Death: “Love is a strange game”: Connie Francis is dead

Connie Francis’ hit hits would fill a whole jukebox: earwigs like “beautiful stranger”, “Barcarole at night” and “Love is a strange game” Germany made Germany dance in the 1960s and made the petite woman with the nickname “Queenie” the superstar. The US singer recorded records in more than ten languages and thus became a superstar in her home country and worldwide.

Francis has now died at the age of 87. “With a heavy heart and extreme grief, I will inform you about the death of my close friend Connie Francis last night,” wrote her manager Ron Roberts on Facebook. At first he did not share more details, but announced this for later.

Just a surprise hit at Tikkok

The singer Peter Lemongello, who was friends with Francis, informed the German Press Agency to have been informed about her death by the singer’s assistant last night. Numerous US media reported on the musician’s death.

Francis had given concerts or interviews every now and then into old age and showed himself to the public, but was finally struggling with health problems and withdrawing. Her song “Pretty Little Baby” had just celebrated a surprising comeback on Tikkok – much to the delight of Francis. “I feel great and apart from me with joy that a whole new generation of people now know me and my music,” she said at the beginning of the year of the “New York Times”.

Francis appeared on television as a child

Francis was born on December 12, 1938 as Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in the US state of New Jersey. Her parents were Italian immigrants, who soon encouraged them to sing and make music. Soon she appeared on celebrations and smaller stages and finally – still as a child – on TV.

With “Who’s Sorry now?” In 1957 she finally made her breakthrough. The success single should be the beginning of a comet-like career: In the following six years alone, 35 of their songs ended up in the top 40, three of them in first place: “Everybody’s somebody’s fool”, “My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own” and “Don’t Break The Heart That Loves You”.

Plates in more than ten languages – with an American accent

Plates followed in Japanese, French, Greek, Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch – and of course German, always with a charming American accent. The foundation stone for a world career. In Germany, Japan, Spain and Italy, she celebrated huge success with her songs. In addition to hits, country music, jazz and Jewish and Irish folk songs were part of their repertoire.

But after the sensationally successful 60s, the 70s should be hell for Francis. Musically it was no longer possible – and not at all privately. In 1974 Francis tried a comeback, but shortly afterwards was attacked and raped in a hotel near New York. The perpetrator escaped and was never found. Francis sued the hotel chain for lack of safety precautions for compensation for several million dollars and won – but deep wounds remained all of her life.

Francis also found no luck in love, the “strange game”. She described the entertainer bobby in it that she met in the 1950s as the great love of her life, but her father banned the relationship. Later she married four times, all four marriages were divorced. “Three of my men were painful, one abused me,” she said once.

Despite everything, she always kept the love of music up. Actually, she always wanted to “die on stage at 90”.