R.I.P. Connie Francis (1937-2025)

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We lost one of the early stars of rock and pop music when Connie Francis passed away yesterday at the age of 87. Connie was the first woman to hit # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Everybody's Somebody's Fool." She had 53 hits reach the charts, including two more #1s ("My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" and "Don't Break the Heart of Someone That Loves You") and 15 that reached the Top 10. Estimates are that she sold more than 200 million records.

Connie also had a brief acting career, appearing mostly in what might be termed "teen exploitation" films, beginning with Rock, Rock, Rock in 1956. Her best-known role was as a boy-crazy spring breaker in the movie Where the Boys Are and its sort-of-sequel, Follow the Boys.

She had been recovering from a hip injury at her home in Florida and was planning on making a return to performing later this year.

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