Dataloungers, please educate me on Connie Francis

She was raped.

Love her. Magnificent voice and bloody hell, she should be in the Rock'n Roll Hall of Fame.

R1, Repeatedly, by a BBC who was never found.

She is magnificent and the biggest female vocalist of the 50s and 60s, and one of the biggest of all time. Recorded in 14 languages. Biggest female concert draw of the 60s. Her best recordings are on LPs. Check out Born Free on youtube, Impossible Dream, I Will Wait For Youj...too many to mention. She does not like her hits materials, except for Mama, but that is what made her money and fame. The hit Where the Boys Are is a stellar vocal performance, as well. She hates her movies, but her first, Where The Boys Are, was a gigantic hit and listed as one of the top ten teen movies of all time. Manyuawards and accolades for this singer. She was the first in doing many things. She was the first to control her own career and the first female producer and executive producer, the first female to have a rock and roll million seller, the first female to have a #1 on the Hit 100 Billboard chars, and the first female to have back to back number 1s to name a few. She also is responsible for Spring Break, Victims Rights Laws, improved hotel security laws, and has backed vets and mental health victims. I can go on and on.

She was raped at the Howard Johnson Motor Lodge a block away from my elementary school.

She enjoyed the portions at HoJo's room service.

"Where the Boys Are" made me realize (aged 8 or 9) that I was far more interestested in George Hamilton. Yvette Mimieux and Paula Prentiss could go fuck themselves, because I wasn't gonna do it.

She's a survivor, albeit a has-been. No one listens to her nowadays unless they're over 80. For all of her record sales and accolades, she has no iconic songs that people continue to perform or do cover versions of.

I LOVED “Where the Boys Are,” greatest song, just OK film. Funny R7 I fell in love with Paula Prentiss - loved her forever.

Love her. She has many, many great songs. The problem for her was that her zenith (1958-1963) ended by the British Invasion and was then considered uncool by the late 1960s Rolling Stone bros who think that every dump The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin or black girl groups took was genius.

The only reason she isn't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is because she is white, female and considered square. 50+ years later, she is still one of the most successful female artists of the Rock era. Brenda Lee is in. Bobby Darin is in. The Ronettes, The Shirelles and Martha and the Vandellas are in. She was bigger than all of them.

I also wonder if the reason she's even a bit absent from gay culture is because we lost so many of the boys who grew up listening to her. I mean, she has some seriously fabulously gay and campy songs. Even for just "Where the Boys Are" and "Follow the Boys" she should have been a gay bar and drag queen staple...but, at least in my world, she was not.

Connie was once responsible for Dame Shirley Bassey barely batting an eyelash.

Plenty of white women in the rock hall. As for running her own career, her father ran it during her glory years and he had her recording old standards. She's really a washedup old dame. i feel badly for her about the rape and her travails with being bipolar, but she's ancient and a has been. Sadly, she spent many years just being a mess, not accepting her psychiatric problems and that probably robber her of a better run as an oldies act.

R10 I agree. She did have a good amount of gay tributes. There have been CF look a like contests and there is a Philly CF impersonator popular in the gay neighborhoods as well as the straight. She has performed for charities in gay clubs while appearing in AC and SF. But I agree with your statements in general. Connie is the queen! During the 90s and early 200s, she had top notch contracts in AC and LV and the act was nothing of am oldies act. There were special shows for the high rollers, as well. You could not get into the showrooms. That is how packed they were. For one show, th eline went along the Boardwalk and it was a chilly day. Connie's dad was handing out coffee to people witing in line.

R8. Not so. There is a station on the radio that has a CF hour several times a week. Where The Boys Are is one of the most iconic songs of the 60s and has been covered by many including Gloria Estefan, Arianna Grande, to name a few - and not well I might add. It has been sung several times on American Idol and The Voice, as has Stupid Cupid. Others wanted to sing Who's Sorry Now, but she would not license it to the show. Everybody's Somebody's Fool, My Heart Has A Mind of Its Own, and My Happiness, to name a few have been covered by Debbie Boone and Marie Osmond, and many well-known country females. Marie Osmond must have recorded nearly the entire CF song book! The Czars did a beautiful covrer of the movie version of Where The boys Are, a softer version than the million seller version.

R14 The radio station is Baltimore Net Radio, but there is also another one called Legends Radio and they feature her regularly. She is one of the most popular ones on these stations.

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but without trashing or denial of the success of the artist. The facts show that Connie is one of th emost successful of all time. She is placed 12th, but should be among the top 5 if her pre-Hot Billboard hits are counted. Ever artist has his/her detractors, but some can be vey nasty. She has maintained that status even without recording for many years. Not so bad, I should say!

[quote]It has been sung several times on American Idol and The Voice, as has Stupid Cupid. Others wanted to sing Who's Sorry Now, but she would not license it to the show.

How would she have any say in who sang that song? It was written in 1923 and the only thing she had to do with it was record a cover version many years later.

R17 She and Universal. She owns a good deal of her material.

Most of her material was published and re-issued by her own publishing companies, one of which was Francon Music.

She and her engineers are now working on the CD release of her last MGM LP, CF sings The Songs Of Les Reed. Les Reed conducted and arranged. Les consideres the recordings some of the very best versions of his songs and he is prodding Connie to release it

Mary Sarah did a fine job of covering Where The Boys Are on The Voice, and that is the song that got her chosen.

LeeeAnn Rimes also covered Where The Boys Are and Cyndi Lauper covered Lipstick On Your Collar.

[quote]The only reason she isn't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is because she is white, female and considered square.

Also, she didn't sing anything remotely resembling rock and roll. She is pre-rock. There's nothing wrong with that and I think she deserves more respect myself, but her musical era has been over for a long time and it can't be brought back. Just listen to a song like "Stupid Cupid" (Neil Sedaka at his worst) - she sings it beautifully but in an era of hip-hop and EDM, nothing can make a song like that sound relevant ever again. It's like something in a museum. The world has changed too much.

Neil also wrote Fallin' for her, far superior to Stupid Cupid. A great song. Neil and Howie Greenfield were straight out of Julliard at the time and raked in the money with Stupid Cupid. He credits Connie for his success and of course, soon went on his own. He wrote Where The Boys Are with Greenfield and Keller. Howie and Keller were responsible for several of her hits without Neil.

OP As for her movies, the only one worth watching IMO is Where The Boys Are. It is a classic, although many of the verbiage is outdated. It was considered a bit racy in those days, but very timid today. She does a fine job of singing, of course, and the ELbo Room is iconic in Florida and still has the chair she sat in and her photo on the wall. The pavement in Ft. Lauderdale has her name imprinted as she and the movie was responsible for putting the city on the may and popularizing Spring Break. It contained many fine stars at the start of their careers. Dolores Hart went on to be cloistered nun and is now the Mother Superior of the Abbey Regina Laudis in Conn. She and Connie remain friends. Paula Prentiss made her acting debut. Frank Gorshin was Connie's boyfriend in the movie. As for the other movies, Connie has never liked them. To Follow The Boys, she stated, or I should say she stated that the press stated, "What could be said about a movie in which the ship gives the best performance." It has beautiful scenery of the Italian Riviera, nevertheless, and Connie's vocals were superb. Looking For Love had great music. When The Boys Meet The Girls was the worst of them. She did a made for TV movie for Bob Hope, The Sister and The Savage. The music was great,, but the movie was banal.

OP As for hidden jewels, there are many. Some are Born Free, The Impossible Dream, I Will Wait For You, Al Jolsen Medley, The LP Songs To A Swinging Band, Time After Time, The entire LP called Love Italian Style, The LP Connie at the Copa, and the LP A New Kind of Connie (people did not want a new kind of Connie, but the LP is great) , etc., etc., etc. For the LP A New Kind Of Connie, Jimmy McHugh wrote for her I Found Myself A Guy. If you can find the piano version w/o any other backing, it is terrific. She sang this on Ed Sullivan when she was with Sinatra on the show.

I liked Looking For Love. It also had Johnny Carson in it.

Stupid Cupid is a signature song from her and is quite stupid.

Stupid Cupid is not her signature song. That would be Who's Sorry Now, Where The Boys Are, and Mama. Stupid Cupid was the first rock and roll song to sell a million by a female. Lipstick On Your Collar is a better song written by a Philly song writer named George Goehring and the prolific Edna Lewis. It is noted for its great and difficult guitar bridge attributed to George Barns. George noted that Connie changed his life when she said "I'll take that one.:. It was her first double sided million seller.

BTW Patsy Cline covered Stupid Cupid.

R30 as did Mandy Moore.

R29 and Wanda Jackson.

I grew up in Essex Fells, NJ (moved to college in 80s but parents remained there). Connie Francis lived one street over from my house. This was after the Hojo attack/rape. She was often seen in the area and at local restaurants and other normal places. Everyone thought she was a little off balance in her mind, but it was all understood by what she went through, most likely on high doses of Xanax or similar. Always nice to people but just a little sad in a way. She was there for many years and was like any suburban Italian housefrau. Neighbors who knew her said she was an excellent Italian cook and baker and loved animals....no scandal to report. Her brother was a mob attorney and lived in the next town over (N. Caldwell) and was gunned down in front of his home, this also affected her deeply. I remember a friend of mine worked at the company who leased him is Cadillac and was tasked to pick up the car from police impound after the investigation was completed.

R33 I knew the daughter of her next door neighbor. The father was an ambassador and the family actually shared part of her last name. She was a great neighbor I was told and really was friendly, but most were in awe of her. She was, however, greatly affected by her attack and the publicity it got and she was withdrawn at times. She and her parents would throw outside food parties for the neighborhood on weekends during the summer. The neighborhood was elite and Connie built her mansion in 1963 with an Olympic size pool and 10 cabanas. It is now up for sale again.

During her dark reclusive period, she managed to formulate The Victims Rights Laws and got them passed with the help of Reagan and a police commissioner in Florida where she also owned a house. She changed hotel security laws, as well. She did much for the veterans and now for mental health patients. She contributed greatly to society outside of her musical career. The Vietnam vets have never forgotten her for what she did for them. A great woman!

Connie is mental

R36 Connie may have her problems, but she has overcome much and functions well today. She is a very bright woman who has accomplished much in her career and much to change society for the better. She is the first to say that she has had psychiatric problems, and has been off medication since 1993 with the help of a famous psychiatrist and psychologist. She is now helping the mentally ill and has been a major force in the new emphasis of PTSD in the DSM-5. She was misdiagnosed as bipolar and the medication set her back as it was not the appropriate medication for her.

[quote] Connie built her mansion in 1963 with an Olympic size pool and 10 cabanas. It is now up for sale again.

Link to house sale?

Connie Francis Essex Fells house for sale; She also had a house in Bel Air which was sold to Quincy Jones. She now lives in a gated community in Pampano Beach, Fl, and has a condo in Palm Beach. She also lived in Dallas for a brief time and the house and her fancy maid were featured in People Magazine The maid stated that it was nice to work for real live star dust.

Just think, Connie used this bathroom.

R33 here. I grew up in Essex Fells close to Connie's house and moved away after college, but my parents are finally moving elsewhere because property taxes are around $25k a year. I will miss visiting, but it is no place for a retired couple to be. Essex County NJ.

I'm sure she's a nice person, but she has no relevance to today. Her songs were novelty numbers and dippy ballads and the suggestion that she be in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame is ludicrous. Older people have always liked her because she always seemed old and "establishment." If anyone covers any of the songs she did, it's only because the song desperately needed a modern refresh.

If anyone covers any of the songs she did, it's only because the song desperately needed a modern refresh.

Excuses. Gloria Estefan sang tributes to her, as did others. If anything, the artists sang the covers badly with the exception of the Czars and several country artists.

Connie grew up in Essex County. First in Newark, then Belleville where she graduated from high school in 1955. The auditorium is now “Connie Francis Theatre." The corner of Greylock Parkway and Forest Street is "Connie Francis Court." Family moved to Bloomfield and later upscale Essex Fells.

I love that Datalounge has a resident Connie Francis Historian. And a Neil Sedaka Fan Club President. And an Olivia Newton John Fan Club President.

It's like traipsing into a time capsule.

R39 the circular driveway is so convenient.

[quote]Just think, Connie used this bathroom.

REALTOR: "You can still smell the sulfur fumes."

If you like her, you'll LOVE Connie Franklin!

Concetta Franconero - a true 50s Jersey girl success story. A clear true natural voice with great expression. Started out in neighborhood shows and 50s TV talent shows like Arthur Godfrey's, who told her to change her name to Connie Francis. Career controlled by her domineering father George, who managed to secure a record contract for her with MGM that was just about to expire when he had her record "Who's Sorry Now" which became a big hit. Fell in love with a young upstart NY songwriter, Walden Robert Cassotto, later known as Bobby Darin. Wanted to marry however her father pulled a gun on him and threatened to kill him and that ended that. He married Sandra Dee shortly after that, breaking Connie's heart.

Connie was pretty, but short; always cast in her movies as the "funny friend" type, with goofy boyfriends like Frank Gorshin. However those early 60s movies provided a vehicle for her singing, including her greatest hit, WHERE THE BOYS ARE. She also put out a slew of singles for Top 40 radio. As her career began to slid in the early 70s, she went to Europe and recorded her songs in nine languages which she had to learn phonetically, except Italian. This increased her fan base and popularity overseas enormously.

The terrifying rape occurred in 1974; she later won a $2.4 million judgment, and became one of the first well known females to be an outspoken advocate for rape victims. Tragedy continued to follow her: her brother, a mob lawyer, was killed by the Mafia; four failed marriages, no kids; financial troubles and the eventual diagnosis of manic depression and hospitalization.

She has always maintained a fairly loyal fan base and is admired for her ability to survive unhappiness, trauma, illness and tragedy. Gloria Estefan apparently wrote a screenplay of her life and wanted to star in it, but they argued over the script and it eventually fell through. She is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, although she should be. And there should be either a Broadway musical or decent biopic of her life. She did not have the film career of a Judy Garland, but like Judy, her singing chops and emotional delivery place her in a category of her own.

"Also, she didn't sing anything remotely resembling rock and roll. She is pre-rock."

Not true, songs like "Lipstick on Your Collar" were considered rock at the time.

[quote]like "Lipstick on Your Collar" were considered rock at the time.

In the sense that Pat Boone was considered rock at the time.

R49 Great account. One issue. She started to record in multiple languages at the height of her fame, starting with Everybody's Somebody's Fool which became a #1 in the USA and a huge hit in Germany. From then on, singles were recorded in multiple languages. In addition to Godfrey, she stared on NYC's Startime Kids from age 12 to 15 and the producer George Schech, father of famed DNA specialist Barry Schech, became her manager. Stupid Cupid was considered the first rock and roll million seller by a female artist. She was the first female to have a #1 on the Hot 100 Billboard charts and the first to have back to back #1s. The Italian Favorites LP was at the top of the charts for several weeks and on the charts for over 80 weeks. and the performances on that LP opened up prestigious venues for her rather than the usual pop venues. She is a survivor with a stellar career. She and he father were quite business savvy and operated publishing companies for increased royalties over the years, etc.

And she's still a has-been with no relevance for modern audiences. Dramatic life but insipid songs. Saying "Where the Boys Are" is her biggest song is proof positive. It's just NOT a great song no matter how many singles it sold. Just like she's not a relevant artist just because she sold a lot of singles at a time when people were still buying singles.

The anti-Connie Francis loon needs to be slapped viciously and then put on a rocket to the sun.

R54 I agree. BTW Where The Boys Are is not her biggest song. It is a great song, however, despite not being her biggest. The beginning and middle notes are fantastic and most who cover it cannot handle those notes.

I don't know what you mean by "biggest," however I submit that WHERE THE BOYS ARE is her best known song and the one that will be included in the first line of her obituary.

There are some, including Frankie Avalon, who claim that she has exaggerated her relationship with Bobby Darin and that they were not planning to elope. But who can say? I think they would have made a better couple than him and Sandra Dee - and I love Sandra Dee!

"Just like she's not a relevant artist just because she sold a lot of singles at a time when people were still buying singles."

But she sold a lot of singles even compared to other artists at the time - and did so when it was much harder for female artists to succeed.

[quote] There are some, including Frankie Avalon, who claim that she has exaggerated her relationship with Bobby Darin and that they were not planning to elope

Where did Frankie say this? Link?

By the way, the "Frankie" she sang about was Frankie Avalon.

R58 Frankie Avalon might have said this. I don't know. I did read something of the sort somewhere. However, when she was profiled on 20/30 and A & E's Biography, her concert conductor and arranger from the late 50s and early 60s, Joe Mele, spoke about the romance and how he had to intervene against Connie's father. Bobby;s son has also spoken about it, and there are several love letters from Bobby to Connie that was possessed by some third party and then recently given to Connie. The romance was real, the elopement, I am not sure of. Perhaps, they spoke about it and decided against it due to her father.

BTW Bobby wrote a song for her before Who's Sorry Now. It was called My First Real Love, and Bobby sang backup billed as the Blue Jays. It was not a good song. Neither had made it at the time. There are two duets from the Ed Sullivan Show on youtube. It was said that Connie's father was having a fit back stage. Ed spoke about the former romance between the two of them.

[quote]Others wanted to sing Who's Sorry Now, but she would not license it to the show.

