Born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in Newark's Italian Down Neck or Ironbound section of Newark, New Jersey neighbourhood, she is considered the most prolific and popular female rock 'n' roll hit-maker of the early rock era -- the late 1950s to the early 1960s. After an appearance on Startime, Francis was advised to change her name from Franconero to something more easily pronounceable, as well as to quit the accordion and focus on singing.
Francis' first single "Freddy" (1955) met with little success. Her next nine singles were also failures, and she began considering a career in medicine; however, "Who's Sorry Now" (a cover version of a 1923 song) launched her into super-stardom worldwide. Francis recorded the song at what was to have been her final recording session for MGM, as the label was about to drop her since her previous singles had generated little activity. She has said (paraphrased from The Billboard Book of Number One Singles by Fred Bronson) that she recorded it at the suggestion of her father, who convinced her it stood a chance of becoming a hit because it was a song adults already knew and that teenagers would dance to if it were released with a more contemporary arrangement.
The gamble paid off. In April 1958, "Who's Sorry Now" reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart (number four in the USA); in 2000, it was named one of the Songs of the Century. On January 1, 1958, she debuted it on Dick Clark's American Bandstand television show; by mid-year over a million copies were sold. This was followed by many other hits over the next decade, as Connie Francis became one of the most popular vocalists in the world.
Francis specialized in downbeat ballads delivered in her trademark "sobbing" style -- such as "My Happiness," "I'm Sorry I Made You Cry," "Among My Souvenirs," "Together," "Breakin' In a Brand New Broken Heart," and the Italian song "Mama," many of which were remakes of old standards. However, she also had success with a handful of more upbeat, rock-and-roll-oriented compositions, such as "Stupid Cupid," "Lipstick On Your Collar," and "Vacation." Among her other notable performances were "In the Summer of His Years" (a tribute to slain U.S. President John F. Kennedy) and Bert Kaempfert's "Strangers In The Night" (although the latter song is more identified with Frank Sinatra). Both "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" went to No.1 on the Billboard music charts in 1960. In 1962 she had another No.1 hit with "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You."
Francis recorded in nine languages during her career, including English, Italian, French, Spanish, German, and even Japanese, and remade many of her hits in foreign languages, including "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and her signature song, "Where the Boys Are." In fact, her biggest hit album in the U.S. was 1960's Italian Favorites, and she followed it with several more albums of Italian songs over the years, as well as collections of Spanish-language and Jewish songs, among others.
"Where The Boys Are," one of many Neil Sedaka/Howard Greenfield compositions Francis recorded during her career (others included "Stupid Cupid" and "Everybody's Somebody's Fool"), gained wide exposure through its inclusion in the 1960 motion picture with the same title. Francis had a role in the film and sang the title song. During the first half of the 1960s she starred in three additional films -- Follow the Boys (1963) (the title song of which became a No. 17 Billboard single for Francis), Looking for Love (1964) and When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965).
In 1960 Francis became the youngest headliner to sing in Las Vegas, where she played 28 days a year for nine years. In 1961 she was successful in starring in her own television special on ABC television sponsored by Brylcreem titled Kicking Sound Around, singing and acting along-side Tab Hunter, Eddie Foy Jr. and Art Carney. She appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on July 1, 1962 with French singing star Johnny Hallyday in a show that was taped at the famous Moulin Rouge nightclub in Paris, France. On July 3, 1963 she played a Command performance before Queen Elizabeth II at the Alhambra Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland. By 1967, she had 35 U.S. Top 40 hits, and three number ones.
Connie Francis has always been a great fan of country music and recorded several albums of country standards during her pop career. In 1969 she had a modest country hit with "The Wedding Cake" and made the country charts again in 1982 with "There's Still a Few Good Love Songs Left in Me." Several country singers found chart success remaking Francis' pop hits for the country market, including Marie Osmond ("Who's Sorry Now" in 1975), Susan Raye ("My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" in 1972), Margo Smith ("Don't Break The Heart That Loves You" in 1978), and Debby Boone.
During the height of the Vietnam War in 1967, Connie Francis performed for U.S. troops.
Francis ended her recording career in 1969. She returned in 1973 with "The Answer," a song written just for her, and soon began performing again. Her son Joey was born in 1974. Tragedies followed soon after. In 1974 she was sexually assaulted in a hotel following a performance in Westbury, New York. Nasal surgery to correct a sensitivity to air conditioning deprived her of her ability to sing professionally for four years. Her brother was murdered in 1981.
Francis' autobiography, Who's Sorry Now? was published in 1984. Francis was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a mental disease which includes severe depressions and manic highs. She uses the drug Lithium to balance out the emotional highs and lows caused by the disease. Connie Francis resumed her career in 1989 after discovering the drug and has continued singing and recording since then. Francis still holds a world-wide appeal shown through continued music sales and sold-out appearances.
Her latest CD The American Tour contains performances from recent shows. In late December 2004, Francis headlined in Las Vegas for the first time since 1989.
In March of 2007, Francis performed to a sold-out crowd -- composed of gay urbanites and conservative suburbanites -- in San Francisco. The "little diva" belted out versions of her "woebegone ballads . . . in full force," according to the San Franciso Chronicle's music critic.
