Pretty Little Baby Singer, Connie Francis, Dies at 87 After TikTok Revival

CLEVELAND 13 (WCTU) — Connie Francis, the pioneering pop vocalist known for her string of hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, has died at the age of 87. Her death was announced Thursday by her longtime publicist Ron Roberts in a statement on her official Facebook page. Francis had recently been hospitalized for complications related to a pelvic fracture and had been experiencing what she described as "extreme pain" earlier this month.

“It is with a heavy heart and extreme sadness that I inform you of the passing of my dear friend Connie Francis last night,” Roberts wrote. He confirmed to People that Francis "slipped away peacefully" after a period of unconsciousness following her hospital release.

Born Concetta Franconero on Dec. 12, 1937, in Newark, New Jersey, Francis became the first woman to top the Billboard Hot 100 with her 1960 hit "Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool." Her rise to fame began with a reluctant recording of the 1920s standard "Who’s Sorry Now?" at the insistence of her father, George Franconero Sr. That track, played on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand in January 1958, catapulted her to stardom.

Francis went on to score three No. 1 singles and 35 Top 40 hits, including "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own," "Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You," "Lipstick on Your Collar," and "Where the Boys Are," the theme song for the 1961 film in which she also starred. She sold over 40 million records before turning 25, recording in multiple languages and becoming a global sensation.

Despite her success, Francis’s life was marred by numerous personal tragedies. In 1967, a cosmetic procedure damaged her voice, and in 1974, she was raped and beaten at knifepoint at a New York motel. She later won a landmark $2.5 million lawsuit, then one of the largest ever awarded in a rape case. “If what we did here could save one girl, it was worth it,” she told The New York Times during the trial.

The trauma led to years of mental health challenges. She was misdiagnosed with various psychiatric conditions before finally being identified as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. “To make a short story long, in the ’80s, I was involuntarily committed to mental institutions 17 times in nine years in five different states,” she said in a 2011 interview with Village Voice.

Her brother, George Franconero Jr., a lawyer involved in a Mafia investigation, was gunned down outside his home in 1981. Not long after, while grieving and recovering from another botched surgery that temporarily robbed her of her voice, Francis found herself spontaneously singing again. “I can sing,” she recalled shouting in the street, recounting the moment she realized her voice had returned.

She resumed performing, founded her own label Concetta Records, and continued making occasional public appearances into her 80s. Her 1984 memoir, Who’s Sorry Now?, detailed her tumultuous life and career. A second autobiography, Among My Souvenirs, was released in 2017.

In her later years, Francis found renewed popularity through social media. Her 1965 song "Pretty Little Baby" saw a viral resurgence on TikTok in early 2025, introducing her voice to a new generation of listeners. Fans online and across the country have since shared tributes to her talent, resilience, and legacy. “There were exhilarating highs and abysmal lows,” she said in 1994. “But it was fighting to get out of those lows that I feel most proud of.”

Earlier this year, Francis experienced a surprise resurgence in popularity when her 1965 track “Pretty Little Baby” went viral on TikTok. The song was used in tens of thousands of videos, trending on both the platform’s U.S. and global Viral 50 charts. The unexpected revival drew attention from a younger generation and longtime fans alike. Francis herself responded to the newfound attention by appearing in a TikTok video in June, flashing a smile and looking vibrant as the classic tune played in the background. For many fans, her cheerful appearance and engagement with the trend made Thursday’s news of her death even more shocking.

Francis was married four times and is survived by her son, Joseph Garzilli Jr.

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