Connie Francis, one of the most popular artists during the 1950s and 60s – who at one point was level pegging with Elvis Presley and the Beatles, has passed away. The American singer and actress, fondly remembered for her chart hits on both sides of the Atlantic: Lipstick on Your Collar, Who’s Sorry Now and Stupid Cupid, was 87 years old, her close friend and manager Ron Richards announced.
Born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in the Ironbound neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey in December 1937, she was encouraged by her father to take part in local talent contests from an early age. It was at one of those events that she was advised to switch her Italian name to something that was easier for most people to pronounce. She became Connie Francis and appeared under her new name in the television variety show Startime Kids from 1953 to 1955.
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Signed to MGM, success didn’t come straight away for Connie, whose first 10 singles failed to chart. That all changed with her 11th release Who’s Sorry Now which was plugged on Dick Clark‘s American Bandstand. It gave her her first top 10 hit – just when the record label had been considering dropping her. The single peaked at number 4 and became her signature record – in spite of the fact that Connie didn’t even like the song and had to be persuaded to record it.
“I had 18 bomb records,” she recalled. “[My father] wanted me to record a song written in 1923. I said ‘Forget about it — the kids on American Bandstand would laugh me right off the show.’ He said, ‘If you don’t record this song, dummy, the only way you’ll get on American Bandstand is to sit on the TV.”
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A star is born
For five years, Francis could do no wrong. She amassed 25 hit records – 14 of them entering the top 10, and was the third highest selling performer after Elvis Presley and The Beatles. In June 1960. she became the first female artist in history to top the Billboard 100 with Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool.
But the social and cultural landscape was rapidly changing – kickstarted by the so-called British Invasion with the Beatles game-changing visit to New York, Florida and Washington DC in February 1964. Francis and many other other big artists of the late 50s were pushed out of the limelight.
Her personal life was even more messy. A relationship with Bobby Darin was nipped in the bud by her disapproving father. Connie was distraught. She was married and divorced four times, finally finding her soul partner Tony Ferretti in 2003.
Connie continued to record extensively with MGM right up to the end of the 60s. Her final release on the label Mr. Love b/w Zingara in November 1969 bombed and subsequent releases on smaller labels, Chicago-based Ivanhoe and GSF failed to do anything.
Connie Francis, who influenced an entire generation of teens in the 1960’s with hit songs including “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” and “Pretty Little Baby,” has died. She was 87. pic.twitter.com/hZIhrBmNaI
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 17, 2025
Connie Francis lived to see forgotten song gain a new lease of life
But there was an unexpected silver lining which thrust Connie back into the spotlight in the digital age. Earlier this year, a little-known song which Connie recorded in 1962, Pretty Little Baby became a viral sensation on social media.
Pretty Little Baby was revived on TikTok where it has featured in over 22.5 million videos up to the singer’s passing on Wednesday. The song, originally tucked away on a B side, has earned over 29 million plays on streaming platforms this year alone.
“I am thrilled and overwhelmed at the success of Pretty Little Baby. I recorded that song 63 years ago and to know that an entire new generation now knows who I am, and my music is thrilling for me. Thank you so much everybody, thank you TikTok.
“The first I learned of it was when [copyright manager, Ron Roberts] called to advise me that I had ‘a viral hit.’ Clearly out of touch with present day music statistics terminology, my initial response was to ask: ‘What’s that?’ Thank you everyone!” she wrote on Facebook.
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