She does not own "Who's Sorry Now". Anyone can record it.

[quote]Where The Boys Are is one of the most iconic songs of the 60s and has been covered by many including Gloria Estefan, Arianna Grande

They did not record "Where The Boys Are". No one important has.

Connie Francis was a total joke among young people by the mid 60s.

People were listening to Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, Petula Clark, Diana Ross, Streisand, etc.

Connie Francis was for people who liked Lawrence Welk. Who liked the Lennon Sisters.

And she's always had a following among some old east coast Italian- Americans.

But she's been off the cultural map since 1964. Her singing style aged horribly.

[quote]And she's still a has-been with no relevance for modern audiences. Dramatic life but insipid songs. Saying "Where the Boys Are" is her biggest song is proof positive. It's just NOT a great song no matter how many singles it sold.

Neil Sedaka wrote a bunch of mega-hit songs in the early 1960s of which "Where the Boys Are" was just one: "Oh! Carol", "Calendar Girl", "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" ....etc.

Like "Where The Boys Are", they're songs of their time. They dated quickly. They were considered old-fashioned by the time the Beatles hit. They were never recorded by other singers.

The only song of his from that era that had lasting power is ""Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" .

He did later go on to write some terrific pop songs, but his early 60s stuff dated badly. And that includes "Where The Boys Are". It might be enjoyable today as a kitschy nostalgic piece but you're not going to find it on any list of the great pop songs of the 1960s.

At the turn of the 21st Century, the record industry compiled the best hit songs of the 20th Century. Connie had 2 listed, as did most top artists. Hers were Who's Sorry Now and Que Sera Sear which was a big hit for her in Europe and Asia. Sedaka also wrote Fallin' for Connie, one of his best, Stupid Cupid, and Frankie. He wrote these as part of the team Sedaka, Greenfield, and Keller. Howie Greenfield and Keller also wrote hits for her without Sedaka. Connie recorded Phil Spector's first million seller, Second Hand Love. Some of Sedaka's better songs are Solitaire and a little known song, Going Nowhere. He also wrote a great one for Connie which she did as a demo, but never released. It is called The World I Threw Away. Big mistake not releasing it. Don Black also wrote the English lyrics of If I Never Sing Another Song which he write as a chronical of her life. She closed every concert with it, and has it on record as a live recording. However, despite WPEN begging her to record it in the studio, she never did. Don wrote other songs for her. Her best recordings are not her hits with a few exceptions, but are found on her LPs.

RNR HOF

Thanks, R63, I never heard that song before.

The idea that this lounge singer should be in the RNR HOF is ludicrous.

I think Connie is a charter member of the Easy Listening Hall of Fame, based in Salina, Kansas.

Connie has also been inducted into the "Cheez-Whiz Music Hall of Fame."

All I know is that she gave one of the worst performances I have ever seen (which I came across in the LAST Connie Francis thread).

R65 Thanks for finding this. It was on youtube, but it was taken down. This is a demo. Sedaka is playing the piano. She never released it. She is far from a lounge singer. One of the best female vocalists.

R69 I agree that this was a disastrous performance. She should never have gone through with the London Palladium performances. She was not in good shape mentally and physically. She was on Lithium and manipulating it. She should not have been on that medication and it was removed in 1993 with positive results. The Palladium re-decorated the stage for her and it was a big event. There were 4 performances, I believe with high ticket prices and all were sell outs. It was not a good period of her life.

Once again, Connie has been slighted by the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame nominations. When will this injustice ever end?

R72 You are correct and many agree. I recall when the Hall was first formed in the early 80s, the djs automatically thought that she would be among the first to enter. The head of the committee has never nominated her and so, she never had the chance. You must be nominated first to have a chance.

[quote]At the turn of the 21st Century, the record industry compiled the best hit songs of the 20th Century.

More made up nonsense? Link please.

R65 Well, you can understand why THAT was shelved...

Cheeseball

Which "djs" thought Connie Francis, of all people, would be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame?

R74 302 Connie Francis Who's Sorry Now. She and Bing Crosby were also voted as Entertainers Of The Century for Expo 69.

R77..Many throughout the country......and they still wonder why she has not been inducted. I recall then speculating as to who the first inductees will be and she was almost always on the list.

Yes. I forgot about the Expo 69 Entertainers Of The Century. At the time, she had been the top female in Las Vegas since 1960.

Oh, well if the Expo '69 claimed she was one of the Entertainers of the Century, who are we to quibble? Aside from the fact that events like that are based on availability and how much the performers are willing to settle for. Believe me, if Sinatra and Streisand had been remotely interested, Connie would never have been selected. Having worked in events management, I can tell you that's how show biz works. And being Queen of Las Vegas since 1960 (in your judgment) hardly lends credibility to the claim that she belongs in the Hall of Fame.

And aside from your coterie of six close friends, the last remaining survivors of Akron's Connie Francis Forever Fan Club, no one has ever wondered why she is not in the Hall of Fame. The answer is obvious.

Pretty ridiculous to crown entertainers of the century with 31 years to go

She nowhere to be seen on RollingStones 500 best list.

*She's nowhere to be seen ...

[quote]Connie Francis Who's Sorry Now.

It was a cover of an old chestnut. It's not her song.

Here's a much better version. Recorded in the 1950s... but the delivery and orchestrations on this one are timeless.

[quote] no one has ever wondered why she is not in the Hall of Fame.

EVERYONE has wondered. It's been very controversial.

Connie's most impressive feat was selling more wax cylinder recordings than any other artist in the late 1880s! And to this day, she remains the popular artist with centenarians!

Thanks, R86, for that link. Totally agree that it's ridiculous that Pat Benatar and Carly Simon are not in the Hall of Fame. Rockers, the both of them. Connie Francis, not so much. Even in the write-up she's given there, her "claim to fame" is that she sold a lot of records in an era when people bought a lot of singles. Not that she deserved it for her songs or performances, which can only be described as "easy listening." Should Perry Como be in the Hall of Fame too?

R82, especially when both of their careers had seen much better days. Crosby died in 1973, about the same time that Francis's fame did the same.

[quote]Pretty ridiculous to crown entertainers of the century with 31 years to go

Kind of like when Harry Thaw's murder of Stanford White was the "Crime of the Century" in 1906.

Just google CF not in the RRHF. More people agreeing that she should be in and surprised that she is not than those who disagree - not that the RRHF is anything great.

[quote]More people agreeing that she should be in and surprised that she is not than those who disagree

Most of those agreeing are probably old people.

At least most of those pioneers were able to keep their name alive through the decades.

With the exception of her niche market of fans, Connie Francis became a has been with general public pretty quickly. That's why her fans have to remind us constantly of HOW MANY RECORDS SHE SOLD. No one else gives a shit.

No one has to sell us Dusty Springfield or Dionne Warwick or Barbra Streisand or Diana Ross or Cher.

Of no relevance today?

In this #MeToo era a Connie Francis biopic would be a stroke of genius.

Wait until you discover Teddi King, Lena Horne, Blossom Dearie, Sylvia Syms, Sandy Stewart, Keely Smith, just to name a few. A world of wonder awaits you, OP....dive in!

Her fan base was perfectly illustrated by the trailer park mother of Fairuza Balk in The Craft

Which one of you bitches made this video?

R92 Are you the same troll who trashes every artist on this board? No matter what artist I go to on this board, there is a severe trasher of that artist!

R83 and R72 The RRHF and The Rolling Stone are run by the same individual. If he has something against you, he overlooks you. If he likes you, you get in. regardless of accomplishments. The Hall is a SHAM SHAME.

"Should Perry Como be in the Hall of Fame too?"

His music was never considered rock 'n' roll, not by anyone.

[quote]I agree that this was a disastrous performance. She should never have gone through with the London Palladium performances.

Apparently who ever manages her thinks it's good....good enough to package and sell.

Name any other performer who would embarrass themselves by making something like this available to the public...

R100 She did not want it sold. The Palladium sold it to make up for the loss when she cut 3 shows short and they had to refund money. She and her manager tried to keep it off of the market. She herself says that she was terrible at that performance. She went on TV the next morning in the UK to try to explain herself, but the tabloids went out of control.

I liked her grand entrance in R69's video!

[quote]She did not want it sold. The Palladium sold it to make up for the loss when she cut 3 shows short and they had to refund money. She and her manager tried to keep it off of the market.

Oh the never ending woes of Connie Francis.

Here's the only other concert of hers that's available. Click to 6:42 of the video for her rendition of the Jule Styne/Frank Loesser classic "I Don't Want to Walk Without You".

And so what's the excuse here?

R103 Don't like the song at all for her. Her recorded version got lots of play on the adult AM radio WPEN and while it was fine, I still did not like it. She should have left it out of all of her concerts. The above concert was featured on A & E's Diamond Showcase. She was one of several to be featured in concert. In the audience were Loni Anderson, Richard Simmons, and Wayne Newton, among others. I have been looking for her unusual version of Bridge Under Troubled Waters which she did live on the Johnny Carson Show. It was very unusual and artistic for her. The long-spoken about duet with Boy George has never been posted anywhere. It was spontaneous as I understand, when the two met . She messed around with her hits and did a medley that was never to be released. However, her European record associate did release it and it became huge in Europe. It was called Jive Connie Jive. This sort of forced her to tour Europe at a time she was not up to it, the very early 90s. It continues to be a highly played party song. It was followed by Go Connie Go, also a great success. She stated that she would never release these in the US as she wa s playing around in the studio with the engineers.

This is the Connie I love. I wish they had not removed her live Sullivan performance of The Impossible Dream which was performed the night before she left for Vietnam in 1967.

Is R104 a parody post? I mean, having Loni, Richard and Wayne at your concert is considered a rousing endorsement?

R106 Not at all. It was a nice overall performance, but Walk should have been omitted. This was a time (late 80s to early 90s) that she was struggling, with her mental illness and meds. However, this was a nice performance which was broadcast on A & E's Diamond Showcase. I saw her three times in AC in the early 90s. Two concerts were good, and the other, she appeared very tired. This was the time of the Persian Gulf War. All three concerts were mobbed. Trump and Marla were present behind us.

[quote] This was the time of the Persian Gulf War. All three concerts were mobbed.

WTF? You saying people flock to Connie Francis concerts during war time?

R106 The presence of those stars was just a side note. Connie knew Wayne before he made it as Wayne and Bobby Darin met each other through her. Wayne thiought the world of Bobby, as he does Connie and Connie turned down Danke Schoen and suggested Wayne for the song and, of course, it was his first hit.

R198 Stop being funny! It is just information. Her ocncerts were always mobbed no matter what was happening and what was happening had nothing to do with it.

The why was it even mentioned? Total non sequitur.

She was an extremely successful talented singer who's had a very tragic life. I'm really surprised she's still alive. She really has been through hell and back.

R86 I didn't realize that Carly Simon isn't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Connie Francis is a boozehound singing other people's songs at a Ramada Inn on an access road compared to Carly Simon, who wrote some really great songs.

R105 LOL. That is like something from a religion qualifying round for a Miss America pageant.

She looks so frumpy in that clip. And has no star power.

[quote] Connie Francis is a boozehound singing other people's songs at a Ramada Inn on an access road compared to Carly Simon, who wrote some really great songs.

Interesting that you said Ramada Inn instead of another hotel chain.

R115 "Never sing where you get big black cock from room service." -- Miss Connie Francis

R114. That is hilarious! She has no star power? She was a mega star at the time! Your humor is obnoxious.

[quote]This is the Connie I love. I wish they had not removed her live Sullivan performance of The Impossible Dream which was performed the night before she left for Vietnam in 1967.

Which side was she fighting for?

Let me tell ya about Connie... *sparks a Virginia Slim Ultra Menthol Deluxe 100* heghhhhhhhhhh* cough*cough*cough*

Between that mouth and that cooter rests a beautifully tortured angel a slaggy corrupted child of god who knows just how many knuckles to insert for nirvana.

[quote]Not at all. It was a nice overall performance, but Walk should have been omitted.

That concert at R103 might be fine for die-hard Connie Francis fans and their low standards, but for anyone else with a modicum of taste it's pretty awful.

I can't imagine any of the great singers of the 1960s allowing themselves to be performing in such a sorry state. She's not even all that old there.

[quote]This is the Connie I love.

That clip at R105 is why she quickly became a joke to young people.

[quote]In the audience were Loni Anderson, Richard Simmons, and Wayne Newton, among others.

LOL.

Dick Cinnamon luvs Connie!

Connie was arrested for loitering. In front of an orchestra.

Connie Francis has found Datalounge. That's the only explanation. It's impossible for me to believe such a raging has-been would have such ardent defenders, even here, so it's got to be her constantly rehashing the "high points" of her career. Of course, I doubt she knows her way around a keyboard so she probably dictates her responses to a bored, part-time home health aide.

R124 You underestimate how many men with shockingly bad taste, who were teens in the '50s or '60s, populate Datalounge.

I actually love reading their stories. Even when I don't agree with them, their posts are full of fascinating information.

I was born in 1991 and I love Connie, you cunts! And I also happen to be a classically trained musician, so I have rather good taste in music. There's just something about Connie's music and her interpretations that's so dreamy. Lots of you are complaining how dated her songs sound, but for me the fact that her music couldn't sound more 1960s is just an extra plus. I'm a big fan of that late-period traditional pop sound.

For me Connie is right up there with Lili Boulanger, Lucija Garuta and Nina Simone, as the greatest female musician of the 20th century.

R126 For me Connie is right up there with Lili Boulanger, Lucija Garuta and Nina Simone, as the greatest female musician of the 20th century.

Very sad what happened to her,it obviously affected her for the rest of her life.An Howard Johnsons 3 million dollar award can't begin to cover the damage done. Elvis loved her.....an is said tohave cried after he heard her rendition of "Mama".....

The King loved it so much he sent her yellow roses continiously for months. My favorite Connie story is she stood up to mob and refused their favors early in her career.....

Based on this debate, I'd say Connie definitely deserves a mention in that recent "Most Polarazing Gay Icons" thread we had a few days ago.

R127 Learn how to quote properly, you idiot!

So she's lost her voice as grew older - big deal. The same thing happened to countless of other famous musicians, like Maria Callas. Does that make Callas (or Connie, for that matter) any less of a legend?! It will be Connie's early records, made when her beautiful voice was at its peak, that will go down in history.

LOL, R81!

[quote]It will be Connie's early records, made when her beautiful voice was at its peak, that will go down in history.

Ah yes... will go down in history....right up there with Nina Simone, as the greatest female musician of the 20th century.

This thread is the most hilarious DL gem I’ve enjoyed in a long time!

This debate is becoming a bit silly. Here's how an objective observer sees it:

Connie stans are correct when they claim Connie was one of the most popular artists of her era and while I'm not her fan I can totally see why they enjoy her music so music - it is perfect escapist music and the arrangments of her songs are very pleasant to the ear.

But Connie haters are also correct when they claim she's almost completely forgotten today and that her music bears little to no artistic value.

So can you people get off this thread now and start doing something more productive with your lives?

Was she the one who married Eddie Fisher after Liz dumped him?

LOL, R135!

I just joined DL and I am shocked at the disgraceful and juvenile comments and jokes on the board within this topics and for many of the other very popular artists. I can only conclude that there are juveniles on DL that love to joke about artist's tragedies and make negative comments where they do not belong, not just with respect to Connie, but for all of the artist.

[quote]I can only conclude that there are juveniles on DL that love to joke about artist's tragedies and make negative comments where they do not belong, not just with respect to Connie, but for all of the artist.

You've wandered on to the wrong board, Miss Prissy Thing.

Connie Francis is also notorious among game-show afficianados as one of the all-time worst players on “Pyramid”. Allegedly she was so bad that her friend Dick Clark never invited her back to spare her further embarrassment.

I read about that, R139. I wish I could find a video of it.

But to be fair, she did an excellent job on Password.

So the Mob killed Connie's brother for snitching...???wow

[quote]For me Connie is right up there with Lili Boulanger, Lucija Garuta and Nina Simone, as the greatest female musician of the 20th century.

And you also have to consider the fact that none of those others were ever invited to appear on "Password"!

If Connie getting into the RRHoF would keep madaboutyou and a few others quiet then I'm all for it.

Francis doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame just because she sold records. Big fucking deal. She doesn't belong because she was not a rock artist. But if there is a Muzak Hall of Fame somewhere, she's a shoo-in. And if there's a Hell, then "Mama" is played on repeat.

R132 My GOD! She was so frumpy. Who was her dress designer? Sears?

[quote]And if there's a Hell, then "Mama" is played on repeat.

And the Connie troll keeps repeating over and over that her rendition of "Mama" MADE ELVIS CRY.

Well good for Elvis, but it made the rest of us nauseous.

Agreed to a point, R143, but the factoids and theories that madaboutyou and the other Connie Francis stans keep providing are unintentionally hilarious, as are some of the response posts on these threads! DL at its best! After all, where else would we learn that Connie Francis played to an appreciative audience that included Loni Anderson, Wayne Newton, and Richard Simmons? Or that she was named Emtertainer of the Century — in 1969?

[quote]her rendition of "Mama" MADE ELVIS CRY.

It makes me want to cry, too.

ENTERTAINER, not Emtertainer —sorry! I’ll “Oh, Dear” myself!

