Pop star: “My humor saved me”: Connie Francis turns 85

Whether “Beautiful Stranger”, “Barcarole in the Night” or “Love is a Strange Game”: Connie Francis’ hits would fill an entire jukebox. In the 1960s, the American singer made the whole of Germany dance with it and also became a worldwide superstar. Francis, who turns 85 on Tuesday (December 12), now lives in the US state of Florida and is struggling with health problems. After a fall some time ago, she is feeling a little better, the singer recently announced on Facebook. Francis hasn’t been on stage for a while, but she continues to actively support US war veterans, among other things.

On TV as a child

The singer, known to many as “Queenie,” 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 her to sing and make music. “I played the accordion when I was three and then added my voice when I was four.”

She soon appeared at parties and smaller stages and finally – while still a child – on television. With “Who’s Sorry Now?” She finally achieved her breakthrough in 1957. She actually didn’t want to sing the song, her father urged her to, Francis said in a recent interview with the US broadcaster Fox News. “That was a cosmic moment for me. A moment that I will never forget. Because within five seconds I knew that my life would never be the same again. And that wasn’t it. It was a happy shock. “

The successful single was the beginning of a meteoric career: in the following six years alone, 35 of her songs landed 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”.

Serious blows of fate

Francis didn’t just conquer the USA: the singer recorded in more than ten languages ​​in the 1960s, including Japanese, French, Greek, Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch – and of course German, always with a charming American accent. She enjoyed huge success with her songs in Germany, Japan, Spain and Italy. In addition to hits, their repertoire included country music, jazz and Jewish and Irish folk songs.

Francis was unable to build on the sensationally successful 1960s in the 1970s. In her private life she had to struggle with severe blows of fate. Musically, things were no longer going well – partly because of the Beatles, at least the singer herself later said in an interview with the news channel CNN. “When the Beatles came, we were all exhausted, even Elvis.”

In 1974, Francis attempted a comeback. Shortly afterwards she was attacked and raped in a hotel near New York. The perpetrator escaped and was never found. Francis sued the hotel chain for millions of dollars in damages over lack of safety precautions and won – but the wounds remained.

Four weddings – four divorces

At the same time, her aunt was murdered and her beloved brother George was shot dead by the mafia outside his home. In the meantime, Francis was unable to sing for several years due to a botched medical procedure. Since then, the singer has suffered from serious psychological problems. “I take lithium every day,” Francis once said. “The thing that saved me was my sense of humor.”

Francis met the “great love” of her life in the 1950s, the entertainer Bobby Darin, who died in 1973. But Francis’ father forbade the relationship. After that, Francis married four times – and was divorced four times. “Three of my men were in torment, one abused me.” She always chose “the wrong men for the wrong reasons.” “If I had thought as much about my choice of husbands as I did about my shows in Las Vegas, then everything would have been fine. But my personal life was always overshadowed by my career.”

Despite all the ups and downs, Francis has always picked herself up, also with the help of her adopted son. She will always love music and show business, she once said. “I want to die on stage at 90.”