With a string of worldwide hits like “Stupid Cupid” (1958), “Who's Sorry Now”
(1957), and “Heartaches” (1958), Connie Francis – born Concetta Rosa Maria
Franconero on December 12, 1937, in Newark, New Jersey - was one of America's
greatest early pop stars. Her yearning voice caught the imagination of pop fans
as she sold huge amounts of records in the late 1950s and early 1960s, bridging
the rock and roll and beat boom eras. From Italian parentage, she performed
regularly at talent shows in Newark, winning a spot on the NBC variety show
Startime Kids between 1953 and 1955. It led...