Star-crossed singer Connie Francis, whose hits included ‘Pretty Little Baby' dead at 87
Her death was announced Thursday by her friend and publicist, Ron Roberts, who did not immediately provide additional details.
Francis was a top performer of the pre-Beatles era, rarely off the charts from 1957-64. Able to appeal to both young people and adults, she had more than a dozen top 20 hits, starting with 'Who's Sorry Now?' and including the No. 1 songs 'Don't Break the Heart That Loves You' and 'The Heart Has a Mind of Its Own.' Like other teen favorites of her time, she also starred in several films, including 'Where the Boys Are' and 'Follow the Boys.'
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Toronto Sun
2 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Connie Francis' 'Pretty Little Baby' became an unexpected TikTok hit - 63 years after its release
Published Jul 17, 2025 • 4 minute read In this Nov. 27, 1978 file photo, singer Connie Francis poses for a portrait in Los Angeles. Photo by Wally Fong, File / AP Photo Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Connie Francis was a giant of 1950s and '60s sugary-sweet pop, notching more than a dozen hits. In the months leading up to her death, announced Thursday, she experienced one more in 'Pretty Little Baby,' which has become a viral hit on TikTok six decades after its release. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account As of Thursday, more than 22.5 million TikTok videos have been created using the sound, often partnering videos of baby animals, toddlers, makeup tutorials and retro fashions. According to TikTok, those videos have amassed more than 45.5 billion views, globally. Celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian and North West have used it, too, with West lip-syncing along to the track. Hooky, feel-good pop songs tend to do well on TikTok, and 1962's 'Pretty Little Baby' is an exemplar of that phenomenon. Users gravitated toward the song's wholesome simplicity, sweet vocals, delicate organ and upstroke riffs. 'You can ask the flowers / I sit for hours / Telling all the bluebirds / The bill and coo birds / Pretty little baby, I'm so in love with you,' Francis swoons on the verse that has picked up steam on the platform. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. And all of this has transpired in mere months: According to Luminate, an industry data and analytics company, 'Pretty Little Baby' was earning just over 17,000 on-demand audio streams in the U.S. during the week ending April 10. A month later, that number had climbed to 2.4 million. That's a growth of over 7,000%. The song has earned over 29 million streams this year so far. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In one popular video, which garnered over 56 million views, a user posted about baby teething hacks for first-time moms. Another user, Amari Goins, posted a video, with over 112 million views, of her 2-year-old daughter singing along to the lyrics, noting that her toddler picked up the song because of how often they heard it on TikTok. Most recently, TikTok users have begun posting covers of 'Pretty Little Baby' as part of a singing challenge, where they exaggerate Francis' performance with their own stylized vocal runs. Francis, who died at 87, herself joined TikTok as a result of her song's popularity, and her first two videos — which earned 16.3 million and 31.2 million views, respectively — furthered engagement. In her first video, posted in early June, she said she was 'flabbergasted and amazed' at the song's resurgence. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'To think that a song I recorded 63 years ago is captivating new generations of audiences is truly overwhelming for me,' Francis said in that first post, which she followed with a clip of herself lip-syncing to the song. For decades, the song lived in relative obscurity — written by Don Stirling and Bill Nauman for Francis, it was never a single and was originally released in the U.K. as the B-side of her 1962 single 'I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter.' It appears on her album 'Connie Francis Sings 'Second Hand Love,'' released the same year. More than 60 years later, the song reached No. 20 on Billboard's Digital Song Sales chart in June 2025 and hit both the Hot 100's Bubbling Under chart and the Billboard Global 200. In Francis' last TikTok video, posted late last month, she thanked the 'many wonderful artists' who paid tribute to her, and all the users who sang along with her. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Peter Lemongello Jr., a singer and performer who called Francis a friend, posted a TikTok in May where he sang the song to Francis, what he wrote on Facebook was 'one of the greatest and most exciting moments of my career so far.' The video garnered over 15 million views. 'There are no words to express this monumental loss,' he wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday. 'I will be forever grateful to her for the help she gave me with my career.' Ian Paget, a TikTok creator, posted a tearful video Thursday and said he hopes Francis and her family 'have felt that love from the younger crowd learning who she is.' The TikTok popularity of 'Pretty Little Baby' prompted her label Republic/UMe Records to reissue versions Francis had sung in French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish in 1962. Bruce Resnikoff, president and CEO of UMe, wrote in a statement that the global catalog division was saddened but took 'comfort in knowing how joyful and fulfilled she felt in these last few months, as a new generation discovered her music and celebrated her legacy.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In May, as the song took off, Francis thanked TikTok and its users for 'the wonderful, and oh so unexpected, reception' in a Facebook post. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. As for her reaction to having a 'viral hit'? She continued: 'Clearly out of touch with present day music statistics terminology, my initial response was to ask: 'What's that?' Thank you everyone!' Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances. Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA Tennis MMA NFL
