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Some artists hit number one right out of the gate, but it took Connie Francis over two years of recording and charting to hit number one. And, when she did, she got two in a row. The first of her number one songs was “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” which was written for her by Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller. Connie had asked Greenfield to write a country song for her.

“Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” was not a country song, but Connie liked it anyway and they all decided to sing it very uptempo. It was first written as a bluesy ballad but Connie remembered “Heartaches By the Number” by Guy Mitchell from 1959 and told the writers she wanted it to sound like that. So, the song was sped up. Connie was gifted in languages. She could speak Spanish and she could sing a song in other languages even if she couldn’t speak the language. After recording it in English, she recorded it in German and released it in Germany where it was called “Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel,” which when translated means “Love is a Strange Game.” It was also number one in Germany.

Connie was born Constance RosaMaria Franconero December 12, 1937 and seemed to be musically inclined right from the beginning. When she was four, her parents bought her an accordion and she played that and sang along for every family gathering and church social from that point on.

When she was a teenager, she appeared on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scout Show which aired out of New York from 1948 until 1958. It was the Fifties’ version of American Idol. Amazingly, she won on the Godfrey show. However, something even more important was to come out of her meeting Arthur Godfrey. Godfrey had trouble saying her name which was still Constance Franconero, so he shortened it and from then on, she was known as Connie Francis. Going into the show, Connie was a shy, self-conscious Constance Franconero and coming out she was a confident, self-assured Connie Francis. She thought she was on her way.

But, it still took a long time. She recorded ten records before one of them hit the charts, but when she did hit, it was a good one. Her very first hit was “Who’s Sorry Now,” a number four hit in 1958.

“Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” entered the pop chart on May 16, 1960 and spent two weeks at number one.