Connie Francis (born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero, December 12, 1938) is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the late-1950s and early-1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw. Despite several severe interruptions in her career, she is still active as a recording and performing artist.
Francis was born in the Italian Down Neck, or Ironbound, neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey, the first child of George Franconero, Sr., and Ida Franconero (née Ferrari-di Vito), spending her first years in a Brooklyn neighborhood on Utica Avenue/St. Marks Avenue before the family moved to New Jersey.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Francis