Today is Connie Francis’ birthday. She turns 70 years old. If your first thought is “who is Connie Francis?“–damn you’re young. Connie, of course, was and is a pop singer who reached her peak of popularity in the late 1950s and early 1960s with a string of hit songs and appearances in movies–Who’s Sorry Now, Where the Boys Are (from the movie) among many others. But more importantly for me is that her voice was a staple in every first and second generation Italian household in the northeast. In addition to songs for the teenybopper crowd, Connie also put out several albums of Italian-American classics, all sung in Italian. And at least in my house, my father had them playing on the console stereo a good amount of the time (along with Jerry Vale). For those of us growing up in the Italian communities, going to the Italian churches (Catholic of course), and living in homes that purpetually smelled like garlic and basil there is nothing like the sound of Connie’s voice when it comes to reopening the doorway to those memories.
The standard description of Connie’s style was that she sang with a tear in her voice. This was true even for her pop songs like those mentioned above. But clearly the song that always, for me, transfers that tear in her voice to my eye is her rendition of Mama–the best ever recorded as far as I’m concerned. Happy Birthday, Connie.
