Elvis & Connie Francis

[charroman]

I understand Connie Francis had many Elvis connections and recorded some of his songs. I am only just getting to hear many of her recordings for the first time and I wondered if she had met him and / or if there are photos of the two together? I do not recall her being mentioned in any of the books I have on Elvis nor if he ever mentioned her or had any of her albums or singles?... I suspect they would have been in similar circles in the 60's and I know she did appear in a couple of beach movies around 62-64 etc.

[california boy]

Good Question.....i will wait for some info about it, sorry that i dont know.
Connie is a great singer, gotta have some of her LPs

[charroman]

Good Question.....i will wait for some info about it, sorry that i dont know.
Connie is a great singer, gotta have some of her LPs

Recently picked this up at a good price. Not heard them all but what I have has been good so far and nice rock n roll covers. Liked her version of Heartbreak Hotel

[brian]

According to an interview that Connie Francis did with classicbands.com she says she did meet Elvis.

She said she met him shortly after his mother died when he came to see her perform at the Sahara hotel in Las Vegas.

[Nora Sivle]

When I dona google search it came up with this...Could this be her?

[Mister Mike]

When I dona google search it came up with this...Could this be her?

No. It's Gloria Stavers, Editor-in-Chief of 16 Magazine (taken from her website).

[drjohncarpenter]

I understand Connie Francis had many Elvis connections and recorded some of his songs. I am only just getting to hear many of her recordings for the first time and I wondered if she had met him and / or if there are photos of the two together? I do not recall her being mentioned in any of the books I have on Elvis nor if he ever mentioned her or had any of her albums or singles?... I suspect they would have been in similar circles in the 60's and I know she did appear in a couple of beach movies around 62-64 etc.

Connie recorded for the MGM label and some of her work mirrors material we know Elvis recorded or played live:

My Happiness
Heartbreak Hotel
Tweedlee Dee
There's No Tomorrow
Come Back To Sorrento
Don't Be Cruel
Tennessee Waltz
Your Cheatin' Heart
(There'll Be) Peace In The Valley (For Me)
Hearts Of Stone
I'm Movin' On
She'll Have To Go
I Really Don't Want To Know
He Thinks I Still Care
My Heart Cries For You

The one significant mention Elvis makes is on the May 1958 home tape at friend Eddie Fadal's Waco, Texas home. He gets girlfriend Anita Wood to sing Connie's hit, "Who's Sorry Now?" while he plays piano behind her, and talks about how this is the type of material she should be doing, rather than torchy ballads a la Julie London. Anita does a very nice job on it, too. They go through it a couple of times.

Connie says she "met him was shortly after his mother died," and they may've touched base again in 1970s, also in Las Vegas. She debuted at the Sahara Hotel on 9-06-1960, and played four weeks, this had to be when Presley saw her, in-between his work on "Flaming Star" and "Wild In The Country." Her MGM single "Mama" had been issued earlier that year. Francis was on a roll with hit records and movie roles, and would return to play there about twice a year, through most of the decade. In the early 1970s she moved to the Landmark Hotel.

What can you tell us about Elvis?

Well, I thought he was a gentleman. I thought he was a sweetheart. I thought he was surrounded by the wrong people who would be detrimental to him, and I told him that one day. The first time I met him was shortly after his mother died. He came to see me at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas. When I started to sing "Mama", he just started to cry and got up and left the theater. The next day he sent me two dozen yellow roses with an apology.

I want to go back to something you said about Elvis. Why did you think he was surrounded by the wrong people?

Well, they were yes men. They overlooked his excesses and the chemicals he was taking. For a Cadillac, they would say the right thing. I said, "God forbid that day comes that you die, Elvis. Red West is gonna write a bad book about you," and I was absolutely right.

Connie Francis Interview by Gary Francis (1997)
http://www.classicbands.com/ConnieFrancisInterview.html

She was one of the more lovely pop singers of the 1960s, here's what she looked like when Elvis saw her show at the Sahara:

610705_Connie Francis_Sahara Hotel_01.JPG

610705_Connie Francis_Sahara Hotel_02.JPG

[Nora Sivle]

When I dona google search it came up with this...Could this be her?

No. It's Gloria Stavers, Editor-in-Chief of 16 Magazine (taken from her website).

Thanks for your answer.

[stevelecher]

Connie had a very good voice and I enjoy her work. I doubt if she called out Red West by name.

[drjohncarpenter]

Connie had a very good voice and I enjoy her work. I doubt if she called out Red West by name.

I, too, have my reservations about that second conversation.

But the first story, circa September 1960, rings true, right down to Elvis being so moved by hearing Connie Francis sing "Mama" that he had to leave in the middle of her performance.

Just listen to the song.







Connie Francis "Mama" (MGM 12878, February 1, 1960)
Billboard "Hot 100" #8, April 11, 1960, Cash Box "Top 100" #7, April 16, 1960
Recorded: August 25, 1959, EMI Studios, London

Mama
Cesare Andrea Bixio, Bruno Cherubini, Harold Barlow, Phil Brito

When the evening shadows fall
And the lovely day is through
Then with longing I recall
The years I spent with you

Mama, solo per te la mia canzone vola
Mama, sarai con me tu non sarai piu sola

Quanto ti voglio bene
Queste parole d'amore
Che ti sospira il mio cuore
Forse non si usano piu

Oh, Mama, ma la canzone mia piu bella sei tu
Sei tu la vita e per la vita non ti lascio mai piu

Safe in the glow of your love
Sent from the heavens above
Nothing can ever replace
The warmth of your tender embrace

Oh, Mama, until the day
That we're together once more
I'll live in these memories
Until the day that we're together once more

600201_MGM 12878.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mama_(David_Whitfield_song)

[charroman]

Thanks all for the posts and I had not heard that song. I would understand how the lyrics would have been still very "raw" for Elvis at the time. A fine looking lady though and a great singer who appears to be remembered with affection by many. it seems they did meet and maybe a photo exists somewhere? was she ever considered for a role in an Elvis film? (thinking circa Girl Happy/VLV era would have been the natural point when it might have happened?)

[brian]

was she ever considered for a role in an Elvis film? (thinking circa Girl Happy/VLV era would have been the natural point when it might have happened?)

I haven't heard anything about her being considered or offered a role in an Elvis film.

[Johnny 99]

She has a lovely voice and probably the most sorrowful voice I've ever heard.