"I have been looking for her unusual version of Bridge Under Troubled Waters which she did live on the Johnny Carson Show."

Leave it to one of the great song stylists of the era to sing "Bridge UNDER Troubled Waters" to really add her spin to it.

LOL, R150!

Her brother was a mob lawyer who got whacked? You reap what you sow.

[quote] She doesn't belong because she was not a rock artist.

Who do you consider to be rock artists during the period 1958-1962? Female ones.

Francis was not a pioneer in any true sense of the word. She may have had a good voice, depending on your taste, but she didn't have any vision or drive that expanded the world of music, didn't write any of her own songs, didn't push for better material. Her chief apologist blames her father or promoters or anyone but Connie for her poor performances and shortcomings, but the truth is, she did what people told her. And because a lot of people in her time liked non-challenging music, she sang that and sold lots of records. But the true superstars of the era -- Streisand, Ross, Warwick, Springfield, etc.,-- all pushed themselves and evolved. Connie Francis never moved beyond the mid-'60s.

[quote] didn't write any of her own songs

She wrote some.

"Vacation" for one.

[quote]the factoids and theories that madaboutyou and the other Connie Francis stans keep providing are unintentionally hilarious....

R147 see R155

Poor Connie, married four times for a cumulative period of about 13 months. I guess it took each husband about three months to realize what a mess he'd gotten into.

R157 Her vagina is extremely hairy and has claws.

Connie Francis? Hmmm, if memory serves, she was a cloying lounge singer my grandparents liked because they were Italian. Was over by the late '60s. Probably dead now.

No, no, she was the actress Streisand had demoted in Funny Girl because she didn't like to be outshines. I think she had her own TV show for a while in the '60s, "Honey West."

R160 That was Anne Francis. Connie was a great singer and star and is still alive, but retired from singing. A great entertainer and a great humanitarian. One of the top female singers of all time.

She was a wonderful panelist together with Dorothy Kilgallen and Bennet Cerf.

R157, One of them was a hairdresser, but Connie swore he wasn't gay on The Mike Douglas Show.

What red-blooded male wouldn't want a taste of this delicious snatch?

It never ceases to amaze me how many different languages she recorded her songs in: Swedish, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Hebrew, Yiddish, Greek...I'm pretty sure the native speakers of those langauges couldn't understand a word she was saying, but it is admirable that she even had the guts to pull off something like that.

Here's Connie singing in Japanese:

[quote] What red-blooded male wouldn't want a taste of this delicious snatch?

Matthew Rush seems quite enamoured with her.

Another pic:

R165 Petula Clark did the same... she released Downtown in four languages.

The Beatles - Sie liebt dich

Connie Goes to Rome

Connie Goes to Jerusalem

Connie Goes to Stockholm

Connie Goes to Vaterland

Connie Goes to Madrid

Connie Goes to Paris

Connie Goes to Athens

Connie Goes to Lisbon

Connie Goes to Amsterdam

These songs above remind me of that quote Sir John Gielgud made about Ingrid Bergman: "She speaks five languages but can't act in any of them."

Watched the “Password” episode at R140, Connie Francis was a good player, definitely superior to Darren McGavin, and better than her infamous appearance on “Pyramid”’would imply. The delightful little boy in the second game stole the show, though!

Yes, that kid was adorable!

My God... she sings lousy in 11 languages.

She can speak Italian and Yiddish well. The rest were done phonetically. Japanese was the easiest. It all started with Everybody's Somebody's Fool with her German version which became the biggest song in Germany and released again in the 90s in a medley of hits. It became number 1 on the European charts, as did the follow-up, Jive Connie Jive followed by Go Connie. Still played a great deal and used in shows in Europe. She, however, does not like those two singles. She sings quite well in all of the languages and The Italian Favorites LP became her biggest LP and was on the charts for over 80 weeks. The Jewish LP is the biggest selling Jewish LP of all time and always played by the Jews. In fact, it was just played at a synagogue in Florida at a service. She found French to be the most difficult. Her Spanish and Latin American Favorites was a big selling LP. She was awarded a Golden Globe for internationalizing American music. A great singer in all languages and beloved around the world.

The Italian Favorites LP fortified her concerts at prestigious venues. It was introduced on The Perry Como show and she received a very long standing ovation after her performance to which she became overwhelmed. This led to being one of the few consistent Copa artists where she usually did a jazz oriented show, and Carnegie Hall where she appeared at least once a year. Jules Podell, the owner of The Copa, had to open all rooms whenever she appeared.

She became Elvis' favorite female vocalist after he heard her million seller, My Happiness. Priscilla dance to a Connie song in tribute when she dance on Dancing With The Stars.

You don't say, r183! A synagogue JUST played a Connie Francis song from 55 years ago at a service? Proof positive of her everlasting appeal!

R185 Yes. It is on youtube. They played My Yiddishe Momma.

Connie would be pleased to know that a drag queen is paying tribute to her. She's on the left at r167 and she looks fierce! I'll bet her name is something like Bonnie Man-sis!

There are quite a few drag queens, one is Joey Josephs. He performs as her.

Joey Josephs performed as Connie in the Legends show in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and performs as her throughout the country.

The Connie Francis troll posts so much bullshit.

[quote]She became Elvis' favorite female vocalist...

Elvis didn't even own a Connie Francis record.

About his favorite female singers:

"Elvis's friends say his favorites included Anne Murray (for her "clear and distinctive voice"), Vikki Carr (It Must Be Him), Mahalia Jackson, Della Reese, Dionne Warwick, Bobbie Gentry, Leslie Uggams, Timi Yuro, the Andrews Sisters, the McGuire Sisters and his former backup group The Sweet Inspirations. His record collection includes a duet album between Memphis father and daughter Rufus and Carla Thomas."

R184 That was according to Priscilla Presley on DWTS. I do know that he went to see her shows in LV, that I do know, but it was according to Priscilla that she was his favorite.

I guess the Connie Francis Troll (CFT) thinks that making shit up adds to the "authenticity" of his wacky claims. How, for instance, would anyone know that Connie got an extended standing ovation on the Perry Como show that overwhelmed her? Those shows were all taped and tightly edited. They didn't involve audience participation.

It has been shown on documentaries of the Perry Como Show and on bios of CF shows. It was also on youtube. Perry spoke about it. It was the day before her first Carnegie Hall appearance and the ovation led to MGM ushing the single release of Mama.

Sad that you know that, Dude.

Sadder still that you seem to think that some song called "Mama" is anything other than a joke.

Some joke. It made her millions.

"Alvin and the Chipmunks" made millions too

R156 So what! Good for them. In Connie's case, it made her big for prestigious venues and went on for years. The LP was taken very seriously by critics and transcended her above the teen market.

The coward's achievement is success. The brave one's achievement is survival. Connie is exemplary. What she endured would have finished off most of her peers. She is a true humanitarian, who gave from the heart. She understood and empathized with misfortune, because she'd been there. She didn't do it to earn exorbitant tax write offs, so she could afford a mall. The only shame is she is not still giving us music today. She could be selling out concert venues left and right. If certain 70 something has-beens can still be recording, Connie can and should damn well be doing so. The best!

Yeah...certain 70 somethings are still recording. And one of them has an album that just debuted at number 3 on the Billboard chart.

The last time Connie Francis reached the top ten, JFK was in the White House.

[quote]If certain 70 something has-beens can still be recording, Connie can and should damn well be doing so. The best!

Yes! Here she is 10 years ago....ready for a comeback!

Connie's aunt Laverne was a street walker in Newark, NJ until her retirement in 1964. You could always find hanging out at Cuccozella's bakery in the Ironbound.

The coward's achievement is success? Ha, you are fucking deranged in your ardent defense of this desiccated windbag. Look, she had her time and she sold lots of singles and she was big in Vegas. Bully for her! And you like to listen to her sing and dwell on her (way) past hits. Great. But please don't try to make her something she is not, which is relevant today. No one is going to let her anywhere near a recording studio, unlike other singers who HAVE survived and still have something fresh to say with their music.

Twirl, qween!

R202 - Deranged? Because I don't appreciate singers with something "fresh to say?" Imagine and What a Wonderful World are 50 years old, and your botoxed fossil doesn't add anything new to them. Connie never once resorted to autotune, melodyne, sheens, comping, splicing, 30+ takes and every fucking studio gimmick in the world to make her "desiccated" voice sound listenable. Your narcisstic divas have more fetish to remain "relevant" than to make quality music, simply because they can't accept the fact that they're over the hill and insignificant to a young generation. If they didn't have what's left of their careers, they'd probably kill themselves. You don't get Connie, fine. But her voice, flaws and all, is about overcoming adversity, and she sings FOR the people, not down to them. Connie was a valiant supporter of gay rights from way back, long before any female star every put their necks out, and never needed to take bows for it. If she's finished, it's by choice. She knew when to walk away, just as Doris Day did, and she seems content to sit on her laurels, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It's better than pretending you're still relevant to a generation, many of whom don't know even know who you are, what the hell you did, and couldn't care either way. # 3! Now that's deranged.

R204 Bravo! Connie has nothing to prove given her stellar career. She also never resorted to having publicity agents to publicize what she has done or to magnify insignificant events as other did and do. Perhaps, that was to her detriment in terms of maintaining recognition.

Sincere question to the Connie Francis fans who’ve attacked Barbra Streisand in the recent posts (and I ask this as someone who respects the talents of both): Why do you feel the need to denigrate Streisand (or other singers) during your praises of Francis? Must one be pitted against the other?

Both this thread and a recent DL thread on Streisand’s “Imagine/What a Wonderful World” took a turn into a comparison of the two, and I don’t understand why. If you want to defend Connie Francis and her legacy, that’s fine, but why does it need involve minimizing Streisand?

^Because the Francisphiles are laughingly deranged. You can just imagine them firing up their vintage desktop computers, spittle flying, as they feel compelled to respond to any slight of their dear Connie. But I'm sure she'd appreciate their devotion, if she were aware of their existence.

Doesn't the Enquirer do one of its "Sad Last Days" features on Connie just about every other week? Their demographic have to all be Connie fans.

The trolls on the Streisand thread were all joking because no one could seriously compare Connie Francis to Barbra Streisand.

R206 R209 Start a new thread. Connie vs. Barbra. I wouldn't even want to think of the tsunami of purses.

Connie was also Judy Garland's favorite singer. After hearing "Who's Sorry Now?" the first time, Judy said, "That broad can really sell a song. That's it. I may as well retire!"

R211 That is until she sang a certain duet of "Get Happy/Happy Days Are Here Again." The next thought that came to mind was 6/22/69.

Judy Garland was very competitive with Connie.

When Frank Sinatra said Connie had the hairiest pussy in show-biz, Judy said, "My eye!"

When Aretha Franklin signed with Columbia, she had it in her contract that she would never record any song already recorded by Francis.

She told Terry Gross on Fresh Air: "I can ousting any white girl, but not that one. Lord, I didn't want to be compared to her. Some things just aren't fair, you know?"

"After I heard her in concert, I just stopped eating. I knew I had no future in the business."

"Whenever I am about to do an aria with very tricky phrasing or notes above a high-A, I ask myself, 'What would Connie do?'"

This crazy anti-Francis loon reminds me of that Judy Garland stan who once called Deanna Durbin fans fascist.

By the way, I'm downloading Where the Boys Are right now. I'm gonna watch it tomorrow afternoon for the first time. I hope I'm in for a treat.

R206, I think some feel Streisand usurped Francis's career. Just when Francis was at her peak in record sales and as a leading actress in movies, Streisand drops her first album, steals some of her audience, and then starts doing movies herself. Francis probably would've landed the Funny Girl role if Streisand wasn't around. To many, the final straw was Streisand releasing her Butterfly album in 1974 -- on the very day Francis was raped and her career derailed.

R217 PIRACY is a CRIME!

R218 And the rape endured much longer than Butterfly.

R218. Theatre historians, was Francis ever seriously considered for the role of Fanny Brice? I know Streisand's competition was Carol Burnett and Eydie Gorme. Gorme would have gotten signed if she hadn't insisted that her husband Steve Lawrence play Nicky Arnstein. It would be interesting to imagine Connie in that role. As it's hard to imagine anyone other than Barbra in "Funny Girl," I don't think it was something Connie couldn't have done. She could certainly sing that score, she was funny, she could dance, and act, and could even pull off the ethnicity. She had also been in films, had several more albums than Barbra, and far more nightclub experience. It would be different than Barbra, but perhaps, not worse.

Connie Francis would certainly have been kinder to Anne Francis.

I believe R218's is a parody post.

(and I hope R221's is....can anyone really believe all that?)

R223 If Mimi fucking Hines could played that role for a year and a half after Streisand left, you think Connie couldn't have licked it? You pompous ass!

Mimi Hines has had a long career in the theatre between B’way and touring companies:

I Do! I Do!, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Anything Goes, Never Too Late, The Pajama Game, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, No, No, Nanette .Sugar, Kander and Ebb's 70, Girls, 70, Nunsense....

Please list the theatre productions that Connie Francis has done.

Thanks in advance.

[quote]Just when Francis was at her peak in record sales and as a leading actress in movies...

LOL. A leading actress in movies?

In "Where The Boys Are" she gets like 8th billing.

"Follow The Boys" ? it's a minor piece of fluff so forgotten it doesn't even have a RottenTomatoes review.

"Looking for Love" was a major bomb. There's Johnny Carson's famous quote: "Looking for Love was so bad it was transferred to flammable nitrate film stock"

And her last: "When the Boys Meet the Girls". Another formula film.

Variety called her performance "adequate".

And Hollywood was done with Connie Francis.

R225 Mimi Hines never opened any original Broadway show, and for good reason. Connie's charisma, pathos, and vocals in her prime could have blown Hines back to Vancouver in a heartbeat. Connie's shortcomings were in her management, mainly her father, who steered her into professional collision courses and not down the yellow brick road to the emerald city, as Ehrlichman had done for Streisand. And she didn't have the brass balls and pit bull aggression of a Streisand to tear off limbs to get what she wanted. The talent and the potential was there and very much on par with Barbra, and that's not to minimize Barbra's talents, which are extraordinary. Luck was also on Streisand's side. A lot of it. And that above talent dictates the direction of any career. Sadly, that's what Connie lacked most of all.

R227 You still haven't listed theatre productions Connie Francis has appeared in.

[quote]The talent and the potential was there and very much on par with Barbra

Fans are so adorable.

It is clear that Connie Francis had mental health issues (as do, apparently, some of her fans). Those were going to catch up with her eventually and derail her career -- even if being a dated novelty act hadn't done its first.

Connie was still sore from one of her many abortions and they wouldn't postpone her audition for Funny Girl.

[quote] PIRACY is a CRIME!

It isn't over here where I live. Here we can download all the Connie Francis music and movies we want and get away with it.

Miss Francis has a long relationship with Broadway.

[quote]PIRACY is a CRIME!

And jealousy is a DISEASE!

The posts on the francis and Streisand threads are getting crazy!

R232 The Broadway LP was one of her great ones. The Impossible Dream in magnificent and she sang this live on Ed Sullivan the night before she left for Vietnam. Ed said that she was one of the few who could evoke a standing ovation from a TV audience.

R226 Connie herself is the first to say how lousy her movies were and after four, she stopped. She also did a made for TV movie for Bob Hope, called The Sister and the Savage which IMO was significant for its songs. She was not given 8th billing on Where The Boys Are. The movie introduced her as an actress. She was really the star and the main attraction especially considering that the song had been released before the movie and became a million seller. It was a vehicle for her. The movie was a big box office hit. She hated doing movies so much that she did not attend the two premiers, one at Radio City Music Hall and one in Fort Lauderdale. The Elbow Room in Fort Lauderdale has the chair she sat on and her picture on the wall, and the sidewalks have her name. The movie was cute, although many of the verbiage now seem dated. It was one of MGM's biggest movies of that year.

I remember Connie at a meet and greet. She was really charming -- and funny AF. She whispered to me, "If only I'd had a Top 10 song for every abortion!"

She then let out the most earthy laugh. She'd be so much fun to be friends with!

One of Connie's early hits which was featured on American Horror Story...one of my favorites of hers.

R232 Yes, indeed. Connie was one of the few artists ever to earn a standing O on Ed Sullivan. Not even Elvis, the Beatles, or Streisand had done so. And R229, you should know that most of the entertainers in the fucking business grapple with mental illness of some sort to this very day. Bipolar is rampant, and for many years, it was undiagnosed and untreated. Not to mention the personality disorders, PTSD, and drug and alcohol addictions. Performers still deliver. They work thru it and with it. So did Connie. Her management was a big curse and she didn't have the fortitude to kick her father out of the picture and the vision to align herself with someone of Marty Erlichman's caliber. Admire who you admire, but don't refer to her fans as mentally deranged, because she doesn't suit your personal taste. Now go back to your Cher albums.

[quote]Now go back to your Cher albums.

I think Cher is just as kitschy as Connie Francis. But at least Connie Francis could actually sing. Cher is an autotuned mediocrity.

I'd never heard that song R238, but it is really good.

To the Broadway bitch, R227, no she didn't originate any shows. But she sang the shit out of many a theatrical repertoire. Some musical theatre roles Connie would have been fabulous at age appropriate point in her life are: Sally Bowles in "Cabaret;" Desiree in "A Little Night Music;" Sally in "Follies;" Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard," Fantine in "Les Mis," and best of all, I think she would made a kick ass "Mame."

