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SONGSTRESSES OF
THE 1960s
Until 1950 the term teenagers had never before been coined. Children were known as girls and boys; they became youths once they displayed signs of puberty. Young people reached adulthood at 21 when they often married and set up a home of their own, even if it was a rented room. Getting married was a way of showing the adult world that you belonged to their world and was for many a way of escape from puberty.
During the 1950s a range of influences including film, television, magazines and the rock music scene created a new market grouping called teenagers. A sudden flurry of consumer goods denied to war torn Europe were available and a consumer boom was actively encouraged. These single young people with cash from paid work soon had their own fashions, own music, own cafes, own milk bars and by the end of the decade even their own transport in the form of fuelled scooters. Teenagers suddenly dominated style in clothes, haircuts and even travel abroad. A generation gap began to emerge between parents and offspring. It seemed almost unholy at the time and was viewed as rebellious, but compared to later anti-fashion and anarchic movements it was all rather innocent.
Whist their parents were fed on a diet of light-weight, easy to listen to ballads sung predominantly by crooners (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby et al), teenagers were listening to a new upbeat brand of popular music that would herald the beginning of the rock'n'roll era. The artists who sang these songs were young people groomed by record executives to appeal to the younger generation. Among them were a bevy of pretty young songstresses who enjoyed amazing success in the late 1950s/early 1960s, appealing to the younger generation and gaining acceptance by their parents. The songs they sang, about teenage romance and broken hearts, were rush recorded and released to satisfy an eager public. But that all ground to a halt when The Beatles and their fellow Liverpudlians turned contemporary music on its ear in the mid-1960s. These pretty-faced performers became has-beens almost overnight as the Baby Boomer generation turned elsewhere for their musical entertainment.
CONNIE FRANCIS
 Born Concetta Rosemarie Franconero in Newark's Italian Seventh Avenue neighbourhood, Connie Francis is considered the most prolific female rock 'n' roll hit-maker of the early rock era. After an appearance on a TV talent show called Startime, Francis was advised to change her name from Franconero to something more easily pronounceable, as well as to quit the accordion and focus on singing. Connie's first single "Freddy" (1955) met with little success and she began considering a career in medicine. However, "Who's Sorry Now" (a cover version of a 1923 song) launched her into super-stardom world-wide. In 1957, "Who's Sorry Now" reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart and in 2000, was named one of the Songs of the Century. This was followed by "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You", "Everybody's Somebody's Fool", 'Stupid Cupid", 'Lipstick On My Collar", "In the Summer of his Years" (written after the assassination of John F. Kennedy) and "Strangers in the Night". Both "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and "My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own" went to No.1 on the Billboard music charts in 1960. In 1962 she had another No.1 hit with "Don't Break The Heart That Loves You".
Her signature song, "Where the Boys Are", became one of the first pop songs to be recorded in foreign languages. Made into a 1960 motion picture with the same title 'Where The Boys Are", Francis had a role in the film and sang the title song. From 1958 until 1963, she had 25 singles that were top 100 hits in the United States. In 1960 Francis became the youngest headliner to sing in Las Vegas, where she played 28 days a year for nine years. In the first half of the 1960s she starred in three additional films -- "Follow the Boys" (1963), "Looking for Love" (1964) and "When the Boys Meet the Girls" (1965). During the height of the Vietnam War in 1967, she performed for U.S. troops.
Francis ended her recording career in 1969, returning in 1973 with The Answer, a song written just for her, and soon began performing again. Tragedies followed soon after. In 1974 she was sexually assaulted in a hotel following a performance in Westbury, New York. Nasal surgery to correct a sensitivity to air conditioning deprived her of her ability to sing professionally for four years. Her brother was murdered in 1981. Francis was diagnosed with bipolar disorder but resumed her career in 1989 and has continued singing and recording since then. In late December 2004, Francis headlined in Las Vegas for the first time since 1989.
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CONNIE STEVENS
 It is rare that an actress can successfully transcend the entertainment gamut from Motion Picture Star, Television Star, Broadway Star, Recording Artist, to the concert stage and then on to develop a successful cosmetic empire. In a career that has spanned over 30 years, Connie Stevens has gained world-wide popularity and recognition as a multi-talented performer, producer, and most recently, as a major force in the business arena, all the while managing to remain a timeless classic beauty. Ever youthful, dynamic, vivacious, versatile and savvy are the words used to describe the actress who has truly earned the title of a "Woman for all Seasons." Her musical artistry began when she first sang in a group called The Three Debs at age 16. She then went on to record as a solo artist on the Warner Brothers label. Connie was the first artist signed on the newly formed Warner Brothers Records. She recorded two mega-hits in the early sixties, "Kookie Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)", a duet with Ed, "Kookie" Burns, on of the stars of the TV series "77 Sunset Strip", and the number one record in the country in 1961, "Sixteen Reasons".
Every Star has an original claim to fame, and though she has since become familiar to millions, it was her endearing and classic role as Cricket Blake in the hit series "Hawaiian Eye" that made Connie Stevens a household name. Becoming one of America's teen idols of the 60's and one of the most popular role models for teenage girls across the globe. Connie, to this day, is amazed at the international craze that her character and image created making her a recognisable smile around the world. Connie's career as an actress began with roles in films like "Eighteen and Anxious", starring Jim Backus; "Young and Dangerous", "Party Crashers" and introduced by Jerry Lewis in Frank Tashlin's Paramount musical film "Rock-a-Bye Baby". Eventually these roles led to "Cricket Blake" in the TV series "Hawaiian Eye", which ran for four years. Connie still maintains a steady line of various roles on television.
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BRENDA LEE
 Brenda Lee was born Brenda Mae Tarpley in 1944 in Lithonia, Georgia. In 1949 she began as a child prodigy on the radio in Conyers, Georgia and had been singing professionally since age six to help support her family who lived in poverty. She began a three-year stint on the TV program Ozark Jubilee [later called Jubilee USA] in 1955 at the age of nine and signed with Decca Records the following year. She appeared on television shows in the 50's such as Perry Como, Steve Allen, and Jack Good's Oh Boy in the United Kingdom. She had some minor hits on the Country & Western charts in the 50's including 'One Step at a Time' and 'Dynamite'. She soon picked up the name of Little Miss Dynamite.
Brenda Lee was one of the most successful singers of the 60's. The song that enabled her to break through in a big way from C&W to pop was 'Sweet Nothin's', a top ten hit in 1960 and the first of twelve top ten pop songs she recorded in a four-year span. It was followed by two songs that reached #1 later in 1960 [before she reached her 16th birthday] - 'I'm Sorry' and 'I Want To Be Wanted'. She married Ronnie Shacklett, her childhood sweetheart, while still a teenager and they raised two daughters in Nashville, Jolie and Julie. The most successful artist to cross over from C&W to pop in the 60's, Brenda Lee was a small girl with a big voice. She continued to put pop songs in the top forty up until 1967, and by 1971 began to appear strictly as a country singer, which she is still doing today. The songs recorded by Brenda Lee in the 60's which reached the top ten are 'Sweet Nothin's', 'I'm Sorry', 'That's All You Gotta Do'. 'I Want To Be Wanted', ' Emotions', 'You Can Depend On Me', 'Dum Dum, Fool #1', 'Break It To Me Gently', Everybody Loves Me But You', 'All Alone Am I and 'Losing You'. With the writing assistance of Robert K. Oermann and Julie Clay, Brenda Lee issued her autobiography in 2002. The title, appropriately enough, was taken from a nickname that has stuck with Brenda for years: Little Miss Dynamite: The Life And Times.
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SUE THOMPSON
 Best known for her breathy, Betty Boop-style singing voice, Sue Thompson had several novelty pop hits in the early '60s before reinventing herself as a more mature country singer in the mid-'70s. Thompson was born Eva Sue McKee in Nevada, in 1925 and was singing cowgirl songs and playing guitar on-stage by the age of seven. After her family moved to San Jose, she appeared on the local Hometown Hayride TV show during her teens. She worked in a defence plant during World War II, then married and had a daughter at age 20; however, the marriage lasted only three years. Her winning performance at a San Jose talent contest caught the attention of singer Dude Martin, who was also a bandleader and radio/TV host. Martin invited her to join his band and became her husband not long after; the two recorded some duets, and "If You Want Some Lovin'" helped Thompson land her first solo deal with Mercury. Meanwhile, Martin added singer/comedian Hank Penny to his revue in 1952; within a year, Thompson divorced Martin and married Penny, and the two hosted a TV show in Los Angeles for two years before moving to Las Vegas to work the casinos.
Thompson signed with Hickory Records in 1960 and landed two Top Five pop hits the following year with the John D. Loudermilk-penned novelty tunes "Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" and "Norman." Two more Loudermilk numbers, 1962's "James (Hold the Ladder Steady)" and 1965's "Paper Tiger," brought her further success. During this era, Thompson played effectively to the teen audience thanks to her cute, extremely young-sounding voice, despite the fact that she was pushing 40. She recorded sporadically through the remainder of the '60s, without finding similar success. In 1972, she teamed up with country singer Don Gibson for three duet albums over the next two years. Her last chart single came in 1976 with "Never Naughty Rosie," and she subsequently concentrated on the Las Vegas casino circuit. She remarried once again and later moonlighted as an MC at North Hollywood's famed Palomino Club for a time. She settled in Las Vegas permanently and performed from time to time in the '90s.