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Connie Francis' ‘Pretty Little Baby' became an unexpected TikTok hit – 63 years after its release
Connie Francis was a giant of 1950s and '60s sugary-sweet pop, notching more than a dozen hits. In the months leading up to her death, announced Thursday, she experienced one more in 'Pretty Little Baby,' which has become a viral hit on TikTok six decades after its release. As of Thursday, more than 22.5 million TikTok videos have been created using the sound, often partnering videos of baby animals, toddlers, makeup tutorials and retro fashions. According to TikTok, those videos have amassed more than 45.5 billion views, globally. Celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian and North West have used it, too, with West lip-syncing along to the track. Hooky, feel-good pop songs tend to do well on TikTok, and 1962's 'Pretty Little Baby' is an exemplar of that phenomenon. Users gravitated toward the song's wholesome simplicity, sweet vocals, delicate organ and upstroke riffs. 'You can ask the flowers / I sit for hours / Telling all the bluebirds / The bill and coo birds / Pretty little baby, I'm so in love with you,' Francis swoons on the verse that has picked up steam on the platform. And all of this has transpired in mere months: According to Luminate, an industry data and analytics company, 'Pretty Little Baby' was earning just over 17,000 on-demand audio streams in the U.S. during the week ending April 10. A month later, that number had climbed to 2.4 million. That's a growth of over 7,000%. The song has earned over 29 million streams this year so far. In one popular video, which garnered over 56 million views, a user posted about baby teething hacks for first-time moms. Another user, Amari Goins, posted a video, with over 112 million views, of her 2-year-old daughter singing along to the lyrics, noting that her toddler picked up the song because of how often they heard it on TikTok. Most recently, TikTok users have begun posting covers of 'Pretty Little Baby' as part of a singing challenge, where they exaggerate Francis' performance with their own stylized vocal runs. Francis, who died at 87, herself joined TikTok as a result of her song's popularity, and her first two videos — which earned 16.3 million and 31.2 million views, respectively — furthered engagement. In her first video, posted in early June, she said she was 'flabbergasted and amazed' at the song's resurgence. 'To think that a song I recorded 63 years ago is captivating new generations of audiences is truly overwhelming for me,' Francis said in that first post, which she followed with a clip of herself lip-syncing to the song. For decades, the song lived in relative obscurity — written by Don Stirling and Bill Nauman for Francis, it was never a single and was originally released in the U.K. as the B-side of her 1962 single 'I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter.' It appears on her album 'Connie Francis Sings 'Second Hand Love,'' released the same year. More than 60 years later, the song reached No. 20 on Billboard's Digital Song Sales chart in June 2025 and hit both the Hot 100's Bubbling Under chart and the Billboard Global 200. In Francis' last TikTok video, posted late last month, she thanked the 'many wonderful artists' who paid tribute to her, and all the users who sang along with her. Peter Lemongello Jr., a singer and performer who called Francis a friend, posted a TikTok in May where he sang the song to Francis, what he wrote on Facebook was 'one of the greatest and most exciting moments of my career so far.' The video garnered over 15 million views. 'There are no words to express this monumental loss,' he wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday. 'I will be forever grateful to her for the help she gave me with my career.' Ian Paget, a TikTok creator, posted a tearful video Thursday and said he hopes Francis and her family 'have felt that love from the younger crowd learning who she is.' The TikTok popularity of 'Pretty Little Baby' prompted her label Republic/UMe Records to reissue versions Francis had sung in French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish in 1962. Bruce Resnikoff, president and CEO of UMe, wrote in a statement that the global catalog division was saddened but took 'comfort in knowing how joyful and fulfilled she felt in these last few months, as a new generation discovered her music and celebrated her legacy.' In May, as the song took off, Francis thanked TikTok and its users for 'the wonderful, and oh so unexpected, reception' in a Facebook post. As for her reaction to having a 'viral hit'? She continued: 'Clearly out of touch with present day music statistics terminology, my initial response was to ask: 'What's that?' Thank you everyone!'
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Snoop Dogg joins ownership group of Welsh soccer club Swansea
SWANSEA, Wales (AP) — Snoop Dogg has become a 'co-owner and investor' of Welsh soccer club Swansea. The former Premier League club, which plays in the English second division, didn't disclose financial details in Thursday's announcement, which shines a spotlight on yet another unheralded team from Wales after Wrexham's well-documented journey. 'My love of football is well known, but it feels special to me that I make my move into club ownership with Swansea City,' the American rapper and entertainment icon said in the announcement. 'The story of the club and the area really struck a chord with me,' he added. 'This is a proud, working class city and club. An underdog that bites back, just like me.' Snoop Dogg, who has more than 88 million Instagram followers, helped launch the team's 2025-26 home shirt last weekend. The club ownership group added: 'To borrow a phrase from Snoop's back catalogue, this announcement is the next episode for Swansea City as we seek to create new opportunities to boost the club's reach and profile.' Luka Modric, who recently signed with AC Milan from Real Madrid, joined Swansea's ownership group in April. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. ___ AP soccer:
