Connie Francis (Concetta Rosemarie Franconero born Newark New Jersey USA 12.12.1938) is an American pop singer best known for several international hit songs including "Who's Sorry Now?", "Lipstick on Your Collar", "Where the Boys Are", and "Stupid Cupid". Connie’s changed surname “Francis”, was the idea of radio host Arthur Godfrey, compere of a show in the 1940s called “Startime.” Arthur had trouble pronouncing her real last name so Arthur decided to give her an easy-to-pronounce Irish name. At first, Connie objected saying, “My father would kill me!”… not when he started seeing some of Connie’s residual checks! Connie’s string of rock and roll hits starting in the late 1950s was legendary… She topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on three occasions with "Everybody's Somebody's Fool", "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" and "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You".
Connie’s career waned in the late 1960s after a very successful run of hits. Connie returned to the spotlight again in 1973 with "The Answer – Should I Tie A Yellow Ribbon", a song written just for her as a follow up to the Tony Orlando and Dawn track, “Should I Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree”. Here in Oz the single was on the GSF label distributed by EMI. It was listed in the top 100 tracks of of the year. It didn't chart as high as Tony Orlando's original but it was a big seller all the same.
After this world-wide career boosting hit she soon began performing again. However, in November 1974 Connie was beaten and raped in the Jericho Turnpike Howard Johnson's Lodge, following a performance at the Westbury Music Fair in New York. After the vicious attack she was medically checked and monitored. She was contracted to perform so she was returned to the hotel and discovered the broken lock and torn screen had not been repaired by facility management. She subsequently sued the motel chain for failing to provide adequate security. She reportedly won a $3 million judgment, at the time one of the largest such judgments in history. Her attacker has not been found by the authorities. She did not perform again for seven years and it seemed like she would never have further success after her 1973 hit “The Answer”. But in the fullness of time, of course, she has managed to sustain a very successful career.
For download is a Tom Mix 12” remix of “The Answer – Should I Tie A Yellow Ribbon” reworked from the version which appeared on the South African CD called “A Lifetime Of Love”…Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment