The List

Hi All,

Rather than allowing the cacophonous din of incessant, often shrill voices to disturb me today while traversing the community in my bus, I decided to 'cheat' a little and use a single 'ear bud' with my walkman and be serenaded by Connie's "The Wedding" CD.

Instead of focusing on "What's Wrong With My World", I concentrated on taking in and really 'seeing' my surroundings. I'd like to share my day with you.....

It was extremely warm, most would say hot, but with low humidity and a lovely soft breeze. The sky a perfect deep blue, speckled with cushiony, snow white clouds in a myriad of shapes and sizes.

At day's start, I moved through the Monaco Gate, deep purple Bougainvilleas climbing huge lattices on either side. After a trip to the local shopping center, I re-entered through the Main Gate to spy a statuesque Blue Heron strutting his stuff along the marshy lake shore. Two new mothers; a duck with her six ducklings, and a regal goose with her three gooselings were casually waddling toward the water.

Around the lake were six majestic Ficus trees, a canopy of their branches temporarily shading the ride, their broad twisting limbs going in every direction.

On past the Golf course, framed by a stand of straight-trunked, gnarly-limbed Australian Pines, needles gently swaying in the breeze. Into Tuscany where the homes are landscaped with blooming plants and bushes in a palette of reds, yellows, blue, lilac, pinks, and cream. Dreamy Weeping Willows scattered around the paths, with an occasional white-tailed rabbit scurrying through.

Across a short bridge where the Valencia area displays an awesome duo of large trees. One, a full-blooming burnt-orange Poinciana and the second an overwhelmingly beautiful large Ficus which shades nearly the entire cul-de-sac.

I make this trip nine times daily, often caught up in the chattering passengers, but this day I treated myself to an afternoon listening to arguably the best CD compilation, in my opinion, to introduce a non-fan to Connie's music.

This CD is a masterpiece, a 'tour-de-force' of the vocalizing and range of Connie's voice, showcasing her in no less than six languages; Italian, Spanish, German, Hebrew, French, & English ~~ all on a single CD.

There's the poignant "My Child"; the dynamically haunting "Canta Ragazzina"; the absolutely heart-stopping vocal, with piano version, of "I Found Myself A Guy"; the lilting and light "Boy From Ipanema"; the Country-flavored "Don't Touch Me" & "I Don't Wanna Play House"; "Milk & Honey~~ which seems to have been written about a lover, but if you listen closely to the words and think about Connie's ordeal after the attack, it can certainly be her thinking about Joey coming into her life right at that time. If you interpret the phrase 'my shining sun' as 'my shining SON, it does fit.

I don't often listen to music on my walkman while driving, but today was an exception one that left me in the most serene and calmest moods I've experienced in a very long time.

Today I thank God for these two things: the splendor and beauty of his created nature, and the incredible, singularly unique voice of Miss Connie Francis.

To cap off my day, a Ladybug alighted on my driver's side window to share the ride with me I hope she could hear Connie! Ladybugs and Rainbows always make me smile.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Jean

Connie sings "I Found Myself A Guy" {click to play}

Driving my 8-year-old twin grandchildren home after ten pin bowling this afternoon, I put a Francis CD on, thinking the twins need to become familiar with our Connie. They loved “I’m Standing In The Ruins Of Our Old Love Affair”, largely because the beat is so lovely to clap to. “Again!” they called out when it finished, and for half an hour I had to keep the same track blasting out of the car’s eight speakers so the twins could chortle and clap to the beat, rocking from side to side. When we stopped at traffic lights I too clapped in rhythm. My daughter, wife and another grandchild were in the car behind and said our car was visibly rocking as we bounced and clapped to the song while we stood at the lights. When we were almost home the twins insisted I play Connie Francis again next time we’re in the car. I’ll soon be signing them up for this Connie discussion group!

Guy

Connie sings "In the the Ruins" {click to play}

Hi, I used to sing along with Connie ... "It's Time To Say Goodnight " to my Granddaughters, & off they go ... Sound asleep!!!

Heather.

I've been listening to this track (No One) over and over. What keeps popping into my head while doing so is "......man I love your voice." It simply comes automatically! Can't help it!

Will

Connie singing "No One" {click to play}

Hi Will,
You say you can't help it. I have all my friends and family saying to me don't you get sick and tired of playing all the Connie records and posting them on you tube. I tell them I have not had so much pleasure since I bought my first Connie record. I can sit here picking out which beautiful photo to use with Connie serenading me. In my own little dream world. Connie "Your My Everything"," Far and Near Forever and Always".

Derek

There are two kinds of people on this earth: those who 'get it' and those who 'don't get it'. The ones who don't get it need to listen to more Connie Francis music.
=:-)
B. B.

poor Derek you've got the sickness like the rest of us, ha ha ha fortunately THIS is a good disease to have, the disease of good taste.........
Joe

It was on Radio Luxembourg that I first heard Connie, her voice fluctuating over the airwaves as she sang her mesmerizing new recording Who’s Sorry Now. This week it’s 75 years since Radio Luxembourg was founded (and it’s 16 years since it closed). Among my memories of Lux, and its DJs, is the interference to the signal which made listening to the station a challenge. We were often fiddling with the dial to get a slightly better reception across the English Channel from the transmitter in the tiny state of Luxembourg. A journalist in my newspaper The Times (of London) has just written “in the early evening the medium-wave signal would swim in and out of Norwegian news bulletins, Danish shipping forecasts and giant tides of Russian static, lending pop music an exotic remoteness that it would never know again after the dawn of the crystal-clear FM era.”

How true. Lux was the main station we listened to for pop music in England, because there were no British commercial radio stations then, and the BBC ‘wireless’ stations didn’t play much pop. Among the best things on Lux were the hour-long weekly Top 20 programmes which would take us from no. 20 to no. 1, playing each record in turn, while we waited with keen anticipation to hear who was top this week, and where our favourite artists ranked. Best of all, though, were the series of ‘Connie Francis Sings’ programmes, once a week for 15 minutes, in which Connie would introduce each record, selecting from among her album tracks and her singles, and sometimes this was when I first heard her new single. Ah, magic days!

Guy

Walking through central London this morning on my way to a business meeting, I had to take a route I haven’t walked for a little while. Three buildings I passed reminded me of Connie. First, the gothic Houses of Parliament by Westminster Steps, scene of a photo shoot for Connie on a Thames boat half a century ago. Second, the terracotta façade and domes of the Palace Theatre where I memorably saw 20 year old Connie in concert. Third, the building near the bottom of Tottenham Court Road which used to house Imhofs, London’s most famous record shop in the early 1960s. Imhofs had a line of listening booths. You’d go to the counter, ask for an LP to play, go into a booth and close the glass door, put the LP on the turntable, and listen to as much of the disc as you wished. Once, as a young student, I didn’t have enough cash to buy Connie’s latest album but I had to hear it, so played it in an Imhofs booth. When returning to the counter with the LP, rather than admit I couldn’t afford it I told the assistant the sacrilegious fib that I didn’t want it.

I find that there’s great pleasure in walking through a cityscape or landscape which is peopled with personal memories – especially when those memories are about Connie.

Guy

I was looking at the number of news articles about Connie's recent illness and it is worldwide, Austria, U. K. India, Kuwait, North Wales, Canada, Thailand, Ireland etc. Close to 300 articles on this amazing woman. She has to realize how special she is and how much she has touched so many people during her career. Someone once said of Elizabeth Taylor she is the last great movie star (I would say of our generation). The same can be said of Connie she is the last of the great Entertainers (of our generation).
Just my opinion.
Charlie

Charlie: News of important people gets around. Our Connie is a very real important person. And I agree with you about her status as a great entertainer, and perhaps one of the last of her generation. She's a great one!

Will

Actually, she said until she read that book we wrote, she had no idea. So, if nothing else, we can be very proud to have helped her realize just how much she has touched so many people around the world.
I too was amazed when I saw all of these news clips, She is a Gem! One of a Kind....
That is ..... The Magic of Connie Francis!

Cat

After reading about how much Connie was touched by the book you guys wrote I am so sorry I didn't contribute.
I have been a fan for years and met her for the first time in Framingham, Ma. She was appearing at Caesar's Monticello (a beautiful place to see a show). I went to rehearsal and told her I was bringing my parents that evening, She asked what was their favorite song and when I told her she smiled and said it was one that she had rehearsed and was going to put in the show at a later date. I left and when we returned we saw a wonderful show and she dedicated the song I had asked for to my parents It was "The Impossible Dream".
Needless to say it was an experience I have always remembered and my parents were just thrilled by.

Jack

Connie sings "The Impossible Dream" {click to play}

This is so "Connie" Jack... That is part of her Magic!

Connie sings "Milk and Honey" on page opening. After this song is done, you may play the other songs.
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