HELEN SHAPIRO
 If anyone has experienced the highs and lows of fame and the fickleness of public taste, it is Londoner Helen Shapiro. At the age of 14 she was thrust into the limelight with two No.1 hits ('You Don't Know' and 'Walking Back To Happiness'), yet two years later she was a has-been. Helen had a deep timbre to her voice, unusual in a girl barely into her teens - her school friends gave her the nickname, 'Foghorn' - but her mature voice made her an overnight sensation. Despite being up against Elvis Presley, Del Shannon, and Shirley Bassey, this beehive-hairstyled schoolgirl popstar produced an incredible four top ten hits in Britain in 1961. In the following year, she embarked on an extensive national tour with The Beatles as her support act. At the time they were largely unknown outside of Liverpool. By the end of the tour, The Beatles had released their first singles and shot to fame, and Helen found herself being booed off the stage of her own concerts by fans itching to see The Beatles perform live! The Beatles even wrote the song 'Misery' for her to help her along, but inexplicably, EMI decided not to record her singing it. Undaunted, she later re-invented herself as a performer in stage musicals, a jazz singer, and more recently a gospel singer.
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Favourites
 Lesley Gore literally burst onto the music scene in 1963 when her first single, "It's My Party" was rushed into production by record producer Quincy Jones, and within weeks of its release, it was a number one hit. This was to be her only number one song, but she was to be far more than a "one hit wonder" and had a much greater impact on music and society in general than numbers alone indicate. Her greatest musical impact began when she was asked by Quincy to record a song she really didn't like, and made a deal with him to record it if he let her select a song on her own to record. The song she selected was "You Don't Own Me", an anthem of women's rights that predated Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman" by several years. "You Don't Own Me" made it to number 2 on the charts, and managed this in spite of being up against two of the Beatles' biggest hits. It probably sold more actual copies than "It's My Party".
Lesley recorded several top 40 hits during the 60's. She polished her musical and performing skills during this period, and also began composing songs. She proved to be very capable at composing both music and lyrics. Her first published song in which she did both, "Leave Me Alone", became one of the hits from the movie "The Girls On The Beach". By the 70's, Lesley had faded from the popular music scene, but it was during this period that she did some of her finest work, both as a singer and a composer. During the 80's, Lesley recorded less frequently, but made an even greater impact as a composer, when the song "Out Here On My Own", which she wrote with her brother Michael, appeared in the movie "Fame", and was nominated for an Oscar. In the 90's, Lesley continued to compose and sing, and finally, in 1999, she realised a childhood dream when she appeared on Broadway as a guest star in the musical review "Smokey Joe's Cafe". And now she is working on her own musical review, something her fans eagerly look forward to. Her star is on the rise again, and it's still her party.
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KATHY KIRBY
 British pop songstress Kathy Kirby's musical career illustrates just how capricious the musical tastes of record buyers can be. Born Kathleen O'Rourke on 20th October 1940 at Ilford, Essex, England, Kathy's professional singing career began shortly after leaving school when largely through her own efforts she secured a place as a singer with the Ambrose orchestra. She went on to work with other British big bands of the 1950s but the link with Bert Ambrose was never lost. When Ambrose decided to quit orchestral work in favour of management, Kathy was one of the most important artists the former bandleader had on his books. At a time when teenage record buyers were turning to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Kathy Kirby had a winning formula. She was undoubtedly a very good singer and was able to give a bright new sound to older songs. Her blonde, youthful but mature, Marilyn Monroe good looks appealed little to teenagers, but their fathers were taken by her. This popularity was boosted by her television appearances in which her glossy lipstick produced such a shine that she was often referred to as 'Wet Lips'. The peak of her success came through an all music TV show called 'The Stars and Garter', an ITV production which tried to depict a night club atmosphere and in which Kathy was undoubtedly portrayed as the 'star'.
Sadly for Kathy her singles sales slumped towards the middle of the 1960s. She sang Britain's Eurovision song entry for 1965 and carried on with TV work, but her record sales never did recover. By the start of the 1970s the TV appearances of this underrated singer had become few and far between and by the middle of the new decade her disappearance was totally complete. All manner of complicated reasons have been given for Kathy's fall from favour. Today she very rarely appears and is a virtual recluse, much to the dismay of her many fans. Kathy's more well known recordings include 'Dance On' (The Shadows recorded an instrumental version), a cover of the 1955 Patti Page hit 'Let Me Go lover' (1964) and a cover of the 1954 Doris Day hit, 'Secret love' (1963).
