Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero, known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, former actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw.
"Fly Me to the Moon", originally titled "In Other Words", is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. Kaye Ballard made the first recording of the song the year it was written. Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was closely associated with the Apollo missions to the Moon.
"Secret Love" is a song composed by Sammy Fain (music) and Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) for Calamity Jane, a 1953 musical film in which it was introduced by Doris Day in the title role. Ranked as a number 1 hit for Day on both the Billboard and Cash Box, the song also afforded Day a number 1 hit in the UK. "Secret Love" has subsequently been recorded by a wide range of artists, becoming a C&W hit firstly for Slim Whitman and later for Freddy Fender, with the song also becoming an R&B hit for Billy Stewart, whose version also reached the Top 40 as did Freddy Fender's. In the U.K., "Secret Love" would become the career record of Kathy Kirby via her 1963 remake of the song. The melody bears a slight resemblance to the opening theme of Schubert's A-major piano sonata, D.664.
"Around the World" was the theme tune from the 1956 movie Around the World in 80 Days In the film, only an instrumental version of the song appeared, although the vocal version has become by far the better known one. The song was written by Harold Adamson and Victor Young; Young died in 1956, several weeks after the film's release and he received the Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture posthumously. Young's orchestral version was a #13 hit on the Billboard charts in 1957. The recording by Bing Crosby was the B-side of the Victor Young version in 1957, on Festival SP45-1274 in Australia, and was a joint charting success.
"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.
"Who's Sorry Now?" is a popular song with music written by Ted Snyder and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. It was published in 1923, when Isham Jones had a major hit with it. Other popular versions in 1923 were by Marion Harris, Original Memphis Five, Lewis James, and Irving Kaufman.
"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.
"My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" is a song written by Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller which was a #1 hit for Connie Francis in 1960.
"That's All" is a 1952 song written by Alan Brandt with music by Bob Haymes. It has been covered by many jazz and blues artists. The first recording, by Nat King Cole in 1953, achieved some popularity but was not among that year's top 20 songs. It was Bobby Darin's version in his 1959 album That's All that introduced the song to a wider audience.
"Don't Break the Heart That Loves You" is an American song written by Benny Davis and Murray Mencher. The song was a success for two artists in two different genres: Connie Francis in the pop field in 1962 and Margo Smith as a country version in 1978.
"I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter" is a 1962 single by Connie Francis, released in that December to peak at #18 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cash Box Top 100. The song reached #22 UK in December 2008 via a remake by Gabriella Cilmi titled "Warm This Winter".
"If My Pillow Could Talk" was written by Jimmy Steward, Jr. of the Ravens and Bob Mosley, and was a hit single for Connie Francis.
Follow the Boys (1963) is a comedy film starring Connie Francis, Paula Prentiss, and Janis Paige, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Directed by Richard Thorpe and shot on location on the French and Italian Riviera, Follow the Boys was MGM's second film vehicle for top recording artist Francis following Where the Boys Are (1960). While Francis' role in the earlier film had been somewhat secondary, she had a distinctly central role in Follow the Boys playing Bonnie Pulaski, a newlywed traveling the Riviera.
"Forget Domani" is a song introduced in the 1964 film The Yellow Rolls-Royce being a composition by Riz Ortolani, who scored the film, and lyricist Norman Newell.
Connie Francis sings Award Winning Motion Picture Hits is a studio album recorded by American pop singer 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.
Melodien, die die Welt erobern is a studio album recorded for the German market by U. S. Entertainer Connie Francis.
"In the Summer of His Years" is a 1963 pop song with lyrics written by Herb Kretzmer and music by David Lee. Kretzmer and Lee composed the song as a tribute hours after learning that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas.
"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.