Connie's fan club: www.conniefrancis.com
Comm'e Bella a Stagione
Connie Francis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Senza lampi, senza tuoni,senza vento camminara
Ma, se fa caldo la mattina
Fai un bagno a Margellina, ti rinfreschi la per la
Una passata al mare, con la barca a Marechiaro
E, si nun si 'nzurato, t'he n 'nzura
Chi dice che l'estate ci da felicita
Ah, com'e bella la stagione
Senza lampi, senza tuoni,senza vento camminara
Oh, when I hold you in my arms dear
My heart burns with wild desires
Like a thousand flaming fires
Give me kisses for the true
Take my love my whole life through
And never fear, I'll never be untrue
Ah, diciamo la verita cent'anni deve campare
Chi dice che l'estate ci da felicita
Ah, com'e bella la stagione
The lyrics of Connie Francis's song Comm'e belle a stagione describe the beauty of the season, without storms, thunder or wind. The song talks about how refreshing it is to take a dip in the sea early in the morning or to take a boat ride to Marechiaro, but reminds the listener that no matter how much joy the summer brings, it is important to live life for a hundred years. The lyrics also have a romantic undertone, expressing the intensity of desire when holding someone in their arms and vowing to never be untrue to them.
The song was originally recorded in 1960 and is sung in Italian. One interesting fact about this song is that it is a Neapolitan language song. Neapolitan is a Romance language spoken in the region of Campania, in Italy. Another fact is that the words "Margellina" and "Marechiaro" mentioned in the song are both seaside areas in Naples, Italy. The song gained popularity in the early 1960s and has since been covered by various artists in different languages.
Another interesting fact is that the lyrics of the song were written by Ernesto de Curtis, a famous Italian poet and songwriter. De Curtis was known for writing many notable Neapolitan songs, including "Torna a Surriento." The music for the song was composed by Luigi Ricci and the song was arranged by Tony Osborne.
The chords for the song are Am, Dm, G7, C, E7, A7, Dm7, G.
Line by Line Meaning
Ah, com'e bella la stagione
Oh, how beautiful the season is
Senza lampi, senza tuoni,senza vento camminara
Without lightning, without thunder, without wind to walk on.
Ma, se fa caldo la mattina
But, if it's hot in the morning
Fai un bagno a Margellina, ti rinfreschi la per la
Take a bath in Margellina, refresh yourself.
Una passata al mare, con la barca a Marechiaro
A walk by the sea, with the boat in Marechiaro.
E, si nun si 'nzurato, t'he n 'nzura
And if you don't get seasick, you won't feel sick.
Ah, diciamo la verita cent'anni deve campare
Oh, let's speak the truth, we must live for a hundred years.
Chi dice che l'estate ci da felicita
Who says that summer brings us happiness?
Oh, when I hold you in my arms dear
Oh, when I hold you close to me
My heart burns with wild desires
My heart is filled with passion
Like a thousand flaming fires
Like a thousand burning flames
Give me kisses for the true
Give me true kisses
Take my love my whole life through
Take my love forever
And never fear, I'll never be untrue
And don't worry, I'll never be unfaithful.
Writer(s): Falvo Rodolfo, Pisano Egidio
Contributed by Amelia C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jimkreider9997
You can see the happiness on her face. She must love this song. Connie's Italian songs are among the best. She is one of a kind.
@bartpeeters380
And THAT is how it's done! Connie; simply the best !!! Please keep these great uploads coming!
@conniefrancis4743
Hi dear🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
Thanks for your love and support that has brought me this far, it has been a hard time for me going through this but your love and support keeps me going and standing strong in this difficult times. I do read your heartwarming comments and I truly appreciate all you’ve done for me throughout the years.
It’s a season of love😍❤️❤️ for me and so I decided to put a smile on the faces of my fans by going through my YouTube channel am checking out on my fans, so I can get to communicate with my fans better through discussion of depth and humor listening to o and criticism of my career.💞💞🙏💖💕..
@DanLoFat
Wow that's just going to be about the happiest she's ever looked in a song ever my God man
@conniefrancis4743
Hi dear🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
Thanks for your love and support that has brought me this far, it has been a hard time for me going through this but your love and support keeps me going and standing strong in this difficult times. I do read your heartwarming comments and I truly appreciate all you’ve done for me throughout the years.
It’s a season of love😍❤️❤️ for me and so I decided to put a smile on the faces of my fans by going through my YouTube channel am checking out on my fans, so I can get to communicate with my fans better through discussion of depth and humor listening to o and criticism of my career.💞💞🙏💖💕..
@sylviagrice4140
I like her hair and outfit!
@conniefrancis4743
Hi dear🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
Thanks for your love and support that has brought me this far, it has been a hard time for me going through this but your love and support keeps me going and standing strong in this difficult times. I do read your heartwarming comments and I truly appreciate all you’ve done for me throughout the years.
It’s a season of love😍❤️❤️ for me and so I decided to put a smile on the faces of my fans by going through my YouTube channel am checking out on my fans, so I can get to communicate with my fans better through discussion of depth and humor listening to o and criticism of my career.💞💞🙏💖💕..
@JohnnyGNV
Fantastic LIVE rendition of this great Italian song - I've only heard the record that she did -
@garryafter8946
she always started her "Italian Hour" segment in concert with this song...the band would play a overture of italian songs she recorded, and she would sing the opening line off stage, and come out for the 3rd part of the show (the first part was usually 3 or 4 songs, a outfit change, then a lengthy but fast and choppy hits medley with lots of old clips and stories...then the 3rd and final part was mostly foreign language material...usually a italian medley starting with this song, and then 2 more...always Mama...then she'd do a spanish cut, and then exodus/havah nagilah....then back to english for a few closing songs...always at least 1 encore...often 2.... great performer....saw about 10 shows in the mid 80's thru ealry 2000's...my last being 2008...which was a bit different...a welcome change!....she cut the fast choppy hits medley, and did the complete songs, ALL OF THEM that were in the med and even extended the hits performances to 5 other hit singles that weren't in the medley and I never heard her sing before...it appeared she did all 16 top 10 hits!
@truthtriumphant
Beautiful voice, song, and performance!!