Jamboree," Francis emerged as a luminous star in her own right by the dawn of the 1960s, with her captivating role in the comedy "Where the Boys Are." This marked the beginning of a series of heartwarming sequel comedies and musicals that included "Follow the Boys," "Looking for Love," and the enchanting "When the Boys Meet the Girls" in 1965.
Emulating the trends of her era's stars, Francis broadened her predominantly teenage fan base by recording soul-stirring ballads that earned her spots in prestigious Las Vegas showrooms and glamorous New York nightclubs. However, her string of hits came to an end after her final top 40 chart-topping song, "Be Anything (But Be Mine)" in 1964, although she remained a highly sought-after live performer among older audiences.
In a heartfelt tribute, UMe's president and CEO, Bruce Resnikoff, stated, "From shattering barriers as the first female singer to claim the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960 to going viral on TikTok at the age of 87 with her enchanting tune 'Pretty Little Baby,' Connie Francis led an extraordinary life filled with remarkable milestones. She bestowed upon the world countless timeless melodies and inspired countless generations with her angelic voice, unwavering resilience, and pioneering spirit. While we are deeply grief-stricken by her passing, we find solace in knowing that she felt immense joy and fulfillment in her final months, as a fresh generation rediscovered her music and celebrated her enduring legacy."
Following her decline in chart success, Francis' life was marred by a succession of heart-wrenching events. In 1967, one of her closest friends was tragically strangled to death at her home, and that same year, a cosmetic surgery intended to refine her nose inadvertently hindered her singing abilities, particularly in Las Vegas' air-conditioned showrooms where audiences had to endure sweltering conditions when cooling systems were shut off during her performances. She subsequently underwent three corrective surgeries to reclaim her vocal prowess.
In 1974, the singer's life took a harrowing turn when she was brutally beaten and raped at knifepoint at a motel following a music festival in Westbury, New York. She subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Howard Johnson's motel chain for inadequate security and was awarded a substantial $2.5 million judgment. According to The New York Times, this vicious assault plunged Francis into an emotional turmoil marked by paranoia, suicidal depression, and substance abuse.
Her struggles persisted, culminating in her involuntary commitment to a mental hospital by her father in the early 1980s, where she was diagnosed with manic depression. Francis later contested this diagnosis, asserting that she had actually been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from the string of harrowing events in her life, including the sexual assault, the lingering effects of the cosmetic surgery on her voice, and the murder of her younger brother George in 1981.
