18/07/2025
July 16, 2025: Italian-American Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (December 12, 1937 – July 16, 2025), known professionally as Connie Francis, was an American pop singer, actress, and one of the top-charting female vocalists of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She was estimated to have sold more than 100 million records worldwide. "Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites" was her best-selling album.
In 1965, Francis participated in that year's edition of the annual Sanremo Festival, where her team partner Gigliola Cinquetti and she presented "Ho bisogno di vederti", which finished on number 5 of the final ranking. As was the practice at that time, 2 singers would present the same song with different arrangements and different styles. On youtube.com you can find the two performances: "GIGLIOLA CINQUETTI: "HO BISOGNO DI VEDERTI" Live at Sanremo Festival 1965" & "Sanremo 1965 Connie Francis * Ho bisogno di vederti." Gigliola Cinquetti is an Italian singer, actress, and television presenter from Verona, who sang songs that won the Sanremo Festival twice in the 60s, with "Non ho l'età" and "Dio, come ti amo." On June 18, 2009, she conducted a telephone interview of Ciro Giorgio, see below.
Francis returned to Sanremo in 1967 to present "Canta ragazzina" with her team partner Bobby Solo. Solo participated again at Sanremo in 2003, this time with Little Tony, with the song "Non si cresce mai." In the small world department, Bobby Solo performed at the Trump Plaza Casino in Atlantic City in 1996 with Ciro Giorgio. And in 2007, Little Tony & Maria Nazionale toured in Canada with Ciro Giorgio.
Ciro Giorgio Ospite del PROGRAMMA CONTENITORE DI RAITALIA condotto da Gigliola Cinquetti.Su RAI International Italia Rai
