Connie. Francis.
Okay, this obviously comes from the school of mom. But I have a guilty pleasure thing about Connie Francis - I really like her voice! Really! "Stupid Cupid!" Come on - it's cute!
What's funny to me about Connie Francis is that the thing I always liked about her is what I now like about old school Mexican divas like Lola Beltran... She can really belt it out. Dramatically. Connie Francis sang in many languages (besides English, she did tons in Italian, some German, Japanese (!), Jewish tunes, Spanish... probably more I can't think of) and regardless of whether or not you understood what she was singing, you felt it. I bet girls all over the world cried while listening to some of her stuff.
She sang in many different styles also, which is what kept her afloat after the whole Beatles thing and rock & roll truly kicked in. A true pop singer who successfully dabbled in country, jazz, standards, and even did a couple kids records. Not that I ever heard any of those.
She did some acting, which almost made me hate her, actually. She was in this horrid movie called Where The Boys Are (you know the song, I know you do!) which was about some adventurous young girls heading off to Fort Lauderdale for Spring Break. They flirt and stuff, and one of them gets gang banged. Of course, this is represented by the most outgoing girl entering into a room with a bunch of guys who start to make advances, and then the next time you see her, she's with her friends and practically catatonic for the rest of the movie. No one ever discusses it, but I believe the other girls wind up with cute boyfriends while the flirtiest one winds up with post traumatic stress disorder and lifelong nightmares or something. There's your lesson learned, sassy gals! (Ironically, Connie was raped in 1974 in a hotel room after a show, and became an advocate for victims of violent crime as well as public safety.)
So give Connie a break. My brother and I were listening to one of my mom's collections of Connie Singing In Italian, and there was a song on it that could be a companion piece to Siouxsie & the Banshee's "Dazzle." Really. Not bad for an Italian gal from New Jersey.