R241: There is a huge difference between recording one song (after multiple takes) and sining an entire score live (and acting in between songs) 8 times a week.

Recording a "Broadway" album has nothing to do with performing on Broadway.

Singing, not "sining"

Connie Francis was no fucking actress.

She can't even act when she's singing a song. She is very stiff and dull.

Plus, she was very frumpy looking, even when young. And uglier as she got older.

She was NEVER going to happen as a star in either Hollywood or Broadway. EVER.

R242 You don't need to educate me on Broadway, bitch, I know a lot more about it than you. Far more. Have you any clue how many performers on Broadway today are tracked, meaning a prior recording of their vocal is done to which they lip sync when their vocals blow out, which happens all too often these days. Many shows don't even use the same performers 8x a week, they rotate.

"Recording a "Broadway" album has nothing to do with performing on Broadway. "

No shit, Sherlock. Tell that to your girl Barbra who was one of the first they had to mike up in "Funny Girl" because she was inaudible beyond the 8th row. Before wireless mics, they taped a lavalier to her ass in order to amplify her geshreying. She pioneered the technique.

And R244, sorry to take the cucumber out of your snatch, but she IS A STAR. Now go eat shit.

Oh, R245, put down that cocktail and calm down. Think of your blood pressure, you poor old thing.

[quote]Have you any clue how many performers on Broadway today...

What does "today" have to do with Connie Francis? Nothing.

Connie at her peak. Young, slim, beautiful and full of life, singing early rock and roll.

R244 she's singing a song. She is very stiff and dull.

Nothing is further from the truth. She knew how to sell a song and that is why she was so successful as a live entertainer.

Connie receiving the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Great American Songbook Convention. R245, I happen to be 41, I don't drink, and I wish for you a night at Howard Johnsons in 1974.

R248 She acts very self-conscious in that clip -- and looks like the mother of people her own age.

[quote] I happen to be 41, I don't drink,

I remember when that rape happened back in 74. I was around 8 years old at the time, and lived not too far from that area. I remember my mother being mortified. She said: "We're never going to Howard Johnsons for chocolate chip ice cream ever again."

Someone who is 41 even knows who Connie fucking Francis is?

That's hilarious.

I thought the album she recorded after the rape was in very bad taste.

"Red Lipstick on Your Black Dick"???

"I'll Leave the Door Ajar at the Hojo's for You, Tyrone, Rufus, and Fast Eddie for Boston"?????

[quote] Someone who is 41 even knows who Connie fucking Francis is

There is actually a punk rock band called "Connie Fucking Francis".

R254 Why is it hilarious, Einstein? With the "Sure Jan" video. How original and creative. I know 21 year olds who have never of Streisand, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Ethel Merman, Dave Brubeck., George Shearing, and Nat King Cole. How old are you, if I may ask?

I know 20 year olds who know and love Connie.

R258 Yes, there are some young people who know and like he, but her recognition with the younger audience was hindered by her several years of absence from the public and by her lack of a publicist.

I am shocked when young people do not know who Bette Davis is.

R258 Bless you. I guess being 41 suggests to this illiterate, dumbed down clown that your musical sensibilities shouldn't extend beyond Private Enemy, Smashing Pumpkins, and Nine Inch Nails. I suppose it would be ridiculous for a 71 year old to know of Debussy or Mahler, or Prokoviev or Tchiakovsky, because after all, they're old, dead, and no longer relevant. Switch over to Pornhub where you belong.

[quote]I know 20 year olds who know and love Connie.

Frank Sinatra actually has a lot of popularity with guys in their 20s, probably more than any of the other singers of that era.

This is one of Datalounge's saddest themes: Old queens thinking people they loved in their youth are known to people currently in their own youth.

You hear this about Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand and, now, Connie Francis.

It's a sad lie by people clinging, with white knuckles, to their remote youth.

Nobody 20 gives a fuck about Judy Garland or Barbra Streisand and, much less, Connie Francis, who never belonged in the same mention.

Frank Sinatra is NOT Connie Francis.

Frank Sinatra is somewhat timeless and cool. Connie Francis was of her time and not cool.

You know you have a troll cunt with an IQ of 14 when their best response is "Sure, Jan." In person, in a debate, I'd kick your ass.

[quote]You know you have a troll cunt with an IQ of 14 when their best response is "Sure, Jan." In person, in a debate, I'd kick your ass.

R264Judy Garland or Barbra Streisand and, much less, Connie Francis, who never belonged in the same mention.

She belongs in the same category. Her voice was terrific, but as a live entertainer, she was much more popular than Streisand.

OMG, I leave for a couple of hours and come back to 58 new responses on what is, frankly, a third-tier thread about a has-been even by Datalounge standards. I guess the earrings (and caftans) have come off!

Who ever said the average 20 year old has any musical taste or sensibility, when they were raised by a parent with even less sensibility? Your likes depend on the music to which you were exposed as a child. My parents were both musical and had very eclectic tastes ranging from classical to jazz to musical theatre, standards, and pop/rock. I'm 41, and as a kid, I knew who Rudolf Friml and Victor Herbert were. At 10, I could play any Rodgers and Hart song you threw at me. I know 20 year olds who like Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, big band, John Coltrane and Duke Ellington. I know 40 year olds who barely know who Sinatra is. The sad thing is immortality doesn't last as long as it used to. No one with sanity can argue that music has descended into depths from which it will never, ever recover. That's what the 20 year olds miss. It isn't "white knuckle" elder gays clinging to their youth. It's people of all ages despairing the demise of a great art form and a fabulous period in creative history. Connie's legacy is not the only one who will be forgotten. It'll be people bigger than her, unfortunately. And to the "Sure, Jan" white knuckle twat, remember the white knuckles you speak of will someday very soon be your own.

It is funny that the very same derogatory comments are being made about Barbra Streisand on her threads!

[quote]She belongs in the same category. Her voice was terrific, but as a live entertainer, she was much more popular than Streisand.

Meanwhile, back in the real world . . .

R271 Barbra Streisand is also a has-been who nobody under 50 cares about. She has, alas, also lost her voice.

But comparing Streisand to Francis at their peak does Francis no favors. It only serves to show how short Francis's fame lasted. And how limited her talents, though existent, were.

Didn't Scotty Bower in his book have a couple of sentences about arranging lesbian hook-ups for some female lounge singer who was the biggest selling artist of all time? An Italian woman from New Jersey. Her name meant nothing to me at the time so I don't recall exactly. If he was talking about Connie, it would explain the four quickie marriages and lack of children.

Connie was the Britney Spears of her day. An the dances she perfected were copied by almost all the grandparents of people saying ignorant things in this thread.Connie is an icon,face it

Scotty Bowers did say that many of the girls he hired for Connie complained: "That old broad has the hardiest pussy in town!"

[quote]"That old broad has the hardiest pussy in town!"

That was a misprint. I think they said "hairiest"

R275...bur Connie could sing and did not use autotuned as Britney did.

She new where the boys were.

Supposedly, she liked having two hookers at a time. She'd wear out one and then start in on the other one. She wielded a mean dildo!

That was Connie’s biggest complaint about being raped at Hojo’s: “I told room service that I never ate dick!”

Judy 4:16 Connie 5:24 Barbra 6:25

The father supposedly had an unusually "close" relationship with Connie. She did everything he told her to. Maybe behind doors as well. Did they even have separate rooms when they traveled together?

[quote]She new where the boys were.

And, God knows, she also knew where the BOOZE was! I told ‘er!

Thanks R282, Michaels does a great impersonation of Francis. Some of Connie's detractors on here might notice that her Connie Francis impersonation got the BIGGEST cheer from the audience.

R282 You could drive a truck through her teeth.

Connie Francis obviously had talent.

But she is a footnote in pop music history.

When you queens in your 70s and 80s who even remember her die, she will be totally forgotten.

But that even happens to more talented singers. Garland and Streisand will be pretty much forgotten, too.

Time moves on and leaves a trail of refuse.

Miss Judy Garland's favorite singer was, in fact, Miss Shirley Bassey.

This is what I live for on Datalounge: People who even know who Connie Francis is!

Things like that don’t happen in the real world.

Connie is just OK as a DL icon. She's certainly no Liza.

They've probably had the same number of gay husbands, though.

Parents still show their kids "The Wizard of Oz," so even though Garland won't be the icon to future generations she was to the previous ones, she won't be unknown.

No parents are showing their kids "Where the Boys Are" unless they want to be arrested for child abuse.

[quote]Parents still show their kids "The Wizard of Oz," so even though Garland won't be the icon to future generations she was to the previous ones, she won't be unknown.

Garlands's legacy will live on and on.

Kids relate to and fall in love with the Dorothy character. Although the film is 70 years old it still captures a kids imagination and will so in the future. As you get older you want to know about the actress who played Dorothy...and there's a wealth of material to discover. Garland will not be forgotten.

Connie Francis was a has-been by 1965. She represented the early 60s.

She was a has-been along with the others who were early 60s teen sensations: Fabian, Bobby Rydell... Sandra Dee.

Frankie Avalon and Annette were able to keep their careers going although nothing like what they had been. Brenda Lee was smart to switch to country. Pat Boone was a huge star too...second only to Elvis in the 1950s but by the late 60s he was a has-been too.

That group of early 1960s teen idols all dated pretty badly. By 1965, pop culture had left them pretty much all behind.

R248 Only 2 years later and a scene like that...the singing, dancing, music...that sound...would be considered hopelessly corny and out of date.

[quote] Although the film is 70 years old

R292 needs to work on his math skills. The film will be 80 years old in a few months.

[quote]Garlands's legacy will live on and on.

Fans are so cute.

Last semester, my niece started an after-school fan club for Connie Francis. Her high school only allows 30 members in each after-school club, so, of course, she had to turn away so many people who wanted to join.

There were riots. Lockers were trashed and fires we set. The police were called. And scores of enraged Connie Francis fans were carried out on stretchers, some missing noses, ears, or limbs.

Just finished watching Where the Boys Are - wow, what a delightful campfest. Connie was pleasant to watch and I liked her big jazz number (though I'm surprised such a major pop star like her ever agreed to play the role of "the ugly duckling") but it was Dolores Hart who totally stole my attention. I never saw her in anything before but I was blown away by her beauty and screen presence. There was something very mature and modern about her. Such a shame she had to receive a call from the God (couldn't God have called some frumpier Hollywood gal?!)

I also had no idea Connie was so short. She seemed like a midget standing next to other cast members (especially next to Paula Prentiss).

I guess some people like Francis' singing ability, though it sounds old-fashioned to me even in her recordings from way back when, but I think we can all agree that she has never eked out one ounce of sex appeal. Looking at that movie, she's the one who should have gone on to become a nun. Especially if it's true like Bowers said that she was a lesbian. A convent would have been a great place for her to do some rug munching.

Did a Datalounger write this?

My mother worked for the Army ROTC, and Miss Francis' rendition of A NURSE IN THE U.S. ARMY CORPS, released on 45, was a big hit around our house.

So can the Francis historian tell us which is the correct year of her birth - 1937 or 1938? Her wiki (and all the other websites) says she was born on December 12th 1938 (which would make her 80 this December), but when I was googling her I saw she already celebrated her 80th birthday last December. WTF?!

^What difference does it make? Connie is ageless and eternal!

301 She was born in 1937. The discrepancy, I believe, had to do with her appearance on Star Time Kids in NYC from ages 12 to 15. The producer of the show, and later her manager, changed her birthdate so she would still fit the age limit of the show. He did not want to lose her.

She was gifted. Even her speaking voice was rich and powerful. Not all great singers have this quality.

Maybe she should have done more speaking and less singing.

R305 I think she should have done more staring-blankly-into-space.

r306, that's exactly how she spends her days now. But at least she's stopped flashing her beaver at me.

Connie is a guidette from New Jersey. Was able to carry a tune and appeared on variety shows while that was a thing. Recorded a lot of records through the '60s. Popular in Vegas. Married four times for very short periods of time. Was raped repeatedly at a Howard Johnson's motel in the '70s. Suffered from mental health issues. Attempted comebacks several times but they never took. Now lives in Florida. Has several ardent fans on Datalounge.

R308 Actually she didn't appear on very many variety shows compared to other female singers of the era, never had her own TV special and she was never a huge Vegas name...nowhere on the level of an Eydie Gormé.

But yeah she has maybe two fans on Datalounge.

And R309, those fans have facts and statistics (however dubious) available at all times!

Connie never had the personality to host her own show. Basically, she was told where to stand, the music played, she sang, and was then escorted off the stage.

Can the claims that were made in this 1985 TV ad for her greatest hits album be verified? I know she was super popular back in the day, but was she really "World's Top Selling Female Recording Star" and "Sold over 100.000.000 Records"?

She did hae a 1960 special...A Connie Francis Spectacular sponsored by Brylcreem...Art Carney, Tab Hunter, and Bea Arthur as guests. She was on just about every variety show, 26x on Ed Sullivan.

She was the top female in LV throughout the 1960s and was granted such an award by LV. She was paid an exorbitant amount of money in her contract and did closed circuit concerts with Sinatra available to high rollers. She was the female artist to see in LV during the 1960s. She was contracted by The Sahara.

R312. When she made her comeback in 1981, she was third in listing to The Beatles and Elvis. Over time that has slipped due to lack of recording and is now 12th in females since the Hot 100 Billboard charts formed, but should be w/I the top 5 were her pre-Hot 100 Billboard hits counted. So, she did sell tons of records world-wide.

She looks so beautiful in that commercial. Shame she had to ruin her face with all the surgeries shortly after that. By the way, is that the TV spot that was famously parodied by SCTV?

R316 It is a shame she had the plastic surgeries. Yes, that was the commercial that was parodies. Connie thinks it is funny. The TV offer Sessions presents Connie Francis became the biggest selling TV album of all time and she was presented with a gold record for it.

R317 Are you sure that was the parodied ad, because I checked the wiki page for SCTV and it says the show went off the air in 1984, a year before that commercial was aired (if it really is from 1985, as the uploader claims).

Connie had 57 Billboard hits in the USA alone, but only 53 are counted in her ranking since 4 occurred before the Hot 100 Billboard charts were formed. The 4 were The Majesty Of Love, Who's Sorry Now, I'm Sorry I Made You Cry, and Stupid Cupid.

R318..It then must have been Sessions Presents CF.....the on e spoke about.

Sessions Presents CF came out in 1975.

Connie's marriages: 1.Dick Kanellis, a LV publicist, lasted about 6 mon. Sinatra drove him out of town (LV) when he abused Connie. 2.Izzi Marion - hair dresser and LV revue producer, lasted a few months, big gambling habit, Connie left due to this 3.Joe Garzilli - a good marriage, lawyer. Connie put him in travel agency biz and he did exceptionally well. Marriage lasted 4 yrs. They adopted a son. The marriage deteriorated after the rape. He went on to be her manager when her original manager, George Scheck passed away. 4. Bob Parkinson, producer, lasted a few months. This occurred when Connie was not well. Parkinson ended up taking a couple of million from Connie. Connie left.

Connie went out with Don Rickles, F. Lee Bailey, and of course Bobby Darin.

Connie graduated second in her high school class and was given a scholarship to NYU for pre-med studies. She began her college work when Who's Sorry Now broke as a million seller and it was then one million seller after another and international fame.

As her fame became greater and greater, her father became more and more protective and did not like her hanging around show biz people, especially Bobby Darin and Sinatra. He also went after Don Rickles, as Don told it.

I know Connie wasn't Marilyn Monroe herself, but wasn't she still a bit out of Don Rickles' league?

out of his league? Meaning what? Too pretty for him? Possibly so, but Connie was likely attracted to a father-figure given her father. I think that is what you meant.

Yeah, I meant out of his league lookswise (as shallow as that makes me sound).

Connie dubbed the singing voices for Jayne Mansfield and Tuesday Weld. Strange to hear Connie's voice coming from Jayne. According Fred Lawrence Gilleso in his bio of Marilyn, Norma Jean, Marilyn and Connie were friends and Marilyn would attend some of Connie's recording sessions. I am not certain if the author was correct, but he has it in his bio. Connie has never mentioned it.

R327 Don certainly looks much older than she., but they did date.

Connie singing through Jayne Mansfield.

I have a question about dubbing in all these old films - was it well publicized at the time that these weren't really the actors' real singing voices or did the moviegoers actually believe they were? Surely people must have noticed that half of Hollywood starlets sound suspiciously alike (thanks to Marni Nixon).

It was not well-publicized, but in the case of Connie's dubbing, she received credit in the credits. However, I am quite sure most paid no attention to the credits and would state that Jayne had a beautiful voice. Marni had it in her contract that she would not divulge that it was her voice when she dubbed for stars.

The mid-80s was her prettiest era.

Another from mid-80s.

I would say from that photo at r327 that Don Rickles was out of HER league. She was never particularly a looker.

In what year was Connie's last hit record, meaning in the top 10?

Connie had a weird nose which made her look a bit funny from profile, but from up front she was gorgeous.

I think this is my all time fave Connie pic. And this pic proves that she could look sexy when she wanted too.

R336 Vacation was her last top 10 in 64.

