Connie Francis

Wasn’t she raped by a. Lack guy and stopped singing?

She was dreamy.

She has suffered.

And she always looked old for her age.

She was very close friends with my aunt growing up in NJ.

She’s had her share of trouble and tragedy.

First the rape, then her brother was murdered by the mob. They gunned him down while he was standing in the driveway of his home.

And don’t forget 4 failed marriages.

My aunt and my mom always spoke highly of her. They always said she was one of the nicest girls they ever met.

She deserved better.

And she could sing phonetically in a ton of languages. Imagine "Lipstick on Your Collar" in Urdu or Croatian!

The clip is hilarious---her "dancing" (if you want to call it that) among those phallic decorations, lipsynching the the song in front of rather old looking teen agers, all chewing gum. They're probably in their 80s now or are worm food.

Dress, hair and makeup for young women was very 'mature' back then. They all ended up looking like younger versions of their moms. Connie always looked very pretty in her movies and she excelled at comedy. Always liked her.

Connie, herself, never considered herself beautiful. She would joke at her concerts when someone yelled from the audience that she looked great. She would respond with "Do you think I actually look this beautiful! I have Leonardo Davinci backstage to look like this!. She actually was beautiful and glamorous when made up, but that was during the 1980s. The late 1950s and early 1960s had its own style that made all women look older. A great talent and she did so many great things for others and never mentions them Never had a publicist either.

R5 Yes, she did. She did speak Italian and Yiddish quite fluently, and very fluent Italian later. Her Italian Favorites LP shot to the top of the charts and stayed on the charts for 82 weeks. Her single, Mama, was not planned as a single release until she and MGM heard the reaction form the audience when she first performed it on The Perry Como Show. This led to her having consistent shows throughout her career at Carnegie Hall, London Palladium, and Royal Albert Hall. She was already a regular and one of the biggest performers at The Copa.

She was always a messy bitch who lived for drama. Shelley Fabares was positively virginal by comparison.

I ❤️ Connie.

R10 - Paula Prentiss

I like how she holds her hands like paws.

She had a face that belongs on a can of tomato paste.

OP- She looks like someone’s middle aged mother all dressed up for a dinner party .

but could she rock a house dress 👗 and pearls to vacuum?

R6-Two of the actors who played teenagers in West Side Story are now in their 90’s-

Rita Moreno is 92

and

George Chakiris is 91.

There's a chapter in John Waters' "Carsick" in which he fantasizes about Connie, picking him up while he's hitchhiking. I won't reveal all because it's really funny and DLers should read it.

I want "Where The Boys Are" to be played at my funeral.

"Connie, herself, never considered herself beautiful." "I like how she holds her hands like paws." "She had a face that belongs on a can of tomato paste."

These quips are why I shall always love the Datalounge.

What I don't love is that stumpy, plain, thick waisted, hard-faced, overacting non-actress with the fake sob in her voice: CF. It's eye-rolling to see how latter-day MGM's beauty squad tried to make her look otherwise: study her excruciating musical romcoms for every textbook costume, photography, and hair/makeup trick to make her look taller, thinner, more girlish. And when you compare the poster art rendition of her to the reality that's there on the film, it's laugh-aloud ridiculous. Plus there are those photos with her face turned to the side to hide that gigantic moonface.

She's a Republican so she may profess to love the gays as an individual but she's always voted for people who don't. And it's surprising in these days where cancel culture comes for Kate Smith that CF's cultural appropriation albums haven't resulted in an anti-Connie pop culture moment.

Has the old George Burns joke ever been told here on Datalounge? The story goes Mr. Burns had an assistant read him the headlines as he was prepping for his nightly Vegas show so he could quip about current affairs. When the assistant told him, "Connie Francis was raped last night after a show at Westbury Music Fair." Mr. Burns asked, "Did they get her arrangements?" "No," replied the assistant. Burns answered, "Then she's still in show business."

Watching the sad, out of sync, poorly coiffed audience in that clip, which almost looks like the people come from another country in another dimension -- most of the girls, and some of the guys, are chewing gum.

Did people constantly chew gum back then? In public like this? It's weird.

They were chewing gum because it was Dick Clark's Saturday Night Beech-Nut show sponsored by Beech-Nut chewing gum.

And some of the kids are wear buttons that say "IFIC" which means terrific, but we always thought it stood for "I fuck in cars!"

Your DL history lesson for today.

Where The Boys Are- Only 22 years old and looking much older. She looks rather stiff her and nervous but this song is perhaps my favorite song of hers and she's singing live her and beautifully.

R22 is why I come to Datalounge.

I used to know one of Burns' former assistance. he became a funeral director to the stars.

I watched the video at OP just to see her hold her hands like paws.

She looks like my aunts. I wonder if she and Bobby Darin were really each other’s true love, or if that’s just something she says because nobody’s alive to refute it.

Interview with Ms. Francis o PBS, I think from 2018. She's made friends with her fans over the years. Very sweet.

[quote]Yes, she did. She did speak Italian and Yiddish quite fluently

She obviously did not understand a word she was singing. This is hilariously bad.

She looks like hell in R27's pic. Some really botched plastic surgery.

R23: Where did she ever get that dress? is the fringe supposed to distract from everything else?

The real thing was funnier than any SCTV parody could possibly be:

One of the greatest voices of the 20th Century when she sang songs like Born Free, The Impossible Dream, I Will Wait For You. She had stage presence and charisma. Data Lounge loves her. She and Bobby Darin would hold their hands in such a manner while singing. She, however, soon gave that up for more natural hand movements. One critic described some of her hand movements as humming-bird like quickness. A great international superstar.