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ANNETTE FUNICELLO
 Annette Funicello was America's favourite teenager in the fifties and sixties for the simple reason that there was no one quite like her. When Walt Disney first caught a glimpse of this curly-haired thirteen year old dancing in "Swan Lake" for the Margie Rix School of Dance recital in 1955, he saw something that he knew Americans would fall in love with. Annette's story is somewhat of a fairy tale, for everything she touched turned to gold. Whether it was star of one of the Mouseketeers on the Mickey Mouse Club, or play opposite Frankie Avalon as "Dee Dee" in the Beach Party movies, Annette was always singled out as everyone's favourite. "Annette was the personification of all the good things Americans wanted to believe about themselves. She was the malt shops and hayrides and kisses on the cheek. She was beach parties, bonfires, and 'Anything Can Happen Day.' And the essence of her star quality, ironically enough, was that she never seemed like a star. No matter how many television shows or movies she made, no matter how many records she sold, no matter how many times her face appeared on the cover of magazines, Annette always remained Annette."
Disney had not meant for Annette to carry on with her singing, but the amount of fans that responded to "How will I know my love?" made it impossible for Disney to resist. Could Annette act and sing? Disney hired Tutti Camarata, who would assist and oversee Annette's every recording. She was not at all confident in her singing, but her lack of vocal training gave her songs a certain natural and unpretentious touch. When "How will I know my love?" was released in 1959 on Disneyland Records, it sold over 200,000 copies. A team was soon put together comprising of Tutti Camarata and songwriters Richard and Robert Sherman. 1959 saw the release of many Annette singles including Top 10 hits "Tall Paul," "Jo-Jo the dog faced Boy," "Train of Love," and her most successful hit, "Pineapple Princess." Themes ranged from straight ahead surf-pop ("The Monkey's Uncle" and "Muscle Beach Party") to Italian and Hawaiian-esque songs ("Mama mama, where's the Spumoni?" and "Hawaiiannette"). Albums such as Italianette, Dance ANNETTE, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Annette on Campus coincided with the release of her singles.
Annette also began a career as a film actress in such films like The Shaggy Dog and Babes in Toyland. But it really wasn't until Annette hit the beach that her film career really began to take off. Annette's Beach Party films of the sixties became the John Hughes films of the eighties. Kids across the globe identified with the characters in these films, making the teen film genre quite popular among the masses. Today Annette is nearing sixty, but our images of Annette still consist of the young and radiant brunette singing on the beach.
LITTLE PEGGY MARCH
 Little Peggy March, age 15 years old, only ever had one big hit during her decade with RCA Records, but that song, "I Will Follow Him," spent three weeks at the number one spot on the charts and even topped the R&B charts for a week as well. It pretty well helped define the early girl-group sound, as much as the Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack" or "Great Big Kiss" did the later end of the musical genre. Her subsequent hits, "I Wish I Were a Princess" (which was featured prominently in John Waters' period romp Hairspray) and "Hello Heartache, Goodbye Love," scored much lower in the Top 40. RCA continued to record March for ten years, right into the early '70s, but she never scored an American hit of any consequence after early 1964.
Margaret Battavio, aka Little Peggy March, had dreamt of a singing career for most of her young life, and had been winning talent contests as a young girl. She was signed to RCA in 1962 at age 14, and made her debut that year with a cover of the song "Little Me," taken from a Sid Caesar Broadway hit, which vanished without a trace. Her second single was to ensure her place in the pop music reference books, however. English-born girl singer Petula Clark had recently scored a hit in France with a song called "Chariot". RCA producers Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore found the song and got March to record the number in a new version with simpler lyrics, now known as "I Will Follow Him." Clark's recording was a slow, moody, soulful piece, with the singer seeking the depths of the song's meaning. March's recording, by contrast, picked up the tempo, added a doo wop-style male chorus and a pulsing arrangement, with prominent drums and chorus, and her breathy, breathless reading of the lyrics. It sounded like the work of a passionate girl, and it defined the girl-group sound as much as numbers like "Johnny Angel."
March eventually released an entire album built around her sudden number one hit, including "I Wish I Were a Princess," which reached the Top 40 in 1963. The rest of the album was a pretty collection of tuneful teen-pop, the world of romance as seen through the persona of a 15-year-old, including such numbers as "My Teenage Castle (Is Tumbling Down)" (re-written for Brenda Lee a few years later and called "My Whole World Is Falling Down") and "Johnny Cool." She subsequently saw modest chart success in America with a number of singles, but music began changing very rapidly with the advent of the British Invasion sound. She recorded 18 singles for RCA between 1964 and 1971 and several albums as well, none of which charted in any serious way in America. As it turned out, the United States comprised only one part of the audience she was trying to reach, and listeners in Europe were far more interested in March, as an American pop star, than Americans were. She moved to Germany with her husband/manager, Arnie Harris, dropped "Little" from her title and enjoyed a career in recording, variety show performances, and television appearances. In the 1980s, March returned to America, where she continues to be best known for "I Will Follow Him" and the naive early girl-group sound that it represents, some 35 years after it was first released.
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