| Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1959 | |||
| Recorded | August 22, 1959 August 25–27, 1959 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 42:34 | |||
| Label | MGM E-3791 (mono)/SE-3791 (stereo) | |||
| Producer | Danny Davis | |||
| Connie Francis chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites | ||||
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Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites is a studio album recorded by American singer and entertainer Connie Francis.
The album consists of traditional Italian and Neapolitan songs (e. g. Santa Lucia ) as well as then-current contemporary songs like Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu) or Piove which both had risen to international fame after being Italy's entries to the Eurovision Song Contests of 1958 and 1959.
Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites was recorded following a suggestion from Francis' father, George Franconero Sr., who played an active part in directing Francis' career. He had realized that Francis would have to make a timely transition from the youth-oriented Rock 'n' Roll music to adult contemporary music if she wanted to pursue a successful long-term career in music. [1]
To make the album appealing to both Italian immigrants as well as listeners not familiar with Romanic languages, Francis sang most of the songs bilingual in either Italian/English or Neapolitan/English. Only Volare and Piove are sung entirely in Italian whilst Torna a Surriento is sung entirely in Neapolitan. Francis, who didn't learn to speak Italian and Neapolitan fluently until 1962, received assistance from a Berlitz teacher to achieve the correct pronunciation of the lyrics' Italian and Neapolitan lines. [2]
The album was recorded between August 22 and 27, 1959, at EMI's famous Abbey Road Studios in London [3] under the musical direction of Tony Osborne [4] and was released in November 1959. Soon afterwards it entered the album charts where it remained for 81 weeks, peaking at # 4. It remains to this day as Francis' most successful album release. [5]
Following the success of Connie Francis sings Italian Favorites, Francis recorded seven more albums of "Favorites" between 1960 and 1964, including Jewish, German and Irish Favorites, among others.
| # | Title | Songwriter | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Comm'è bella 'a stagione" | Gigi Pisano, Rodolfo Falvo, George Brown | 1.51 |
| 2. | "Anema e core" | Salvatore d'Esposito, Domenico Titomalino, Curtis Mann, Harry Akst | 3.03 |
| 3. | "Arrivederci Roma" | Renato Rascel, Pietro Garinei, Sandro Giovannini, Carl Sigman | 2.56 |
| 4. | "Solo tu (You alone)" | Robert Allen, Al Stillman | 2.57 |
| 5. | "Volare" | Domenico Modugno, Franco Migliacci | 3.19 |
| 6. | "Non dimenticar" | Gino Redi, Michele Galdieri, Shelly Dobbins | 3.16 |
| 7. | "Toward the End of the Day (Alla fine del dì)" | Jeffrey Stillman | 3.16 |
| # | Title | Songwriter | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)" | Domenico Modugno | 2.52 |
| 2. | "Mama" | Cesare Andrea Bixio, Bixio Cherubini, Harold Barlow, Phil Brito | 3.55 |
| 3. | "Do You Love Me Like You Kiss Me (Scapricciatiello)" | Pacifico Vento, Ferdinando Albano | 2.39 |
| 4. | "I Have But One Heart (O' Marenariello)" | Gennaro Ottaviano, Salvatore Gambardella, Johnny Farrow, Marty Symes | 3.33 |
| 5. | "'O sole mio (There's No Tomorrow)" | Eduardo di Capua, Giovanni Capurro | 2.56 |
| 6. | "Santa Lucia" | traditional, transcription by Teodoro Cottrau | 3.12 |
| 7. | "Torna a Surriento (Come back to Sorrento)" | Ernesto De Curtis, Giambattista De Curtis | 2.49 |
| # | Title | Songwriter | Length | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Volare" | Domenico Modugno, Franco Migliacci | unknown | alternate version with different arrangement and tempo, unreleased to this day |
Connie Francis is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
Domenico Modugno was an Italian singer, actor and, later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel blu dipinto di blu", for which he received the first Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. He is considered the first Italian cantautore.
"Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" is a popular song with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. The song appeared first in the movie Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), and it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1956. From 1967 to 1973, it was also used as the theme song to Love is a Many Splendored Thing, the soap opera based on the movie.
"Nel blu, dipinto di blu", popularly known as "Volare", is a song originally recorded by Italian singer-songwriter Domenico Modugno, with music composed by himself and Italian lyrics written by himself and Franco Migliacci. It was released as a single on 1 February 1958.
"Everybody's Somebody's Fool" is a song written by Jack Keller and Howard Greenfield that was a No. 1 hit for Connie Francis in 1960. A polka-style version in German, "Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel", was the first German single recorded and released by Connie Francis, and it reached No. 1 on the single chart in 1960 in West Germany.
Giorgio Guidi, known professionally as Johnny Dorelli, is an Italian actor, singer and television host.
Connie Francis Sings Spanish and Latin American Favorites is a studio album of Spanish and Latin American songs recorded by American entertainer Connie Francis.
Connie Francis sings German Favorites is a studio album of German songs recorded by U.S. entertainer Connie Francis.
Connie Francis sings "Never on Sunday" is a studio album of songs from motion pictures recorded by U. S. Entertainer Connie Francis:
Connie Francis sings Jewish Favorites is a studio album of Jewish songs recorded by American entertainer Connie Francis.
Connie Francis sings Folk Song Favorites is a studio album of Folk Song recorded by U. S. Entertainer Connie Francis.
Connie Francis sings Fun Songs For Children is a studio album of children's songs recorded by American pop singer Connie Francis. It is one of the few U. S. albums by Connie Francis to be released exclusively in mono. All songs were co-written by George Goehring who had provided Francis earlier that year with one of her biggest hits, Lipstick On Your Collar.
One for the Boys is a studio album recorded by American entertainer Connie Francis in 1959. It remained unreleased until 14 April 2023 when it was available for streaming on iTunes.
Connie Francis sings Irish Favorites is a studio album recorded by U. S. Entertainer Connie Francis.
Melodien, die die Welt erobern is a studio album recorded for the German market by U. S. Entertainer Connie Francis.
My Thanks to You is a studio album recorded by American entertainer Connie Francis. The album features songs which had been popular on both sides of the Atlantic between the 1920s and the 1940s. It was recorded March 4–6, 1959, at EMI's famous Abbey Road Studios in London.
Christmas in My Heart is a studio album of Christmas music recorded by Connie Francis. The album features popular songs of the season on the A-side and the sacred music of Christmas on the B-side. It was re-released as Connie's Christmas in 1966.
Who's Sorry Now? is the first studio album recorded by U. S. Entertainer Connie Francis.
Connie Francis Sings Modern Italian Hits is a studio album recorded by American entertainer Connie Francis.
"Where the Boys Are" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield for, and first recorded by, Connie Francis as the title track of the 1960 movie by the same name in which she was co-starring.
