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
If My Pillow Could Talk
Connie Francis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If my pillow could talk
If my pillow could talk
It would tell you 'bout
My sleepless nights
(My sleepless nights)
Ever since you said goodbye
(Since you said goodbye)
If we just could have talked it over
Before you ever put me down
(Oh, you put me down)
You know I love you much too much
To think about you running around
If my pillow could talk to you
(Yeah, yeah)
Know how much I miss your kiss
(Yeah, yeah)
It would tell you how much
I toss and I turn
Waiting for you, darling, to return
Yes, my pillow could tell you too
Not one word they said was true
If my pillow could talk to you
(Could talk to you)
If my pillow could talk to you
(Yeah, yeah)
Know how much I miss your kiss
(Yeah, yeah)
It would tell you how much
I toss and I turn
Waiting for you, darling, to return
Yes, my pillow could tell you too
Not one word they said was true
If my pillow could talk to you
(Could talk to you)
If my pillow could talk to you
(Could talk to you)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
If my pillow could talk to you
(Could talk to you)
If my pillow could talk to you
The song "If My Pillow Could Talk" by Connie Francis is a ballad about heartbreak and longing. The opening lines, repeated throughout the song, express a desire for an inanimate object, the pillow, to convey the singer's feelings to the person who hurt her. The pillow, as a symbol of intimacy and comfort, has witnessed the singer's sleepless nights and tears since the breakup. The lines "You know I love you much too much / To think about you running around" suggest that the singer is still in love with the person who left her, but also feels betrayed by their infidelity.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "If my pillow could talk to you," as if asking for a miracle, for the pillow to somehow bridge the gap between the singer and her lost love. The image of tossing and turning, waiting for the person to come back, creates a sense of desperation and hopelessness. The closing lines, "Not one word they said was true," seem to suggest that the singer has been lied to or misled by others, and that only the pillow knows the truth of her heart.
Overall, "If My Pillow Could Talk" is a poignant and emotional song about the aftermath of a failed romance, with the pillow serving as a metaphor for the singer's unfulfilled desire for connection and communication.
Line by Line Meaning
If my pillow could talk
I wish my pillow could speak and tell you all about my feelings.
It would tell you 'bout
It would convey to you.
My sleepless nights
How I have spent many restless nights.
Tell you 'bout the rivers I cried
How much I have wept and been in sorrow.
Ever since you said goodbye
Since the day you left me.
If we just could have talked it over
If only we could have communicated openly.
Before you ever put me down
Before you rejected me.
You know I love you much too much
You should know that I love you intensely.
To think about you running around
I am unable to bear the thought of you being unfaithful to me.
If my pillow could talk to you
If only my pillow could communicate my emotions to you.
Know how much I miss your kiss
How deeply I long for your affection and intimacy.
It would tell you how much
It would express to you the extent of my sufferings.
I toss and I turn
How I have been unable to sleep peacefully.
Waiting for you, darling, to return
Anticipating your return with eagerness and love.
Yes, my pillow could tell you too
It could share more about how I have been affected.
Not one word they said was true
How all the rumors spread about me are false.
If my pillow could talk to you
If only my pillow could communicate my emotions to you.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JIMMY STEWARD, ROBERT MOSLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Frank Swisher
All of her songs were great thanks Connie 4 the great music
sauquoit13456
On this day in 1963 {April 28th} Connie Francis performed "If My Pillow Could Talk"* on the CBS-TV variety program 'The Ed Sullivan Show'...
Two weeks later on May 12th it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #95; seven weeks later it would peak at #23 {for 1 week} and it spent 9 weeks on the Top 100...
Between 1957 and 1969 Ms. Francis had forty-three Top 100 records; thirteen made the Top 10 with two* reaching #1, "My Heart Has A Mind of It's Own" for 2 weeks in 1960 and "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You" for 1 week in 1962...
* She just missed having a third #1 record when "My Happiness" peaked at #2 {for 2 weeks} in 1959, and for the two weeks that it was at #2, the #1 record for both those weeks was "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" by The Platters ...
luis grant
Connie Francis had three #1 songs you forgot her biggest hit EVERYBODY'S SOMEBODY'S FOOL
belisario guerra
Original: Connie Francis ( U.S. ) - If my pillow could talk ( 5/1963 ). Covers: Karina ( Spain ) - Si mi almohada hablara ( 1963 ). Oscar Madrigal ( Mexico ) - Serías para mí ( 1963 or 1964 ? ).
Daniel Kubacki
Good one!
steve unger
love you connie
steve unger
alright who does not like this song?
Todd Thomas
C❤nnie Francis
jakre10
Fun fun song