Connie Francis on Her Monster Hits and the Onslaught of the British Invasion
‘The Industry Was Held Hostage by the Beatles’
If you were anywhere near a radio in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the music of Connie Francis became the soundtrack of your life. Francis’ string of Top 10 hits began in 1957 include “Who’s Sorry Now,” soon followed by “My Happiness,” “Lipstick on Your Collar,” “Among My Souvenirs” and “Many Tears Ago.” Francis was the first woman to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart with 1962’s “My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own.”
The teen idol sang the title song and starred in the film Where the Boys Are, credited with making Fort Lauderdale, Florida a popular spring break destination. Francis was one of the first American artists to record foreign language versions of her hits internationally. They were popular in the US too; “Mama,” with Italian lyrics, was a Top 10 hit in 1958.
Although she maintained a busy international concert schedule for decades, 1963’s British Invasion, led by the Beatles, brought her hits to a halt. “It didn’t matter what I recorded,” says Francis. “The industry was held hostage by the Beatles and the Dave Clark Five and all of those groups.”
What was the music industry like in the early 1960s?
