Connie Francis, singer of viral TikTok hit ‘Pretty Little Baby’, dies aged 87
Connie Francis, who scored numerous big hits in the 1950s and ’60s, has died at the age of 87.
The pop singer’s death was confirmed by her friend Ron Roberts, who is the president of her label, Concetta Records (Francis’ birth name was Concetta Franconero).
“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 on his Facebook profile yesterday (Thursday July 17).
“I know that Connie would approve that her fans are among the first to learn of this sad news.” Roberts added: “More details will follow later.”
The message was subsequently reposted on Francis’ official account. You can see the post below.
Posted by Connie Francis on Wednesday, July 16, 2025
In a later statement, Roberts confirmed that Francis had contracted pneumonia in intensive care. “She passed away at North Broward Hospital, Pompano Beach, Florida on July 16,” he wrote.
The update read: “Connie’s recent medical issues resulted in her being hospitalised in late June. She had suffered for some time with a painful hip and had recently taken to using a wheelchair to help ease this.
“It was subsequently determined that she had a pelvic fracture and she was forced to cancel a planned appearance on a show with Cousin Brucie.”
He went on: “In early July she had been transferred from ICU to a private room where, following ‘a good night’, she wished her fans a happy Fourth of July. Connie was readmitted into the ICU where further tests were conducted. On Tuesday (July 15) it was confirmed that she had pneumonia.”
Francis had told her fans earlier this month that she was “back in hospital where I have been undergoing tests and checks to determine the cause(s) of the extreme pain I have been experiencing”.
The vocalist became the first female artist to top the Billboard Hot 100, with her 1960 Number Ones ‘Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool’ and ‘My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own’.
Francis, who was one of the most popular singers in the US, has sold over 100million records and achieved 35 top 40 hits – including 16 top 10s and three Number Ones, Billboard notes.
She had started her career in the mid-50s with a run of unsuccessful singles for MGM Records, and was later dropped by the label before achieving huge success.
In 1958, Francis scored a breakout hit with her last contracted recording for MGM – a cover of Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby’s 1923 song ‘Who’s Sorry Now?’. It peaked at Number Four on the Billboard Hot 100, and kick-started both Francis’ music and film career.
The artist also reached Number Four in the US with 1961’s ‘Where The Boys Are’ – from the 1960 film of the same name, in which she starred – and became the biggest-selling female singer of the era.
Earlier this year, her 1962 track ‘Pretty Little Baby’ went viral thanks to a TikTok trend. It topped the video platform’s music charts, after soundtracking more than 1.3million posts in May alone.
In a statement at the time, Francis said (via Rolling Stone): “I am thrilled and overwhelmed at the success of ‘Pretty Little Baby’.
“I recorded that song 63 years ago and to know that an entire new generation now knows who I am, and my music is thrilling to me. Thank you so much everybody, thank you TikTok.”
A lyric video for the song, which was uploaded to YouTube in April, has clocked up over 32million views. Francis had retired from music in 2018.
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Tom Skinner
NME