Correct song for top 10, but Vacation came out in 1962. Her last top 40 charting (which is usually used for "hit") was in 1964. Her last Hot 100 hit was in 1969 with "The Wedding Cake".

Miss Connie Francis.....

Introduced by Frank Sinatra, Dick Clark, Bob Hope, and others

I just think it's funny how the Connie Francis trolls feel this need to convince.

No one cares about how many records Dusty Springfield sold.

We don't need to see videos of Bob Hope or Dick Clark introducing Dionne Warwick.

It doesn't matter whether Petula Clark or Diana Ross or Eydie Gormè or Viki Carr were on the Ed Sullivan show 10 times or 25 times or 50 times

We're all ready convinced, we already know how great they were.... and their recordings and albums live on.

You can tell us over and over again about how many records Connie Francis sold... but it's not going to make her sound any less dated or somehow make her more appealing.

[quote]She was the female artist to see in LV during the 1960s.

Uh...no....that was Diana Ross & The Supremes. And Eydie Gorme and Steve Lawrence.

And Barbra Streisand (in fact in 1969, Barbra was paid the highest amount ever to open a casino).

So we're discussing a negligible pop singer whose last hit was 54 years ago? Talk about ancient history! Only on Datalounge!

R343 People also continue discussing Mozart, whose last hit was 227 years ago. Great artists never lose relevance.

That photo at r337 does not show an attractive woman.

The difference being, r344, that Mozart was Mozart and Connie Francis was a Jersey guidette who croaked out a few pop tunes of no lasting significance. But please, do continue your trolling. It's amusing to witness your complete devotion to such a non-entity as you slide into dementia.

[quote] People also continue discussing Mozart...

LOL.

Agreed wholeheartedly, R341!

Connie...simply the very best! That's all!

The Feud (Bette and Joan) chose to play Connie's Don't Break The Heart That Loves You, and now this..............

R340 The compilation of CF introductions should have included the magnificent tribute introduction that Robert Preston gave her on The Golden Globes.

R309 does not know what he is talking about......

TV appearances: 2012 Hava Nagila: The Movie (documentary) 2012 Piers Morgan Tonight (TV series), Episode dated 19 April 2010 Legends (TV series documentary), Neil Sedaka: That's When the Music Takes Me 2008 The Wages of Spin (documentary) 2006 Showbiz Tonight (TV series), Episode dated 18 April 2005 The Original Amateur Hour (video documentary) 2004 Feste der Volksmusik (TV series), Hochzeitsfest der Volksmusik 2002 American Soundtrack: Red, White & Rock (TV special documentary) 2002 Larry King Live (TV series), Episode dated 11 March 2001 The Songmakers Collection (video) 2001 Neil Sedaka: The Show Must Go On (TV documentary) 1998 Bobby Darin: Beyond the Song (TV documentary) 1998 Biography (TV series documentary) Connie Francis: America's Sweetheart of Song 1992 The Connie Francis Scrapbook (video short) 1989 Live with Kelly and Michael (TV series), Episode dated 7 July … Herself ​1989 Connie Francis: A Legend in Concert (TV movie) 1989 Today (TV series), Episode dated 24 February 1989 Win, Lose or Draw (TV series), Episode dated 17 February 1985 Hour Magazine (TV series), Episode dated 17 September 1982 The 39th Annual Golden Globe Awards (TV special documentary) 1981 American Bandstand's 30th Anniversary Special (TV movie) 1978 Live Wednesday (TV series), Episode dated 16 September 1970-1973 The Mike Douglas Show (TV series) Episode dated 7 July 1973 Episode dated 23 November 1972 Episode dated 18 May 1970 1970-1971 The David Frost Show (TV series) Episode #4.7 (1971) Episode #2.111 (1970) 1963-1971 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (TV series) Episode dated 8 September 1971 Episode dated 12 April 1965 Episode dated 26 February 1963 1970-1971 The Hollywood Squares (TV series) Episode dated 1 March 1971 Episode dated 30 November 1970 1958-1970 The Ed Sullivan Show (TV series) 27 Episodes 1967-1969 The Joey Bishop Show (TV series) ​ Episode #4.50 1969 Episode #4.16 1969 Episode #3.169 1969 Episode #2.106 1968 Episode #2.9 1967​ 1968 The Jonathan Winters Show (TV series), Episode #1.10 1967 The Dean Martin Comedy Hour (TV series), Episode dated 23 February 1966 Es funkeln die Sterne - Eine musikalische Silvesterreise um die Welt (TV movie) 1966 The Andy Williams Show (TV series), Episode dated 3 January 1965 The Steve Lawrence Show (TV series), Taxi Anyone? 1965 Thank Your Lucky Stars (TV series), Episode #7.35 1965 The Eamonn Andrews Show (TV series), Episode #1.34 1965 Ready, Steady, Go! (TV series), Episode #2.39 ​1963-1964 The Jack Benny Program (TV series) Herself / Em Skinner / Mrs. Stephen Foster Hillbilly Sketch … Herself / Em Skinner 1964 The Connie Francis Show … Herself/Mrs. Stephen Foster 1963

​1964 I've Got a Secret (TV series), Episode dated 28 September ​ ​1960-1964 The Bell Telephone Hour (TV series) Episode #6.16 (1964) Main Street U.S.A. (1960) 1963 Celebrity Party (TV movie) 1958-1963 New American Bandstand (TV series) Episode dated 6 March 1963 Episode dated 13 December 1962 Episode dated 2 July 1958 Episode dated 23 January 1958 Episode dated 1 January 1958 ​ 1963 The Merv Griffin Show (TV series), Episode #1.101 1962 Password All-Stars (TV series), Episode dated 4 November 1962 At This Very Moment (TV movie) 1961 The New Steve Allen Show (TV series) UCLA 1961 What's My Line? (TV series), Episode dated 27 August 1961 Person to Person (TV series documentary), Episode #8.18 1961 The 33rd Annual Academy Awards (TV special)

Continued:

1959-1961 This Is Your Life (TV series) Connie Francis 1961 Dick Clark 1959​ 1958-1960 Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall (TV series) Episode dated 28 December 1960 Episode dated 18 November 1959 Episode dated 22 March 1958 1960 Spectacular (TV series), The Connie Francis Show 1960 Here's Hollywood (TV series), Episode #1.1 1958-1960 The Dick Clark Show (TV series), 6 Episodes 1960 The Revlon Revue (TV series), Episode dated 11 February 1960 Herzlichst Ihr Peter Kraus (TV series) 1959 The Jimmie Rodgers Show (TV series) 1959 The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (TV series), Episode #3.52 1959 Val Parnell's Sunday Night At The London Palladium (TV series), Episode #4.24 1958 The Patti Page Oldsmobile Show (TV series), Episode #1.11 1958 The Arthur Murray Party (TV series), Episode dated 27 October 1958 The Big Record (TV series), Episode #1.25 1952 Battle of the Ages (TV series), Episode #1.1 (more content to com

LeeAnn Rimes as Connie

Connie and Dionne performed together in Las Vegas several years ago.

This was one of Connie's last performances and Dionne's first in a long time since moving from Brazil back to the USA.

Interesting, R355, was Dionne Warwick trying to capitalize on Connie's fame?

r352-353

No one cares except you.

R309 and 358 knows nothing and does not know what he is talking about!

R353 Unimpressive especially after TV's B&W era was over. Appearances that are bettered by plenty of other singers from the '60. Lots of insignificant stuff in those latter years.

A complete lack of appearances on most of the top Variety shows:

No Carol Burnett Show, Red Skelton Show, Danny Kaye Show, Hollywood Palace, Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, Bobby Darin Show, Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Glenn Campbell Goodtime Hour, Laugh-In, Shindig, Hullabaloo, Gary Moore Show, Jackie Gleason Show, Johnny Cash Show, Jim Nabors Hour, Flip Wilson Show, Don Knotts Show. Etc.

And it's pretty telling that the Tonight Show only bothered with her 3 times.

Connie still lives well from her earnings whereas Miss Warwick has filed bankruptcy how many times?

R362 No one cares. What we care about is the music.

Dionne Warwick introduced to the world the following classics:

"Don't Make Me Over", "Alfie", "A House Is Not A Home ‎", "Anyone Who Had a Heart", "Walk on By", "Trains and Boats and Planes", "Message to Michael", "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself ", "Promises, Promises", "The Windows of the World", "I Say a Little Prayer", "Do You Know the Way to San Jose", "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", "Heartbreaker", "I'll Never Love This Way Again"...

Please list the songs introduced by Connie Francis that can in any way compare to those.

Thanks in advance.

R360 She appeared on Ed Sullivan 26x and she did appear on The Gary Moore Show and Jackie Gleason, th elatter being where her father ran Bobby Darin out with a gun. She appeared on many top notch shows. You just go and look for her where she might not have appeared, and you are wrong. You know very little about her. She was out of commission for 8 years during the 70s and made no appearances at all.

R362 You keep saying that no one cares, but you keep posting!

She appeared on all of the top rated shows when she was in action. However, all she really needed was The Ed Sullivan Show to promote herself, that's all! The rest was filler. She was on the Tonight Show more than 3x. She and Johnny were close. The relationship weakened when Connie appeared on Joan River's talk show.

Connie's beautiful message to all haters: Whoever You Are, I Love You.

[quote]She appeared on all of the top rated shows when she was in action.

Goodness, did she do cable PPV from the HoJo's?

Let's let this thread, like Connie, go out with a whimper and not a bang.

Here's ABBA's Agnetha talking about her favorite singer ever - you guessed it, her favorite singer is Concetta!

First off, I will say that I'm an admirer of Connie, albeit a sensible one. Many people want to place her in the class of Sinatra, Streisand, or Garland, and that unfortunately isn't the case. Her years of mainstream popularity were 1958-1963, and she was one of the many vocalists who could not and did not continue to sell records in the US with the rock invasion. However, that is not to say that she was without talent, as many on this thread have asserted. Her voice, her range, her interpretations were eclectic and textured. The potential for greatness always seemed to be lurking, and she did top all female vocalists in international sales. There were also several opportunities for comebacks in the 1980s. The industry and the fans wanted her to have that chance. They were behind her, and it could have happened. But sadly, she was not up to the challenge physically or mentally. The 1989 London Palladium concert should have been a triumph for her, much akin to Judy at Carnegie Hall. Had that experience been vocally stellar, I' m sure it would have opened the doors for top concert venues, new recording contracts, first rate television appearance, and even films. Instead, it reconfirmed her instability, inconsistency, and unreliability, even though she did finish the entire opening night performance. In the late 1970s, Tony Bennett was in a similar predicament and near physical and professional ruin. His son Danny got him the help he needed, took control of his career, and instead of trying to recapture his Vegas heyday, he reconfigured his father as a jazz artist with a small combo and booked appearances on the college and university circuits. He introduced Tony to an entirely new audience who would rediscover his work and serve as the more ardent record buyers in addition to reigniting his existing following. That led to a new recording contract with Sony Columbia and continues to this very day at the ripe old age of 92. With more adept management and more attention to physical care, Connie might have forged a similar path and reinvented herself. Her tributes to Judy burned with potential, and the gays of the 1980s would have been right behind her. I credit her for overcoming adversity and surviving tragedy that might have destroyed anyone else. But if she is celebrated today, it is of a purely nostalgic means and distant memories of a bygone era. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps, it's better than those that have stayed much too long at the fair.

Thread closed.

OMG -- Spotify put "Where the Boys Are" in my Discover Weekly playlist this week!

R372, you mean just out of the blue?

So getting back to you, OP, after nearly 375 replies, do you feel adequately educated on our dear Connie Francis? Hell, you should hold a PhD!

Connie Francis' relevance as a performing artist was over by the mid-'60s. She didn't have many original songs and even fewer of lasting quality. She specialized in doing covers of other, better performers' works because people liked her syrupy style. It's sad but some of her misfortunes actually prolonged her exposure to the public eye, because if she hadn't been assaulted and didn't suffer from mental illness, she would have vanished without a trace. The CF troll will try to claim that those things derailed her brilliant career and kept her from making a triumphant comeback, but the truth is, those things enabled her and others to blame her lack of career longevity on uncontrollable events instead of on what really hurt her: her inability to source and sing timely material as well as her lack of appeal to modern audiences. Let's face it, if the talent and numbers were there, she would have had a much longer career.

I thought this thread was closed and R175 - Nothing could be further from the truth!

R375 You cannot let this thread go. It seems clear that you are just as obsessed with Ms. Francis as the others who have written within this thread. During the very early 2000s, there was an individual who was dissing Connie on the yahoo groups, and it turned out to be an obsessed fan who wanted to create contentiousness for the sake of attention, to stand out form the rest.

R377, who but a deranged fan gurl would know any of that shit? Wow

R378Proof!

R377 I think you hit the nail right on the head!

r373 Yes! Out of the blue. Now, granted -- I listen to a lot of pre-'60s "standards" and the like, but I've NEVER actively sought out Miss Francis!

R381 But you found her. And you're all the richer for it! Enjoy!

I like this song.

Connie went off in a different direction compared to her usual single style. Ellie Greenwich wrote her a great song that brought Connie into a different direction, Don't Ever Leave Me, and Tony Hatch gave her Roundabout and Love Is Me, Love Is You. By 1964, Connie was no longer known as top 40, and these singles were not given much air play except for making the charts on Adult Contemporary. Love Is Me, Love Is You was a big juke box song, however. The over-produced Why Say Goodbye had a video attached to it, one of the first videos of music ever made. The song would have been much better had it not been over-produced. Both Ellie and Connie were disappointed that Don't Ever Leave Me only made it to the top 50 on the Hot 100 Billboard chart. The song, however, created a life-long friendship between the two.

That is Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry wrote Don't Ever Leave Me for Connie, and produced it.

What;s My Line CF at 17:53

Damn, the audience went ballistic over her in R386's video, like she was a rock star.

[quote]Connie went off in a different direction compared to her usual single style. Ellie Greenwich wrote her a great song that brought Connie into a different direction, Don't Ever Leave Me, and Tony Hatch gave her Roundabout and Love Is Me, Love Is You.

They were truly second rate songs. They sounded generic almost like someone was trying to write something in the style of Greenwich or Hatch. There obviously wasn't much interest in giving her the good stuff. Connie Francis did not introduce one good memorable song after her early 60s heyday.

By 1964, Connie was no longer known as top 40, and these singles were not given much air play except for making the charts on Adult Contemporary. Love Is Me, Love Is You was a big juke box song, however. The over-produced Why Say Goodbye had a video attached to it, one of the first videos of music ever made. The song would have been much better had it not been over-produced. Both Ellie and Connie were disappointed that Don't Ever Leave Me only made it to the top 50 on the Hot 100 Billboard chart. The song, however, created a life-long friendship between the two.

Excuse the double post.

[quote]By 1964, Connie was no longer known as top 40, and these singles were not given much air play except for making the charts on Adult Contemporary.

If they were good songs that the public wanted to hear they would have gotten airplay. In that era, songs were tried out at local top 40 radio stations. If the recording got response it went national.

[quote]Love Is Me, Love Is You was a big juke box song, however.

A big juke box song? Says who? And compared to what?

The song would have done OK if Petula Clark had sung it. But even then, it probably would have been on the flip-side of something better.

GIF of Connie's Why Say Goodbye video, the first modern music video that started the whole MTV craze.

[quote]GIF of Connie's Why Say Goodbye video, the first modern music video that started the whole MTV craze.

What? Are you high?

Music videos (Scopitone) were happening years before 1968.

(The Beatles BTW made a number of films of their songs especially for television).

A Nancy Sinatra Scopitone 1966

This thread is still going on! I think R375 hit the nail right on the head!

I meany R377 hit the nail on the head.

"R375You cannot let this thread go. It seems clear that you are just as obsessed with Ms. Francis as the others who have written within this thread. During the very early 2000s, there was an individual who was dissing Connie on the yahoo groups, and it turned out to be an obsessed fan who wanted to create contentiousness for the sake of attention, to stand out form the rest."

I don't think I ever saw such a huge applause for a celebrity mystery guest on WML.

R392, but this was the first time an established singer, someone of Miss Francis's caliber, did one. Before it was more new and "B list" singers like Nancy Sinatra.

How is she doing health wise these days? Is she likely to end up on or in many peoples deathlist predictions or deadpools anytime soon?

Ms Francis is fine and very active with charities these days....the veterans and mental health and is often seen out and about at functions, usually in Florida or NYC.

Thanks [R398]

[quote]but this was the first time an established singer, someone of Miss Francis's caliber, did one. Before it was more new and "B list" singers like Nancy Sinatra.

I imagine you're joking.

The Beatles did videos as did Dionne Warwick. Performers as varied as Procol Harum, Neal Sedaka, Al Martino and Bobby Vee did them.... all long before 1968.

Nancy Sinatra "B" list? LOL.

Connie Francis wishes she had mid-1960s smash hits like "Boots, "Something Stupid" or one of the greatest Bond themes of all time: "You Only Live Twice"

If we're talking about nails being hit on the head, r375 was correct. R377 is some deluded fan girl who still cares about a yahoo thread from the early 2000s. Christ, talk about wasting your life!

The only sane person in this thread was R370. I totally agree with everything he said. But posters who're making unfunny rape jokes or the ones comparing Francis to Mozart sound seriously deranged.

Connie wishes she could sing 1/10th as good as Barbra right now. Connie must marvel at how Barbra has kept her range, tone, vibrato and power at the age of 76.

Well, Connie, Barbra is the greatest female singer of all time and you're not.

Expecting to hear a response from the Connie Francis Troll as soon as he has a tiny nip of sherry to regain his sensibilities.

Barbra has lost her voice and the current recordings are manufactured autotone and every other studi device.

R377 was definitely the right nail on the head. Otherwise, you would have stopped responding if you did not care. To the contrary, you want to keep this thread going by your deranged contrary attitude, similar to a deluded obsessed fan. There is one on the Barbra thread as well....same snide and ridiculous remarks. No deranged rape jokes, but deranged looks jokes. Same recording of dreak statements from early a=career, as well.

R40 the bathroom didn't look like that when Connie lived there.

R377 is unhinged to think that there is some decades-long conspiracy to denigrate Connie Francis, of all people. There are always going to be posters on Datalounge who take the opposing view from the OP or, in this case, the person who stepped in to answer the OP's question, AKA, the Connie Francis Troll. "Pointless bitchery" is in Datalounge's DNA, after all. In this instance, you have someone who will defend a particular person to the death and other people who will delight in tormenting him just for shits and grins. If the CFT didn't get so strident in trying to convince everyone repeatedly that Connie Francis was the greatest singer of all time, other people replying would have long since departed to get their jollies elsewhere.

Another longstanding DL tradition: never let your opponent have the last word. That's why flame wars here go on until the thread is closed.

r407, correct. There were stains all over the place back then.

[quote]Barbra has lost her voice and the current recordings are manufactured autotone and every other studi device.

What were Connie Francis' recordings through the 1970s? What ever they were, they were quickly forgotten. Barbra was still having smash hits.

Connie Francis' recording career...what little there was left of it ...was finished by the early 1980s. She was only in her early 40s.

Barbra was still going strong in her 40s when she did her "Broadway Album"...still going strong through her 50s ....and was still drawing huge concert crowds in her 60s.

Barbra doesn't even call HERSELF a singer these days. She promotes herself as an actor and activist.

Connie had no recordings in the 70s. Connie does not call herself a singer anymore, as well. She is involved in charitable work these days with he US veterans and with regard to mental health reform. . She stepped away from singing rather than use autotone, despite having had sell out concerts. Most fans of Connie and Barbra do not care and would attends concerts anyway. Connie chooses not to use autotone. It is their choices to do so or not. Connie was out of commission throughout the 70s and also for long periods throughout the 80s. She and Barbra had stellar careers.

Just some interesting tidbits. Connie started off with a great live concert conductor and arrange, Joe Mele, who used tojkeep her meetings with Bobby Darin secret from her father. This did not work when Bobby showed up on the Jackie Gleason set where Connie was appearing. When Connie's father discovered this, he chased Bobby out with a gun. Bobby escaped from a bathroom window.. She performed with Bobby on The Ed Sullivan Shows some time later, and Connie's father, whi;e having a fit back stage, controlled himself better with the support of Connie's staff. There was one other meeting with Bobby and that was when she was honored with This Is Your Life. When Connie was hot in Las Vegas, she had a great conductor and arranger, Joe Mazzu, who remained with her through the years and when she went back to performing in the early 80s. Upon his death, Frank Sinatra's former conductor and arranger took over, Doug Walters. Frank, Jr. stood in when Doug could not conduct. Connie remains friendly with the Sinatras, bot Nancy and Tina, and used to double date with them in the mid to late 60s. Hard to believe, but true. She was, however, closest to Frank, Jr. She also remains close to Dean Martin's daughter, Deana who is also a singer. Nancy is a dj in LA and plays her father's music and Connie's Italian music. Frank, Sr. encouraged her to sign with his record company, Reprise, in 1960 when her MGM contract was up. She decided to stay with MGM due to their offers. Mitch Miller, head of Columbia, rejected her when she was brought to him when she was age 15. He stated that she was too short, too fat, and too ethnic looking. MGM signed her up instead. He was the first one to come knocking at her door when her MGM contract was up in 1960! At age 15, the NYC TV show Startime Kids on which she appeared from age 12 was discontinued. The emcee and producer, George Scheck, took her on as manager. His son is the famed Barry Scheck, the DNA specialist from the O J Simpson case and founder of The Innocence Project. his father remained Connie's manager for over 30 years. IMO, Connie might have been better off signing with Reprise in 1960. MGM made things too secure and easy for her. although with an extremely lucrative contract that other companies could not provide to any artist. . She was her own boss at MGM. She was likely better off not signing with Columbia as Mitch went off in the other direction, not allowing his artists any freedom and preferring very novelty tunes and forcing artists to record them even upon protest.

Just some interesting tidbits. Connie's first live concert conductor and arranger, Joe Mele, would allow Connie and Bobby to see each other in secret from Connie's father. Bobby was present when Connie appeared on the Jackie Gleason Show and Connie's father went after him with a gun. Bobby escaped through a bathroom window. Bobby and Connie performed together some time later on The Ed Sullivan Show, and Connie controlled himself with the support of her staff. Th e ast time they were together was when Connie was honored on This Is Your Life. Joe Mazzu took over for Mele for he rlive concerts when she was hot in Las Vegas. He remained with her throughout the years and was great with his arrangements. Upon his death in the 1980d, Frank Sinatra's former conductor and arranger, Doug Waters, took over. Frank, Jr. would step in when Doug could not conduct. Connie remains close to the Sinatras, but was closest to Frank, Jr. She and Tina and Nancy would double date. Can you believe that! She remains close to Dean Martin's daughter, Deana, who performed for Connie when the Seminole Casino gave Connie a big bash last December for her 80th.

Connie appeared on Startime Kids from age 12 to 15 and when the show closed, George Scheck, the emcee and producer, took her on as manager and remained her manager for over 30s years. He is the father of George Schech the famed DNA specialist from the O J Simpson case and founder of The Innocence Project. At age 15, George took her to Columbia Records where Mitch Miller was the head. Mitch told her that she was too short and too fat and too ethnic looking. MGM signed her. When her contract was up in 1960, Mitch was the first one to knock on her door. Sinatra also wanted her for the Reprise label. Connie chose to stay with MGM due to heir exceptional and lucrative offer. She might have been better to have signed with Reprise. MGM gave her too much and she was actually the boss of her own career. She was too comfortable there. Mitch, at Columbia was the complete opposite. He forced artists to record songs that he liked even upon protest, and often these were very novelty-like songs.

As I said, just some tidbits.

[quote]She stepped away from singing rather than use autotone..

Oh c'mon. Autotune was invented in the late 90s and didn't start getting real use until the 2000s....long after Connie Francis' recording career was over.

R415...I am talking about live performing.

So nice....

R407 The house was very much as it is shown. The difference is that the Olympic size swimming pool has been removed along with the cabanas. The dining room floor was marble when Connie owned it, and therest of the house hardwood as shown. The rest is pretty much the same. The master bedroom is huge as is the closet attached to it. The master bedroom originally had a round bed. The front doors were huge double dark brown doors. I am not sure if they remain, but the rest of the house is pretty much the same. The library is now empty as shown, but had upholstered chairs. I remember the outside landscaping had a bit more shrubs when Connie sold the house., especially around the largepool area.

Excuse the double post above.

R392 Why does Nancy Sinatra looks like Mae West in Sextette?

It's so silly to say Connie Francis invented the music video. Like saying Brenda Dickson invented reality TV.

[quote] but this was the first time an established singer, someone of Miss Francis's caliber, did one. Before it was more new and "B list" singers like Nancy Sinatra.

Nancy Sinatra had more hits than Connie Francis. And her music holds up better.

Nancy had hardly any hits compared to Connie's 57 chart hits and 12 th placement for females with 4 hits not coutted before the Hot 100 Billboard chart formulation which if included, would place her within the top 5. Now there!

Nancy is now a dj in LA and plays her father's music and Connie's Italian music. I am not sure of the station.

So r418, you've obviously been stalking Connie for quite some time to know that much detail about how that house has changed from then to now. No, not creepy at all. Either that, or Connie has somehow figured out how a computer works and has made her way to Datalounge.

R417 That is exactly why Connie Francis' recordings so quickly fell out of favor.

The singing is just awful. Clueless. It sounds like someone who can sort of sing and hold a tune doing karaoke. And that cheap orchestration...

Astrud Gilberto (who introduced the song) wasn't much of a singer but she had great musicianship and always sounded cool and sophisticated.

Listen to Connie Francis' version and then listen to Vikki Carr's... no comparison.

Love Vikki Carr, but Connie's version is so much better. Connie adds that little "zing" to it.

Connie Francis' version is like something you would have heard on The Lawrence Welk Show (with Jo Ann Castle playing along on the organ).

"It doesn't sound cheesy enough!" Connie Francis pouted in the recording studio. "I want it CHEESIER!"

Wow, I'm amazed anyone heard Connie record the song that way and thought it should ever see the light of day. Just insipid and, frankly, embarrassing. Was that from her compilation classic, "Connie Takes a Whack at Today's Hits"?

Nancy Sinatra is hardly a "disc jockey." She has a weekly three-hour show on Sirius featuring her dad's music and reminiscings about his career and place in music history. Playing a Connie Francis record, if it happened at all, was certainly not part of any regularly scheduled programming.

"We just heard my father sing with Count Basie," said Nancy Sinatra to her Sirius audience. "That was an example of expert phrasing in a popular song. Next, I'll play you a Connie Francis recording, so you can see the difference. Not only was it not popular, the phrasing is both absent-minded and artless."

Wikipedia says that Connie did adopt a son with one of her four husbands. Does she have any relationship with him at all? Couldn't find much about him.

The Lady in Red! Connie wows the Philly crowd last year. Note the cheering bystanders.

Out of all these many, many posts on this excruciating thread, there are the Connie haters, the Connie deifiers, the "let's pit Barbra against Connie" queens. R370 is the only one that is stating the case fairly and accurately. End of story.

R370 is the best, opines R370, cleverly disguised as r434.

R370 compares Connie Francis to Tony Bennett, which is laughable to anyone who knows anything about music and contemporary performers. Oh yes, if Connie had done this, or been able to do that, she would have been right up there with the superstars who had enduring careers! But she didn't and she wasn't. She had her time and her fans. She survived and seems happy. Don't know why her trolls want to make so much more of her than there was.

So Connie is more like Barbara Striezand then R436? Someone who's antiquated style of singing and material places them firmly in the nostalgia category? They've both did pretty well then. I gather Connie is more beloved.

You obviously have problems with reading comprehension, Connie at r437. As well as dealing with reality. But please, continue to dwell happily in the Alzheimer's Village of your nursing home and bask in your glory days when you could pretend Bobby cared about you and the little nothing songs you sang with your sappy voice actually sold records.

R438 High five! R436 needs to have his glasses adjusted and understand the comparison of Connie to Bennett. Bennett was similarly down and out by the late 70s, alcoholic, broke, and near death. No recording contract, and barely Borscht circuit offers. Proper physical intervention and shrewd management brought him back to the industry in a different way and re-established recording career, even though his voice was noticeably aged. Tony Bennett hasn't sung mellifluously in nearly 50 years. But his interpretations and stylizing adapted. He gathered a new generation of fans and reinvented his position in music. Connie, with the same precision in management and proper health maintenance, might have had the same outcome. Yes, we all know she didn't. But not for reasons that suggest she was inferior in talent and charisma. That's utter bullshit, and that's what you want to believe. Yes, she's a nostalgia figure now, and there's nothing wrong with that either. I'm sure she knows better than any of you that her musical time is up. Other performers, however, can also benefit from that knowledge and the fact that "knowing when to leave is the smartest thing anyone can learn."

Bless you, R438. Barbara was talented too, but a bit too ethnic for mass appeal. She came to me many times for advice but I had my own problems. She's had some bad surgery and has NO WALLS left. She had a face only a MAMA could love and even hers couldn't quite manage it. I'm glad Barbara's finally retired - her voice retired decades ago!

[quote]Yes, we all know she didn't. But not for reasons that suggest she was inferior in talent and charisma.

Her recording at R417 is a perfect example of her lack of talent for singing contemporary material. Barbra would have brought the house down with "Summer Samba" in 1966. Connie Francis' version is an embarrassment.

R434 The house was featured when Connie had it up for sale and the pool area stood out.

[quote]Proper physical intervention and shrewd management brought him back to the industry in a different way and re-established recording career, even though his voice was noticeably aged. Tony Bennett hasn't sung mellifluously in nearly 50 years. But his interpretations and stylizing adapted. He gathered a new generation of fans and reinvented his position in music. Connie, with the same precision in management and proper health maintenance, might have had the same outcome.

Tony Bennett was hip. He made albums with Bill Evans and Count Basie. He was ranked up there with Sinatra. He was a legend.

He had something to make a "come-back" to. His cool persona could fit into today's music scene.

Connie Francis was as far away from cool and hip as you could get. No amount of rehab could right that perception.

R432 Yes. Connie adopted a son as an infant with her 3rd husband, Joe Garzilli. The son's name is Joe Garzilli. This was a good marriage until the assault. The husband continued as Connie's manager when George Scheck passed away and remained her manager until his death. The son grew up in north Jersey with the family and grandparents. The grandparents cared for him while Connie was performing. He lived with Connie in Bel Air and then with her when they moved to Florida. He became an algebra teacher and taught in Atlanta. He decided to move back to North Jersey with the family where he resides now. Until several years ago, he did a lot of traveling with Connie until she decided to no longer perform. He does not care for the entertainment business and keeps a low profile.

I don't care for Connie;s version or Vikki's version of So Nice, or anyone else's version. I do not care for the song at all no matter who sings it. I certainly would not state that Vikki's is better than Connie's or vice versa.

R443 - Tony Bennett in 1979 was far from hip. With the rage of disco and punk, he was as far from "cool" as anyone could get. Even Sinatra was having tremendous difficulty at that time, with albums that were begun and scrapped, and didn't have a success until the Trilogy album, his first album in 6 years.. Do your research and discover that Tony's album with Count Basie was recorded in 1959, back when he was Billboard Top 40 material. The album with Bill Evans was recorded in 1975 at a time when jazz was at its lowest ebb and the album sold like used Edsels. It was re-released in 2009 AFTER Bennett's place in jazz had been re-established and then garnered interest retrospectively. "Cool" doesn't precipitate talent. Tony could have faded into oblivion just as easily as Connie. Savvy management and adaptation to age appropriateness and the budding resurgence of standards in the early 80s brought him back, the same way such circumstances could have applied to Connie. Horrible mismanagement and career mistakes were foisted upon Connie, or perhaps, she herself is responsible for them. I feel MGM records was an inappropriate label for her, and she would have done much better in signing with Sinatra's Reprise label and having access to better songwriters, arrangers, and producers to guide her out of the bubble gum pop. But I insist her talent was considerable, as well as the potential for a major comeback in the 1980s. Sadly, it was not to be. I'd still take Francis over ANY pop/rock singer, male or female, over the last 20 years who without autotuned, melodyne, echo chambers, comping, voice doubling, and every studio trick in the book, wouldn't stand a fucking chance.

Give it a rest, r446. You're not convincing anyone. Tony Bennett's career is in no way similar to Connie Francis' especially in terms of talent. But if you want to take her, please do so and put the rest of us out of your misery.

R449 Tony Bennett might have been washed up by 1979 and the album with Bill Evans might have been out of sync with the times it was recorded in... but his cool history and legacy was something to base a comeback on.

[quote]having access to better songwriters, arrangers, and producers to guide her out of the bubble gum pop.

Her attempts at singing Tony Hatch and Burt Bacharach/Hal David or something like "So Nice" posted above, show that she simply didn't have the DNA for contemporary music. There might be a recording or two of her's that are ok but it's a pretty pitiful showing.

Here's Connie Francis singing Bacharach...it is laughably bad. You really think she could have had a comeback? A comeback to what ?

R448 The B & D LP got good reviews!

[quote]Do your research and discover that Tony's album with Count Basie was recorded in 1959, back when he was Billboard Top 40 material.

So?

Tony Bennet was top-40 material through the 1960s: "I Left My Heart in San Francisco", "I Wanna Be Around", "The Good Life", "If I Ruled the World", "Who Can I Turn To" all entered the top-40, were impeccably sung and still sound great today.

But anyway: mentioning Tony Bennett and Connie Francis (of a people) in the same breath is kind of ridiculous.

This thread is still going on! I perused the thread and cannot believe the vitriol and the tasteless rape jokes. This is the sign of the times? Shootings in Pittsburgh, bombs being sent! Connie is obviously very talented as is Tony Bennett, Babra Streisand, etc., etc., etc. whether you like each or not. You cannot achieve what they've achieved without talent! Connie's music continues to be used in movies and TV shows as the very recent use of You're Gonna Miss Me on AHS and Don't Break the Heat on The Feud, and I can go on. Somehow the producers think her music is relevant to their shows. Each person has their own likes and dislikes. I watched Agnetha state how much she was influenced by Connie, as I watched Belinda Carlise say, and others. All of the above rhetoric is hogwash, as are some of the overstatements. Yet, that happens with every artist. Can't we just enjoy our favorites. I read above statements about Barbra's thread, and I went there, and sure enough the same thing through her threads. So, let's just enjoy what we enjoy without being nagged. Soem like Connie, some like Barbra, some like Anne Murray, and some like all of them. Music is subjective! Let's end this.

Who do you think you are, r451? Rodney Fucking King? No, we can't all get along if you're going to cling to your deluded belief that Connie Francis, with her dated warbling style and insipid songs, reached anywhere near the artistry of a Tony Bennett or Barbra Streisand. So if you're so offended that people don't love the old windbag as much as you, do yourself a favor and stay off Datalounge. It will only end with your bitter tears. Or maybe it already has.

R452 Hogwash! You cannot have any objectivity outside of your own likes and dislikes. I above not been on this thread for some time and I cannot believe some of the responses on this thread and the Barbra thread. I am a fan of both, and I will not degrade those artists that I do not care for.

Connie's delivery of those lyrics in R448 makes me wonder: Does Connie know English? Or does she sing the language phonetically?

That would explain why she didn't understand a word she was singing.

For example, the lyric about "STARS! pumpin' gas!" isn't a celebration.

R452There are those who would disagree with you regarding Barbra and for that matter Tony, or whoever simply because people have different likes and dislikes. I like Barbra, but as can be seen on her thread, many think she has recorded junk since the start of her career and now should step away. The same hogwash is said about every artist! DL is proof of that. No one is forcing an opinion on you, nor should anyone force an opinion on anyone else. I ahve listened to the CF radio show and she is lauded as is Sinatra and Barbra on theirs.

R452 You insipid little douche. You don't know shit about singing and even less about music. Tony Bennett has often acclaimed Connie Francis as one of the most underrated singers in the business, and Frank Sinatra adored her. Yes, once a-fucking-again, you ADHD Adderal pumping twat, she didn't have the longevity of a Bennett or Streisand, but not for reasons of being without talent. Streisand had Marty Ehrlichman and without him things might have been very different for her. Bennett had his son to help him back. The comparison between the two is they were both down and out at the same time and are within 10 years of each other in age. Lousy management and behavioral problems cost Connie a bigger career, but the potential was there. Just because your sorry ass doesn't care for her doesn't mean that the people who have appreciated her should be made to feel ridiculous. Sinatra, Streisand, Bennett, Connie, have all made their unique musical contributions, which is more than any of her detractors have done. Time will decide who endures and who is listened to 100 years from now. I'd put my money on Sinatra as leading the pack.

Connie is the greatest!

R456 I agree with most of what you have said. I have said pretty much the same in the last few replies. The same junk is being written about Barbra on her thread.

Connie paved the way for Barbra.

[quote]Connie paved the way for Barbra.

Just like Chevy Vega paved the way for Tesla.

The "same junk is being written" about Streisand on her thread by the Connie Francis apologists, who can't stand to see someone with infinitely more talent have had a much longer-lasting career. It doesn't make a bit of difference what people have said about Connie Francis over the years or how many times she went on Ed Sullivan. Nobody cares. Because nothing will make Francis ever more than a blip on the cultural radar of the 1960s, where the true legends, like Streisand, have endured for decades without excuses.

R461 Yet others say the same negative things about Barbra on her thread. So, it is simply just your and their opinions.

Well, let's see. There are the millions of people who have followed Barbra Streisand at some point of her 50+ year stellar career, making her truly one of the superstars of her generation and then there are the dozens of Connie's fan base, dying off by the second, still clutching their singles of "Mama" to their chests, lamenting that Connie's last hit record was in 1964.

Streisand is all but forgotten. Legend implies that your talent outlives you. Streisand is already antiquated in her sound and style and people can't stand her. There can be no return to someone who produced such dreck. She had a glorious voice for a few years, but it's a one off find to discover a song that she didn't ruin with her singing style.

Sinatra, Aretha, Garland, Whitney, Ella, Nat King Cole and Billie Holiday are legends. Tony Bennett is one of the greatest singers of all time. He overplayed his hand in old age and was overhyped. Because he lived this long. But his enormous vocal talent and taste make him a future legend.

No one thinks Streisand is cool or innovative or a great singer. Most people wish she wouldn't sing and billions more have never heard of her. Ditto Connie Francine. They were once extremely popular. They belong with Elvis. Devoted followings. Corny legends. Good voices, overpraised.

R463 There are still millions of fans who follow Connie as shown on the radio shows and concerts when she was giving them. You are very mistaken.

Connie has two beautiful daughters, Trivia and Jolly. My very favorite Connie Francis song is "Sixteen Candles," and she could of had a bigger catalog but instead sacrificed her career to marry Edward Fisher. I loved her blonde hair and generous chest. Trivia and Jolly both married, Jolly married Kanye West and soon became Dr. Jolly West, the Mkultra director at UCLA during the seventies, which I, the Hillbilly Godmother was a victim of and why I have 6 ppersonalities but that okay because one of them had sex with a famous female singer and a famous actress!

Barbra Streusel didn't have children. She was afraid it would affect her voice that she didn't want to use, unless at 50 she found she was no longer a movie star who made terrible movies, having turned down the good ones. So she had to sing again and had enough honey in her voice to fool a lot of people to rave at the beginning of her concert DVDs. Barbara liked singing in her backyard for the climate but found out that Rembrandt's would cost her fans hundreds of millions. So she turned on the Cassio and got the latest live autotune technology and went on tour again at 87 years old! NO WALLS. She had her first husband cloned in a test tube, called him Jason and cuddled with him in silky lingerie till he acquired AIDS on his day off. She was then forced to purchase Jim Brolin off the new internet. Her dog died and that was her only friend. Barbara Strizand was no Connie Francine. RIP.

This thread makes me feel like crying. How can a debate on someone like Connie Francis, who doesn't have a mean bone in her body and who brought so much joy to people with her music, turn into something so nasty?!

^agreed, she is wonderful.

But what has Connie Francine done about Trump? She supports him. Barbara is singing again because she is so upset by Trump that she attempts to murder John Lennon and Louis Armstrong in ONE SONG!! This terrible singing by these ancient bitches has got to stop. We'll all be living in camps soon and I don't want to hear Streusel singing just to torture us gays. Connie I can put up with. She's a nice lady who died in poverty and oblivion.

[quote]For example, the lyric about "STARS! pumpin' gas!" isn't a celebration.

Her reading of "STARS! pumpin' gas!" had me laughing.

She's completely clueless to the irony and insight contained in the lyrics.

The recording reminds of something Catherine O'Hara would have done on SCTV.

R471 It's obvious you've pumped a lot of gas in your time.

This thread isn't about Streisand or Tony Bennett or any other singer in their 70s or 80s. It's about Miss Connie Francis, who, God bless her, manages to carry on. So she hasn't had a hit record since 1964 and her range was somewhat limited. She is a SURVIVOR! I don't know why certain people need to minimize OR exaggerate her achievements and make her something she was not. It's enough that Connie made people feel good with her singing and that she gave them a source of good memories. That's more than most people do with their lives.

[quote]Her reading of "STARS! pumpin' gas!" had me laughing.

It was from the Brenda Dickson School of Actoring

R474 Laughing or laughoring?

[quote]The recording reminds of something Catherine O'Hara would have done on SCTV.

Eat shit and die.

When Connie performed in Vegas all of Hollywood's greatest attended her shows. She was a STAR!

Sorry, wrong thread.

If Connie HAD chosen to cut a disco album, she would have given Donna Summer a run for her money. Of course, Giorgio Moroder pursued her relentlessly but Connie was on a triumphant tour of the Catskills at the time so she had to turn him down. And then Nile Rogers came calling, wanting Connie to sing for Chic, but she felt the rest of the group couldn't keep up so she sent him packing. But if she had done disco, it would have been a major turning point in her career. I'm not going to use the word 'comeback,' since she never went away, but people would have been lined up outside Studio 54 for her sold-out shows there.

Barbra asked Connie to sing the other part on "Enough is Enough" but when Connie held the last note for 4 minutes and 37 seconds in rehearsal, Barbra, feeling threatened, gave her the wrong address for the final recording session.

Connie never forgave her. It would have made Connie the biggest star of the '80s.

Connie made a great deal of money, spent a great deal on spending sprees, and still has a great deal of money to live a great life. Furthermore, she uses her time to help society, the veterans, and the mentally ill. Her quote: I would rather be remembered for the depths from which I have come than for the heights that I have achieved.

R481. Perfectly said. A true class act. You know that ain't Babula"s philosophy!

R481's quote is a prime example of humble bragging. "Oh yes, I'm such a huge star, but never forget I'm a Joisey girl at heart!"

Her latest album cover was in questionable taste.

Miss Connie Francine is a glamorous woman on stage; the greatest singing superstar of them all. She has no need for fake humility. She's grateful for the gift the good lord gave her and happy to share her talent and time with her devoted fans. She is a most generous diva who gives everything she has. This kind of singing you will not hear anywhere else. Her beauty is timeless, her voice remains flawless. But there's a vulnerable woman with a beautiful heart there too. Quiet please. She did all the creators great service the day she first sang Mama.

And that, my friends, is why R485's clip was placed by NASA on Voyager, to show aliens the ultimate in human vocal control, range and phrasing.

R483 She proves it in action!

Please, R485, that clip does NOT represent Miss Francis. This one is more accurate.

Or this.

I've made it through this thread without actually kicking on any of the links to Connie singing. Until the one at r488. Wow. Miss Connie was a very "emotive" performer, wasn't she? I think maybe "bombastic" is the word I'm looking for. Well, I guess she never sang anything halfway, did she? I'm actually scared to hear this "Mama" song her troll keeps yammering about. Does she sing herself into a seizure?

You don't deserve to hear Connie Francine sing Mama. Listen to her Jolson Medley to warm up your heart you heathen. No one sang Jolson like Miss Francine. Before her nose job collapsed she could really belt it out. Hold onto your wigs. SHOWBIZ, forget about it. Barbra who?

When did Connie come out as a lesbian?

R488 R491 Awesome. What heart, soul, emotion, passion, pathos. She has the whole fucking shebang. Had she continue to develop her talent and go with this style of music, her potential would have been limitless. The cunts and the detractors can eat shit. This lady had extraordinary possibilities and was probably one of the most mismanaged and misdirected talents ever. The thing she needed to share with Streisand was balls and the anaconda aggression to say "no" and "yes" at the right times and the right places. To command and demand. That's where she went wrong, and Streisand succeeded. No one sees sweetness and kindness in Barbra. She'll tear your limbs off, and that was obvious from early on. She sang for cash. Connie adored her audiences and sang from her heart. Bless you, Connie.

Jolson's grandchildren recently paid Connie a visit.

Jolson's great-granddaughter to the right.

When Connie made her debut at the Copa, she performed a terrific Jolson medley that made the industry stand up and take notice and to see her as beyond the top 40 hit maker that she was. Her debut received rave reviews from all publications and made Jules Podell, the owner, make her one of the few regulars. She was barely 20 years old at the time.

r495-6 is Connie's neighbor at the assisted living center and is only too happy to go through her scrapbooks with her and listen to her fading memories.

R488. Beautiful. I've appreciated opera for decades so I'm used to bigger gals creating big sound, but the greats, Connie, Judy and Pia,f were tiny women with extraordinary power.

If that had been Streisand singing Jolson, she would have given it a cool camp appeal.

Connie Francis singing Jolson with conviction and a straight face would have only appealed to the Geritol crowd. In other words: career suicide. . Her performance of Born Free is a question of taste. I think it's lovely. Her cloying plaintive thing is toned down here and anyway it's not out of place with that particular song. However, by the time she performed it, it was a mega hit for Matt Monro and Andy Williams and already played to death.

But she should have had albums full of things of that calibre...the fact is: she doesn't.

[quote]When Connie made her debut at the Copa, she performed a terrific Jolson medley

Nothing like singing Al Jolson to show the industry how marketable you are.

And I do think Connie doing it in blackface was a mistake, too. Even in the '60s.

God, I fucking HATE Al Jolson songs.

Even when better singers, like Judy Garland, sing them. They are awful.

Did Connie have a mother? All we here about is her father micromanaging her career and supposedly driving Bobby Darrin away even when Connie was a grown woman able to make her own choices. That seems to have been a pattern with her, with men.

Connie's mother, Ida, also ruled Connie with an iron fist.

I Will Wait For You.

R500 That was the point. She sang the Jolson medley not to be marked, but to appeal to the Copa crowd, and it worked!

I have tried to listen to one of her songs all of the way through to understand what it is her fans appreciate about her, but the clip at r504 shows me why that is impossible. The orchestration is awful and her voice sounds aged like a 50-year old's no matter how old she was at the time. Her phrasing is pretty tortured, too. Everything about that performance is overwrought.

The other issue is that she mostly covered other people's material after they'd had a hit with it and her version never added anything new to the song. So what was the point?

Her version of I Will Wait For You is pretty famous and was used in the most famous episode of Futurama. It is quite famous and critically acclaimed.

[quote]Her version of I Will Wait For You is pretty famous and was used in the most famous episode of Futurama.

LOL. Used in the most famous episode of Futurama! Well excuse me!

R506, maybe you just don't like ballads. Here's a lighter fare that may be more to your taste.

r509, that little ditty surely proves a point, but not the one you would like to have made. Sheer fluff, not worth more than 10 seconds of anyone's time.

Uh...R509 doesn't seem to understand why her recording career died.

It's 1963...Barbra wins the Grammy for Album of the Year ... Dusty records "I Only Want to Be with You"...Dionne is singing "Don't Make Me Over" and "Make It Easy on Yourself" ...

Meanwhile Connie Francis gives us "Lollipop Lips"

Connie Francine was always an alternative rebel AND a throwback to the greatest entertainers. She didn't need no Barbra or Dusty or Dionne. Those ladies were one or two hit wonders and very slutty. Connie is both the queen of rock n roll and a classic singer with an operatic voice. Who else had such great range?

R511 Listen to these standards, you deaf bitch.

Heard "Where the Boys are"....then learned about her attack and nervous breakdown.Makes that song sound so chilling.An i doubt the Connie "stalkers"in this thread would be half as strong as she was if something similar happened to them.Rushing to bash a victim only makes you all look weak or insane.

R509 is like a parody of an early '60s bubblegum pop song. Every cliche is used.

It's like composing/arranging a song by putting together the pieces of 20 songs from two years ago.

R514 Oh, honey . . . most of the bitches on DL *dream* of being raped in a cheap motel by a black man.

Great, r513, another 30 seconds of my life I'll never get back. That's how long I listened before the grandiose orchestrations and Connie's quivering, overblown warblings had me reaching desperately for the off button. If that's your idea of "good," you are welcome to her, and I'll stick with her betters, i.e. Streisand, Warwick, Ross, Springfield and Lee. Brenda Lee, that is.

Did I see that Connie is Italian? Makes sense, since she is the Queen of Cheesiness! I have to think that the Connie Francis trolls are stringing everybody along with their posts giving Connie their undying support just to generate incredulous replies. Seriously, who would really be worshipping that old broad and what kind of damage would you have to have?

Connie's singing style is very "soap opera" -- full of gasps and over-enunciation -- whereas, respected singers have technique more reminiscent of film.

I bet on the walls of her living room, Connie has plastic, green grapes dangling out plaster cornucopias, just over her white sofa covered in clear plastic.

She's KLASSY that one!

Konnie Karpool Karaoke. PLEASE. Write in and demand it. Barbara Streusel is going to shout out a few raspy notes and pretend she's allowed to drive tonite! Connie sings like the crying angel on the finest fresco of the best Vegas palace. She'll never be matched! Who's sorry now James Corden? You know where the boys are. The world cries out for the artistry and vocal beauty of Connie Francine.

Connie should do Carpool Karaoke.

Drive the Range Rover over her.

Reverse it.

And drive it over her again for good measure.

The cheese doesn't fall far from the string R518. My research tells me that you have posted 75 times on this thread. So love her or hate her, you are obsessed with Connie Francine! Come out of the closet, again.

I never heard of her before a few weeks ago but I love her now. I will always stan C.F. Please give.

Better than Judy.

Oh dear... she even makes "Over The Rainbow" sound like she's singing "Mama".

That has to be the corniest, cheesiest rendition of that song ever recorded. Cheese Wiz.

R525 Go choke on your Cheese Whiz.

TIME AFTER TIME -I agree with the below review for The Exciting Connie Francis, especially with respect to the song Time After Time.

AllMusic Review THE EXCITING CONNIE FRANCIS - he upside of this development was that over the next 12 years Connie produced 40 studio albums of original material covering all facets and sub-groups of popular music and in a number of different languages, a trail she blazed for later followers including Bobby Darin and Linda Ronstadt to name but two. The downside was that she was rarely given the necessary studio time or marketing support nor, more importantly the top quality production and arranger/conductor resources which would have complemented her magnificent vocal accomplishments. For this second album she was paired with arranger conductor Ray Ellis whose c.v included work with Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and The Four Lads and who would later work on an early Barbra Streisand album. With few exceptions, notably Time After Time, The Song Is Ended and There Will Never Be Another You, Ellis failed to rise to the occasion. A particularly insipid treatment of Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me with a plodding bass line, annoying piano tinklilngs and a mournful string section is in contrast with a rousing performance from his vocalist. Despite his occasional successes as arranger/conductor, Ellis doesn't rank in memory with others of the time such as Riddle, Billy May, Gordon Jenkins and Percy Faith, and on the basis of this album his subsequent comparative anonymity is well deserved. As for the singer, the breadth of expression across the vocal range from the slow, the almost breathless delivery of That's All through the laid back finger snapping of All By Myself and up to the uptempo swing delivery of Come Rain or Come Shine is amazing in a performer only just out of her teens. The standout track is a virtuoso performance of Sammy Cahn and Juley Styne's Time After Time where the reprised final phrase of the song is delivered in rising crescendo and with such power and emotion that it sends shivers down the spine. —Anonymous

R527 Oh please. Get serious.

