![\"Connie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/connie-francis.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTrailblazing pop and country singer Connie Francis has died at the age of 87, her friend Ron Roberts confirmed on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The singer, who became the first woman to bag the number one spot on the Billboard top 100 in the USA, died following a recent hospitalisation in Florida.<\/p>\n
Roberts indicated that further details would be shared later.<\/p>\n
He initially announced her passing in a Facebook statement, writing: “It is with a heavy heart and extreme sadness that i inform you of the passing of my dear friend Connie Francis last night.<\/p>\n
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Connie Francis shot to fame in the late 1950s<\/p>\n
“I know that Connie would approve that her fans are among the first to learn of this sad news.”<\/p>\n
The Pretty Little Baby hitmaker had been admitted to intensive care in July after experiencing extreme pelvic pain, according to radio personality Cousin Brucie.<\/p>\n
The pain had become so severe that she required a wheelchair for mobility. Her hospitalisation forced her to cancel a scheduled Independence Day performance on July 4.<\/p>\n
Despite her health struggles, Francis reached out to fans with an update on her condition that same day.<\/p>\n
“A happy Independence Day to you and your loved ones,” she wrote, whilst thanking supporters for their prayers.<\/p>\n
The 87-year-old had been battling these health issues in the months leading up to her death.<\/p>\n
Francis’s 1963 song Pretty Little Baby experienced an unexpected resurgence on TikTok earlier this year, with influencers lip-syncing to the track.<\/p>\n
The song has amassed more than 74.8 million streams on Spotify and reached the top five in both US and UK streaming charts in May.<\/p>\n
Francis expressed her delight at the viral success, saying: “I recorded that song 63 years ago and to know that an entire new generation now knows who I am, and my music is thrilling for me.”<\/p>\n
She admitted to People magazine that she had initially forgotten recording the track. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t even remember the song,” she said.<\/p>\n
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:<\/p>\n
Following the announcement of her death, fans have taken to social media to express their grief and share memories of the beloved singer.<\/p>\n
“RIP Connie, thank you for all your beautiful songs and movies,” one fan wrote in tribute.<\/p>\n
![\"Connie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1752754329_339_connie-francis.jpg\")
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Connie Francis became a TikTok sensation this year <\/p>\n
Another mourner commented: “Very sad news. An amazingly talented and lovely lady.”<\/p>\n
Others shared personal connections to her music. “May she rest in peace. She will always be in our hearts because of her music,” wrote one supporter.<\/p>\n
“Rest in peace Connie, you are one of my favorites,” another fan penned. “Sing up a storm in heaven girl.” (sic)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Trailblazing pop and country singer Connie Francis has died at the age of 87, her friend Ron Roberts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4813,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[830,96,59,128,2331,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-4812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-celebrity","tag-entertainment","tag-gb","tag-music","tag-sgg","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}