In honor of the late Connie Francis, who passed away earlier this week, today’s classic song of the day is one of her biggest hits. “Where the Boys Are,” released as a single in January of 1961, peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Connie Francis was born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero on December 12, 1937. She appeared on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts in 1950 (playing the accordion!), when she was just 12 years old. She finished up her high school education, got a gig singing on NBC’s Startime Kids variety show, and then struck out on her own. She got her first recording contract with MGM Records in 1955. She had her first big hit with “Who’s Sorry Now” and she quickly became a very big star.
Connie Francis scored 35 top forty hits over a five-year period, including 14 in the top ten: “Who’s Sorry Now” in 1957; “My Happiness” in 1958; “Lipstick On Your Collar,” “Frankie,” and “Among My Souvenirs” in 1959; “My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own,” “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,” and “Many Tears Ago” in 1960; “Where the Boys Are,” “Breakin’ in a Brand New Broken Heart,” “Together,” and “When the Boy in Your Arms (Is the Boy in Your Heart)” in 1961; and “Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You,” “Second That Love,” and “Vacation” in 1962. Of those, “My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own” and Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” hit number-one. She continued recording through the end of the decade, then focused primarily on live performances.
Ms. Francis went into seclusion in 1974 after she was sexually assaulted after an appearance at the Westbury Music Fair in New York. She returned to the recording studio in 1978 and continued recording adult contemporary tunes for the next several decades. She also authored several autobiographies, her most recent being 2017’s Among My Souvenirs.
“Where the Boys Are” was written by the team of Neil Sedaka and Howie Greenfield. It was one of several songs the duo wrote for Ms. Francis, including “Stupid Cupid,” “Frankie,” and “Fallin’.”
The song “Where the Boys Are” was the theme song of the 1960 movie of the same name. Where the Boys Are, the movie, starred Paula Prentiss, Delores Hart, George Hamilton, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Hutton, and Connie Francis herself. The film was a comedy about four teenaged girls from the Midwest traveling to Florida on their spring vacation, and loosely (very loosely) fit into the burgeoning beach movie craze of the early ’60s.
By the way, I have a very brief two-degrees of separation connection with Connie Francis. About a decade ago, I used to be a frequent guest on the Computer Outlook radio show, hosted by John Iasiuolo. While we were supposed to talk about the latest tech topics, more often than not we ended up talking about music, because John used to work in the music business when he was back in New York. One of the artists he worked with was Connie Francis, and he spoke very, very highly of her. John was a sweet guy and anybody he liked, I liked too—including and especially Miss Connie Francis.
Connie Francis fully retired from the music business in 2018. In 2025, her old tune “Pretty Little Baby” went viral on TikTok, for whatever reason. She was scheduled to make a comeback appearance at a July event hosted by classic DJ Cousin Brucie, but pain from a recent hip injury kept her from appearing. She passed away on July 16, 2025, aged 87.