R28 She did speak Italian, and became better at it over time. nevertheless this LP shot straight to the top of the charts and remained on the charts for over 80 weeks. Her best Italian LP is Love Italian Style recorded in Milan in 1967.

R32: It's time for your medication.

She looks old enough to play canasta with the other spinsters here.

[quote]nevertheless this LP shot straight to the top of the charts and remained on the charts for over 80 weeks.

To the top of the charts? And what charts may that be?

I just don’t know where this thread is going?

R31- That's TOTALLY

Dorothy singing or actually Blanche singing or attempting to sing a tune at the Rusty Anchor

[quote] To the top of the charts? And what charts may that be?

Might those be, dear.

Oooops sorry.

I liked her Broadway LP.

She was a huge star in the 50's into the 60's. And always a huge Vegas draw when she headlined there. A lot of charisma, an amazing voice and talented singer. She is still active on Facebook (probably a team doing the work) and she still looks lovely and elegant. I wish she'd get more recognition for her career.

Imagine paying money to see this, it would be funny if it weren't so sad.

If Joan Baez andd Dolly Parton can be in the Rock& Roll Hall of Fame, so can Connie Francis.

R43: She's back to hands as paws. No energy, she barely sings. And is that a hefty bag, a raincoat, or a dress.

R38 Billboard!

R42 That is an understatement! No one can take her success away from her. A great STAR throughout the world. She was never off the Billboard charts in the 50s and 60s. First female to have a #1 on the Hot 100 Billboard chart and first female to have back to back #1s on those charts.

[quote]She was never off the Billboard charts in the 50s and 60s.

That's not true.

[quote]First female to have a #1 on the Hot 100 Billboard chart

But it wasn't even in the top 10 of the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles.

Brenda Lee was at #6.

I can't get enough of her hands as paws.

R13- That's such a datalounge thing to say-

and I like it 👍

^ Thank you!

A live version from The Ed Sullivan Show June 14, 1959.

R53: Caterwauling, hands as paws, and twirling as a dance number, what could be more fun.

This is my favorite song. I bought the 45 and played it so much, my brother threw it on the roof of the house so he wouldn't have to hear it again.

But I showed him - awhile later I went out and bought this.

Is the Connie Francis troll still alive?

This thread makes me think of Nancy's alcoholic mother from The Craft.

"Where the Boys and the Booze Are"

R57... Really one of her best, written by her the team she discovered: Sedaka, Greenfield, Keller.

I doubt that she discovered Sedaka, et al. They slaved away in the Brill Building and producers would have chosen their songs and presented the demos to multiple acts. Don Kirshner probably played a bigger role in his career than anyone else.

Neil Sedaka is a fag.

R62: Beyond that he already been recording (an early version of the Tokens and as a not yet successful solo) and writing before she was on the horizon. He met Howard Greenfield when he was in junior high and they were collaborators from early on.

Greg was the Connie Francis troll???

George Burns’ joke at r20 doesn’t make any sense.

Just because there’s an unfortunate event it doesn’t mean a performer changes careers. They probably need their work more than ever, to retain normalcy.

That joke is like saying:

“Connie Francis missed her flight.” / “Did she lose her arrangements?" / "No.” / “Then she's still in show business."

“Connie Francis’ child died.” / “Did her arrangements disappear?" / "No.” / "Then she's still in show business."

[quote]Really one of her best, written by her the team she discovered: Sedaka, Greenfield, Keller.

Helen wrote music too?

R61 Neil himself says he was discovered by Connie when he visited her home at the request of a mutual friend, Don Kirchner, and played selections, and she chose Stupid Cupid, his first million seller. From then on, he was a regular writer for Connie. She adored Howie Greenfield.

^ After 1960 he never wrote another song for her. He moved on to other performers. You can't blame him.

He was hardly discovered by her. Don Kirschner was a producer and people like Sedaka, Carole King, et al. supplied him with songs. R67 needs to get back on his meds and stop listening to Connie bleating way in Serbo-Croatian.

No one remembers Neil Sedaka for the junk he wrote for Connie Francis.

"Solitaire", "Laughter in the Rain", "Love Will Keep Us Together", ""You Never Done It Like That" , "Workin' On a Groovy Thing ", "Don't Hide Your Love"....his quality work was written for others.

Sedaka is back!!!!

R70 Sure they do: Where The Boys Are, Fallin', His recording hit of Diary is about her.

R69 H, himself, states that she discovered him. If she had not recorded Stupid Cupid, he might not have gotten anywhere, and Where The Boys Are is one of his biggest sellers.

I didn't know she was still alive. I liked Brenda Lee better.

No major singer ever recorded a cover version of "Where The Boys Are", it is a dreary nostalgia piece stuck in its era.

Things like "Solitaire", "Laughter in the Rain", "Love Will Keep Us Together" still sound contemporary.

THIS is a pop masterpiece:

Many Recorded Where The Boys Are. Linda Eder is one. LeAnn Rimes is another, to name a few. Mary Sarah, as well. None can do it as well as Connie, and so that deters others from singing it. It is glued to her. Theirs will always be compared to hers. Yes, Connie recorded a great deal of pop pop, Who's sorry Now and Where The Boys Are are not that. She also has magnificent recordings on LPs such as The Impossible Dream, Born Free, I Will Wait For You, Brother Can You Spare A Dime, among others. She herself has stated that she should have recorded better material, but those hit songs made the money.