Connie Francis, one of the most successful American pop singers of the late 1950s and early 1960s, has died at the age of 87. Her longtime friend and publicist Ron Roberts said she passed away on Wednesday night; no cause of death was given. Francis had been hospitalized on July 2 for what doctors described as “extreme pain” related to a recent pelvic fracture but was later transferred to a private room. Born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in Newark, New Jersey, Francis sold an estimated 200 million records worldwide and logged more than a dozen U.S. Top 20 singles between 1957 and 1964. She became the first woman to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” in 1960 and scored further hits with “Who’s Sorry Now?,” “Stupid Cupid” and the film-theme “Where the Boys Are.” She also appeared in several movies and remained a popular concert attraction for decades. The singer experienced an unexpected resurgence this year when her 1962 B-side “Pretty Little Baby” was used in millions of TikTok videos, propelling the six-decade-old track onto Spotify’s global chart and into the Billboard Global 20. Francis joined the platform in June to thank new listeners, calling the renewed attention “overwhelming.” Francis’s later life included advocacy for mental-health and crime victims following personal tragedies, among them a 1974 assault and the 1981 murder of her brother. She is survived by her adopted son, Joey Garzilli. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
Singer Connie Francis, a legendary performer who dominated music charts in the late 50s and early 60s, died at age 87. https://t.co/zdScfG8h94
Star-crossed singer Connie Francis, whose hits included 'Pretty Little Baby' dead at 87 https://t.co/IFn4m8gqhp
Muere Connie Francis a los 87 años. La cantante reinó en las listas de éxitos en los años cincuenta y, este mismo año, su canción 'Pretty Little Baby' resurgió gracias a TikTok donde fue tendencia durante semanas y volvió a dominar las listas de éxitos https://t.co/GgNGdtzMPG