| Connie Francis sings Jewish Favorites | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1960 | |||
| Recorded | July 13, 15, 17, 20 & 23, 1960 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 36:08 | |||
| Label | MGM Records E-3869 (mono)/SE-3869 (stereo) | |||
| Producer | Arnold Maxin | |||
| Connie Francis chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Connie Francis sings Jewish Favorites is a studio album of Jewish songs recorded by American entertainer Connie Francis.
After the success of her 1959 album Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites (which remained on the album charts for 81 weeks and peaked at number four), Francis decided to release more albums which appealed to immigrant communities in the United States.
In July 1960, Francis was in Hollywood for the interior shots of her first motion picture Where The Boys Are which made it impossible for her to record the album during live sessions at EMI's famous Abbey Road Studios in London, as she had done with Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites. Hence, the playbacks to these songs were pre-recorded in London under the supervision of Francis' British producer Norman Newell, and were conducted by Brian Fahey. The tapes containing these playbacks were shipped to Hollywood, where Francis overdubbed her vocals. [2]
According to Ron Roberts, all the recording dates and titles included in the 1975 edition of his series of Connie Francis discographies were faithful copies of sessions logs compiled at the time by Connie herself. The entire Jewish album was recorded at EMI's Abbey Road studios, together with her preceding release, Connie Francis Sings Spanish & Latin American Favorites, and the subsequent album More Italian Favorites. It was the last album that could not be completed during the July sessions, and final tracks by Connie were cut in September 1960.
Francis, who had grown up in an Italian-Jewish neighborhood in Newark, spoke Yiddish fluently and was familiar with songs in Hebrew, which prompted her to record the songs either entirely in Yiddish or Hebrew or bilingually, with a few lines sung in English. [3] [4]
The album was originally released in October 1960 under the catalogue numbers E-3869 (mono pressings) and SE-3869 (stereo) on MGM Records. The album consisted of 12 songs, although 13 playbacks had been produced. However, conflicts with Francis' busy schedule of filming, recording for other markets and public appearances led to her not overdubbing vocals for her rendition of "Eli, Eli".
According to Ron Roberts, Francis did record "Eli Eli" in London during the Jewish album sessions and it had not been deferred because of other schedules. The backing track to this and several tapes of Connie's London sessions were discovered in the EMI vaults when the MGM Records label was taken over by Polydor. Francis eventually utilised the backing track in 1983 when she recorded a new vocal.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena" | Issachar Miron, Yechiel Chagiz | 1:54 |
| 2. | "My Yiddishe Momme" | Jack Yellen, Lew Pollack | 4:08 |
| 3. | "I Love You Much Too Much" (Ich hob dich zifeel lieb) | Alexander Olshanetsky, Chaim Towber | 3:16 |
| 4. | "Shein vi di Levone" | Joseph Rumshinsky | 2:01 |
| 5. | "Mein Shtetele Belz" | Alexander Olshanetsky | 3:03 |
| 6. | "O mein Papa" | Paul Burkhard, John Turner, Geoffrey Parsons | 3:24 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Anniversary Song" | Iosif Ivanovici, Al Jolson, Saul Chaplin, Chaim Tauber | 2:56 |
| 2. | "Oifen pripetchik" | Mark Warshawsky | 2:48 |
| 3. | "Havah Negilah" | Traditional | 2:56 |
| 4. | "Yossel, Yossel" | Nellie Casman, Samuel Shteinberg | 2:29 |
| 5. | "Wus Geven Is Geven" | David Meyerowitz | 3:16 |
| 6. | "Mom-e-le" | Aaron Goodhart, Mitchell Parish | 3:58 |
Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero, known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American former pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Widely recognized as the “First Lady of Rock & Roll,” she is estimated to have sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
"O mein Papa" is a nostalgic German song, originally as related by a young woman remembering her beloved, once-famous clown father. It was written by Swiss composer Paul Burkhard in 1939 for the musical Der schwarze Hecht, reproduced in 1950 as Das Feuerwerk to a libretto by Erik Charell, Jürg Amstein, and Robert Gilbert. In 1954 that musical was turned into the film Fireworks with Lilli Palmer.
"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.
"Follow the Boys" is a 1963 romantic ballad written to serve as the theme song for the 1963 comedy film of the same name: the song was introduced in the film by its top billed star: Connie Francis, for whom "Follow the Boys" was a Top 20 hit single.
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 Award Winning Motion Picture Hits is a studio album recorded by American pop singer 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 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 an unreleased studio album recorded by American entertainer Connie Francis.
Movie Greats Of The 60s is a studio album recorded by American entertainer Connie Francis. The album features songs from the soundtracks of then current and/or recent motion pictures.
Grandes Exitos del Cine de los Años 60 is a studio album recorded for the U. S. market by entertainer Connie Francis.
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.
Connie Francis and The Kids Next Door is a studio album recorded by U. S. Entertainer Connie Francis.
Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites is a studio album recorded by American singer and entertainer Connie Francis.
Connie Francis sings The Songs of Les Reed is studio album recorded by U. S. Entertainer Connie Francis. It is the last album Francis recorded under her long-term contract with MGM Records which had been signed in 1955.
Barcarole in der Nacht is the tenth German single recorded by U. S. entertainer Connie Francis. The B-side was Colombino.
"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.
Do the Twist! is a studio album recorded in late 1961/early 1962 by U. S. Entertainer Connie Francis. It was released in early 1962 on MGM Records. Later that same year it was repackackaged and re-released under a new title, Dance Party.
