Connie Francis was a trailblazing pop star haunted by tragedy | Pop and rock

There could also be extra broadly revered singers, however the statistics don’t lie – worldwide, the Italian-American Connie Francis was the best-selling feminine vocalist of the 50s and 60s.Her breakthrough hit, 1958’s Who’s Sorry Now, was written way back to 1923 and had been successful for Johnnie Ray simply a few years earlier, with a swinging, uptempo association. However what made the 19-year-old Francis’s model click on was the way in which by which she took pleasure in her ex’s distress, coolly and coyly cooing over the slow-rocking backing whereas selecting his failed love life aside; for a finale, she ended the tune with spectacular, high-kicking spite. In distinction, her second UK No 1 was the daffy Silly Cupid, written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, and loaded with ear-catching gimmicks: the bow-and-arrow guitar impact on the refrain; Francis leaping an octave when she sings “Cu-pid!”; and devices that drop out – the musical equal of a wink – to permit her voice to sound as seductive as attainable.Her profession would observe this sample via the late 50s and early 60s, alternating frivolously up to date pre-rock ballads with teenage materials redolent of soda retailers and drive-ins, the type of American 50s situation later lit in neon by Completely happy Days and Grease. Of the ballads, My Happiness and Mama have been particularly heartfelt performances, and each reached the highest 10 in Britain and America, whereas the desperation of the country-leaning My Coronary heart Has a Thoughts of Its Personal gave her the second of three US No 1s. The finger-snapping Fallin’ and It’s Gonna Take Some Time have been cool and sassy, whereas Lipstick on Your Collar (its title later utilized by Dennis Potter as a late 50s signifier) and Trip have been so camp, they have been nearly gleeful self-parodies.In 1960, Francis made her big-screen debut in The place the Boys Are, and the Sedaka/Greenfield theme tune grew to become one other transatlantic prime 5 single. 1960 was additionally the 12 months Brenda Lee broke via – up up to now, Francis had been a lone trailblazer for girls in rock’n’roll; the likes of Wanda Jackson and Jo Ann Campbell made nice information however by no means got here near a prime 10 hit, whereas the woman group period which gave us the Ronettes, the Chiffons and the Shangri-Las didn’t start in earnest till 1962.Francis struggled to adapt to the rise of the teenage woman group, although when she recorded materials as robust as 1965’s soulful No Higher Off it was clear the fault didn’t lie with the singer. She can be edged additional into straightforward listening territory, scoring her final two hits within the UK with the darkly intense My Little one in 1965 (she would by no means have youngsters of her personal) and the accusatory Jealous Coronary heart in 1966. The latter may have been directed at her father, additionally her supervisor, who had damaged up her relationship with the singer Bobby Darin by waving a gun at him; Francis would later describe Darin as “essentially the most fascinating human being I’ve ever met in my life”.The next a long time have been lower than sort to Connie Francis, who appeared to be dogged by tragedy. She was raped at knifepoint and nearly killed in her motel room in 1974, after acting at a good in New York state. She went public with the story, and Howard Johnson Motor Lodges have been ordered to pay her $2.5m in compensation (later diminished to $1.475m in a settlement); this may then change into a check case, resulting in main upgrades in American resort and motel safety. The attacker was by no means discovered. Francis’s bravery in going public couldn’t assist her overcome the psychological well being repercussions, and she or he didn’t sing in public for a number of years afterward. Then in 1981, her brother was shot useless, apparently by an expert hitman; the trauma would result in Francis being misdiagnosed with manic-depressive dysfunction. She was involuntarily hospitalized by her controlling father, and spent a lot of the Eighties out and in of psychiatric establishments. Once more, Francis was courageous sufficient to talk out as a survivor, and have become a spokesperson for Psychological Well being America to assist others “affected by the deleterious results of melancholy and trauma of all types”.Although the hits had dried up within the mid-60s Connie Francis stored a loyal following. In 1977, 20 All Time Greats made her – relatively shockingly – the primary feminine solo artist to have a No 1 album in Britain. She had additionally been the primary feminine singer of the fashionable pop period to attain three US No 1 singles, whereas 1962’s Fairly Little Child – solely an album observe on the time – would change into a TikTok hit, gaining tens of millions of streams in 2025 due to its use by Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian. Connie Francis was a trailblazer, each as a pop star and an advocate of psychological well being assist, and – like most trailblazers – she needed to face the highs and the lows on her personal.