That "review" is not by a known author of an authoritative publication, it's an anonymous fan writing about Connie Francis.

R528 The LP has no user reviews. It is by All Music Guide's William Ruhlmann

AllMusic Review: Connie At The Copa...... Again it has no User Reviews.

AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione [-] Connie Francis at the Copa is a decent document of the immortal pop singer performing live in New York City with an orchestra conducted by Joe Mele. The ten selections include a five-song Al Jolson medley and a coupling of "When the Saints Come Marching In" with "Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home" -- putting the emphasis on standards more than her hits. Two Top Ten gold singles from 1960 are here, though: Connie's remake of the 1940s Italian composition "Mama" and a song more representative of her pop hits, "Many Tears Ago." The sound quality for a major release on MGM is shockingly low, on the level of a good bootleg. Mickey Deans' cassette recordings of his wife, and Judy Garland's last performance, which became the Judy. London. 1969. LP, are similar to this allegedly "High Fidelity Recording" -- though that album emerged out of necessity and this was produced by a major film/record company. But the singer is great -- at the top of her game, recorded a year after she debuted her album of Italian songs in 1960 on The Perry Como Show. The liner notes contain nine reviews from critics, Frank Farrell of the World-Telegram and Sun calling this a "...sensational supper club bow as a major star." Connie Francis at the Copa casts the singer in a different light. Somewhat removed from her popular radio material, she proves she has the talent to take virtually any material and hit it out of the park.

[quote] she proves she has the talent to take virtually any material and hit it out of the park

That pretty much says it all, OP, for your education.

Those albums "The Exciting Connie Francis," etc were rejected by the public over 50 years ago.

The SCTV video at R476 pretty much sums it up.

One of her better songs. She's able to capture the early 60's "girl group" sound even as a solo artist.

Connie Francis has a fantastic and rare voice that can sing any genre of music. Few can do that. She is also a stellar human being.

R533 Another song that went absolutely nowhere. A cheap piece of generic fluff already old by the time it was released. That you consider it "one of her better songs" kinda says it all.

It's late 1963...Connie Francis records that ...meanwhile Dusty records this smash hit. Still cool 55 years later.

Even if you think Connie Francis has a good voice, it's the over-emotive phrasing and lurching dramatic pauses, not to mention the hokey orchestrations, that doom her work to irrelevance. She also seems to lack any appreciation for the meaning of the songs, or understand any nuance, and performs each one as if it's a sequel to "Mama.'

What does Dusty have to do with anything? They had different styles and appealed to different audiences. Connie's record buyers were were upscale and were both teens and adults; Dusty appealed more to beatnik types.

By the way, they were good friends and Connie acted as a mentor to Dusty early in her career, even offering her fashion tips.

Those two LPs, The Exciting CF and At The Copa were fantastic, and more importantly, the latter highlighted her supper club talent. MGM promoted her singles and unfortunately, not her LPS at that time. The two reviews of those LPS are spot on.

R538....and that is why she should have left MGM when she had the chance.

She was fantastic. Such an extraordinary voice. I wish it were possible to go back in time to see her live at one of her star studded performances at the Copa.

I don’t know why people think it reprehensible that Connie could be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rock is an eclectic mix. Nina Simone, Donna Summer, The Shirelles, Brenda Lee, Etta James, The Platters, The Four Seasons, Bobby Darin, Ricky Nelson.

All in the Hall, some would be considered corny today, yet there they are. Connie sang Rock as it was in that time.

Flawless.

She sings every lyric like she's in a Telenovela.

Francis seems to me to be more of a pop/easy listening artist. Just because she sang in the early rock era, doesn't make her a rocker. I'd say she's quite the opposite, actually. It's obvious from this thread she has her committed fans, so she obviously hit a chord, so to speak, with a certain segment of the public. She probably had the career she deserved, based on her voice and performance style.

Do you consider Donna Summer a rocker r544? Bobby Darin?

They had very different careers from Connie Francis, r545. If you're still pouting about Francis not being in the RNR HOF, imagine how Stevie Nicks' fans of her solo career feel. Even though she's in as part of Fleetwood Mac, she's had a viable solo career of 30+ years and wrote many of her songs as well. Contrast that with your favorite's career longevity and output.

And if you're the one who referred to Dusty Springfield's fans as "beatniks," all I can say is "hahahahahaha!"

[quote]And if you're the one who referred to Dusty Springfield's fans as "beatniks,"

And people say Connie Francis fans are stuck in the past!

R542 Her performance? Corny, sudsy, syrupy. It already sounded dated in 1961. The spoken part is particularly tacky.

Compare her singing of "Together" to Ann Murray's timeless vocals.

While Anne Murray's version is, of course, better, I wouldn't hold it out as a contemporary version of the song.

Here is a version that left the 1950s in the dust:

[quote]They had very different careers from Connie Francis,

But do you consider Summer and Darin rockers was my question? You said Connie wasn’t a ‘rocker’ implying only rockers deserve to be in the HoF.

I’m not a Francis stan. In fact, my first post in the thread was at r541. I’m still not sure why it’s so horrifying to suggest Connie be honored when the Queen of Disco has been.

[quote] The spoken part is particularly tacky.

That was considered very innovative at the time, and was even controversial. But Connie was a maverick.

[quote]That was considered very innovative at the time, and was even controversial. But Connie was a maverick.

You are so full of shit, if someone gave you an enema, you could be buried in a matchbox.

Elvis Presley had already recorded Are You Lonesome Tonight with a spoken bridge. It was very common. The horrible ham Al Jolson had done the same thing many years earlier.

Rock and roll timeline - Connie's listed 3 times; same in 1960, 1961, etc, etc.

[quote]that was considered very innovative at the time, and was even controversial. But Connie was a maverick.

What? Sylvia Robinson did it in 1956 "Love is Strange".

And "I Don't Want To set the World on Fire" Ink Spots.

Ok, Connie was the first white girl to do it then.

Love Connie! The hate here from the one demented poster must stem from childhood. Did Connie accidentally back the Caddy over your mama, hon?

The Connie Trolls are so old they still think Cadillacs are prestigious.

Really.....comparing Dusty Springfield to Connie Francis.You tramps are so low class.Gets in my Cadillac and exits thread.Humming

Its My Party......Connie Francis set the pace for all those that followed her.....bow down miserable bitches

Together was a million seller for her. and was top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and the first to reach #1 on the new Adult Contemporary charts. She, i believe, used the spoken bridge on some of her songs reflective of Jolson. Some singles were done with the spoken bridge and then without it. Together, I believe, had two versions of the spoken bridge. Connie has fans of all ages. I am not sure why R558 keeps harping on age. Sure, many of her fans are elderly due to when she was popular, but she has fans outside of that range. Whether she belongs in the RRHOF is debatable, as are some of the other omissions. There are articles stating that she is the biggest omission. I am not sure if that is the case, but her omission is debatable. Chris Isaak, Brenda Lee, and Queen's Briam May are some who have perplexed about her omission. Brian May is a big fan,of Connie as is Chris Isaak., among others. Chris has spoken about his favorite, Connie, many times, and Brian has lauded her talents. Christina Aguilera, Lana del Rey, and other artists of today, also have lauded her talent. Fans of Lana's discovered Connie through Lana's statements and singing of Where The Boys Are. It was no accident that Mary Sarah chose to sing Where The Boys Are for her audition for the Voice panel.

Yeah, for every six people the CF troll mentions, there are about a billion who've never heard of her and/or could not care less. She had her time and place and served whatever purpose she served for her "fans." She will never be elected to the Hall of Fame or reach a larger audience. She showed absolutely no creativity or drive and basically let people tell her what to do and what to sing and then sang everything the exact same way. If you like sappy little songs song in a very histrionic way, OP, Connie is the girl for you!

R561 Seems like you are obsessed with her. If she put on a concert today, it would be packed. Talk about no one cares!

Whenever wherever Connie books a concert the venue is packed. Even today.

Yes! Even today.

Here she was years ago singing at a prestigious venue somewhere near Sacramento.

I mean, who wouldn't want to see this?

Yeah, whenever Connie visits the rec room at the home, word spreads and the people in their wheelchairs all jockey for position. The place is packed, and then Abe, her 92-year old accompanist, shuffles over to the piano to plink out the opening strains of "Mama." The place goes wild -- well, at least among those who haven't nodded off.

What gives? There's absolutely no mention of DL fave Connie Francis!

[quote]a prestigious venue somewhere near Sacramento.

LOL

The best version of Together is by Connie, of course. It became a million seller for her. Anne Murray stated that she was inspired by Connie Francis and would practice as if she were Connie. I love Anne, but there is no emotion in her voice as Connie or Barbra has.

To the Connie critic, surely you can't find fault with this? So beautiful, so relaxing.

She was a STAR. Now she's a beloved living legend

R569 Her Besame Mucho and Siboney have been critically acclaimed. Listen to Siboney, used in the movie 2046. All you have to do is read the comments to the youtube videos! That says it all!

R569 The Connie critic is actually a huge fan.

Arianna Grande.........

Arianna Grande...a staple in her concert

Arianna Grande...a staple in her concert. No comparison with Connie. Same for Gloria Estefan and her daughter.

Connie February 2018. Listen to her speak. She can self-critique better than any of her female counterparts. She knows what she did well and she knows where she went wrong. Her honesty, objectivity, and self-awareness is an inspiration and should be a role model to all performers most of whom are full of shit. (Mem'ries…)

R571 That's genuinely lovely.

The singing style, the echo effect and the orchestrations date the recording...but in a good way. It's a creative artistic rendition of the song, but she should have albums of stuff at that level and she just doesn't. You can pull a nice recording here and there from her songbook... but it doesn't add up to a whole lot.

She goes from recording something like that, to recording novelty song crap, to recording second-rate bubblegum tunes. It seems as if she sang whatever was put in front of her...there's a lack of artistic direction in the choice of songs she sang. There's no career build ... there's no body of work at a consistant level of quality.

R575 That is an accurate statement and one that Connie agrees with. Listen to her book signing interview in R574 and she'll say it better than any of us.

Yes. Connie chose some bad songs to record and she has always said that. She likes few of her hits, but she made a great deal of money off of them. As I said before, she really should have left MGM to go to Reprise. Columbia, at that time, would have been a big mistake as well as Mitch Miller was the head and he went too much in the other direction. While MGM gave Connie free reign and she was the boss, and had no guidance, Columbia forced their artists to record songs, often very novelty type songs, MGM provided Connie with the biggest monetary contract, control over her career, and allowed her to be producer and executive producer. She was too comfortable with MGM and needed guidance from someone other than her father and self. Her concerts showed off her talents and many of her selections for her concerts were never recorded in the studio, for example , her terrific Cole Porter Medley, Gershwin Medley, Judy Garland Medley, Free Again (done in concerts in the late 1960s), her very artisitic version of Bridge Over Troubled Waters (done in concert in the early 1970s), If I Never Sing Another Song (although late in her career). As great as her Al Jolson Medleys for TV and concerts were, there are no studio versions. I believe that Don Black coerced her to record a studio version of her live performance of Born Free. WPEN AM in Philadelphia begged her to record a studio version of If I Never Sing Another Song, the English lyrics written for her about her life by author Don Black. Where is the studio version? Never recorded! All of the above should have been recorded in the studio.

Below is an interesting website regarding her single recordings. .

There reportedly is an unplanned and spontaneous duet with Boy George that has never been released when the two met on a street in London. What was released in Europe in the early 1990s was a medley that Connie did not want released as she thought it was junk....Jive, Connie, Jive, a hooked on type of medley of her hits which went to number 1 in Europe and forced her to visit there and perform at a time when she was not really up to it. Thence, followed another big hit called Go, Connie, Go which was a follow up. Both are still played there frequently, made her a great deal of money, but she has refused to release these in the USA. They remain very popular in Europe.

It's all: woulda...coulda...shoulda...maybe...perhaps...if only...

It's a bore. No one cares about all of that. That's not what a great career or a great talent is all about.

*...maybe...

[quote]Jive, Connie, Jive, a hooked on type of medley of her hits which went to number 1 in Europe and forced her to visit there and perform at a time when she was not really up to it. Thence, followed another big hit called Go, Connie, Go which was a follow up. Both are still played there frequently, made her a great deal of money, but she has refused to release these in the USA. They remain very popular in Europe.

Total bullshit. None of her stuff remains "very popular in Europe". What does that even mean? And if this medley of her hits went to number 1 "in Europe" ... do you mean across the Continent? Oh really? On what chart?

[quote]There reportedly is an unplanned and spontaneous duet with Boy George that has never been released when the two met on a street in London.

Oh? She recorded a song together with BoyGeorge...an unplanned and spontaneous duet.... on a street in London? How does that work?

Are you sure it was BoyGeorge and not Mick Jagger? Or maybe it was Paul McCartney?

R581 It was Boy George.

n 1992, a medley of remixed versions of her biggest German hits charted in Germany. This single, entitled "Jive, Connie", ended up among the top-ten best-selling singles of the year, which brought Connie Francis the prestigious R.SH-Gold award for the "Best Comeback of the Year" from R.SH (short for "Radio Schleswig-Holstein"), back then one of Germany's most important private radio stations.[18] A subsequent compilation album of her biggest German hits in their original versions was also released successfully. In the wake of this, Francis recorded two duets for the German Herzklang label (a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment) with Peter Kraus, with whom she had already worked several times in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A German-language solo album was supposed to follow on Herzklang, but despite all songs being recorded and mixed, the album remains unreleased to this day.

This has not been released by Connie...as she did not like the production as it was not planned. She met Boy George on a street in London and the two payed around in a recording studio and recorded Something Stupid.

Yes. Boy George once told the story how he was thrilled to have bumped into Connie on a tsreet and they agreed to do the duet. It was planned in a way, but not in such a way to Connie;s liking. She has also spoken about it.

R583So, it was not number #1 in Europe as you reported. And no..it does not "still remain popular in Europe". Stop making things up.

However it's nice to hear that some radio station gave her an award.

R584 And now we learn that the "recording on the street in London" was actually perhaps something else entirely. Well, anyway... that's quite a scoop for the "Desert News".

[quote]Boy George once told the story how he was thrilled to have bumped into Connie on a tsreet and they agreed to do the duet.

Once told the story? Link please.

R586 No link for that. He said it on TV. The recording was actually done. So, I got a few things wrong. A snippet was once played on the radio station that has weekly programs of Connie's music. The Jive single was number one in Germany and top 10 in Europe., as was the follow up. She did not like them, but she said that it is pretty difficult to state that ypou do not like something when it brings you a good deal of money and popularity, and it afforded her the chance to meet up with old friends in Germany. She was, however, not up to the travel and performances in 1992.

For those fans who do not know, BaltimoreNetRadio features a weekly Connie show which is replayed a number of times. It also features weekly streams of her music. This has been popular for several years, and Connie sometimes makes an appearance. Whoever posted that book signing video, the woman beside Connie is one of the hosts of the radio show.

Connie on the red carpet last night where she was honored at the film festival for entertainment.

She was also honored in 2010 when her name was stamped into the side walks of Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale.

[quote]The Jive single was number one in Germany and top 10 in Europe.,

This is simply untrue. No "top 10 in Europe". Furthermore I spent the 90s in Europe and there was no Connie Francis on the airwaves. If this was number 1 in Germany, Ok...but on what chart exactly. Post it. Billboard has nothing.

Also: no recording in that era could ever be number 1 in Europe unless they were accompanied by a music video, TV and concert performances.

It was one of the biggest hits in Germany of that year as the article stated.

"It's Time to Say Goodnight." From mid-1961 to mid-1963, Radio Luxembourg closed each day’s broadcasts with “It’s Time to Say Goodnight,” a song Francis had recorded especially for this purpose. She was EXTREMELY popular in Europe.

Charts of the year - 1992 - Germany Top 30 - YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxZa9g29NqQ Published Potpourri: Jive Connie; ... Charts of the year - 1992 - Germany Top 30 YouTube; Charts of the year ... BillBoard Hot 100 Jive Connie #12 for the year.

R593 You are correct about this. Radio Luxembourg had a number of CF programs at the time and she had been awadedd the prestigious Golden Lion Radio Luxembourg award for favorite female vocalist for several years.

Jive Connie peaked at #2 both in Germany and Austria. It never went to #1, but that was still an impressive achievement for Concetta.

You went from number 1 in Europe...to number 2 in Germany in May. OK. You keep posting stuff that continually needs to be fact checked.

R597 I'm not that other guy, you idiot.

I've never been so happy to see a thread about to be closed down. This was an exhausting read.

R599 There's always room for a sequel...