Connie Francis

Connie Francis is the best female vocalist of all time. She was the top female vocalist of the late 50's and early 60's, amassing records sales equal to and surpass those of many of her male contemporaries. Connie Francis branched into big band, country, ethnic, and many many other styles of music. She has the knack of wrenching the emotions with her powerhouse voice. Connie's music, transcending any and all boundaries, is capable of taming the beast, soothing the wounded heart and lifting the fallen spirit. She uses her multifaceted talents to successfully perform concerts each year.

Concetta Rosemarie Franconero was born on a December 12 in Newark, New Jersey. Connie started performing as a child playing an accordion. Her ability to play an accordion was key for her being accepted on Startime, a New York City television show that featured talented children singers and performers. The show had no one else to play an accordion. After three weeks, producer George Scheck (and later her manager) told her to dump the accordion and concentrate on singing. Connie performed on Startime weekly for four years. After Startime, Connie made demo records for MGM. George Scheck later shuddered (as her manager and with Connie selling millions of records) that he almost at first didn't accept her.

Her aunt Marie was the first to mention how beautiful Connie's voice was and later Connie's fourth grade teacher, Ida Charles, said she never heard anyone sing so well and it was both of them that encouraged Connie to become a singer. Connie later provided an expenses-paid trip to Ida Charles to attend one of her shows.

However, her father's dream was not for his daughter to become a star but for Connie to become independent of men with her own accordion school of music. "You will never have to take orders from any man with your own accordion school," he said. Her mother added, "and become a spinster like Ingrid Bergman in The Bells of St. Mary, a shriveled-up old prune!" Connie laughs in her recent interview with WPEN. Connie never missed the accordion; no more aching back, and no more fingernails to break. She threw a party when her accordion was ruined in a basement flood.

Her dad, George Franconero, a roofing contractor in Newark, NJ, worked tirelessly on behalf of her career, but he was a typical overprotective Italian father who constantly intervened in her personal life. However, Connie's father was a musical genius, had a keen ear for music and knew what songs would work best for his daughter. George suggested [or told her to] that Connie sing Who's Sorry Now. Connie had recently accepted a premed scholarship at New York University and she was contemplating about bagging the career as a singer. Connie was reluctant to sing the early 20th Century song to say the least, "The kids will laugh me off American Bandstand." and, "When was that written?" Click here for image of Who's Sorry Now sheet music from 1923. [when the Pentium had vacuum tubes].

Connie Francis' key to her early success were a couple of things. She had Dick Clark of American Bandstand who was a tremendous influence for her. If Dick played a record, then it was a hit. He introduced her song Who's Sorry Now on January 1, 1958 saying, "Here is a new girl singer that is heading straight for the number one spot." The song climbed over the million mark in six months after its release. She also had talented people like Neil Sedaka and Howie Greenfield who wrote hit after hit for her. Many of these rock-n-roll songs made the top ten list and made her the most played on the radio in the early 1960s. She described it as a wonderful marriage for singer and songwriter. But she wouldn't have made if it wasn't for Dick Clark.

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Mama
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Where The Boys Are
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Who's Sorry Now
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