R.I.P. Connie Francis: The Woman Who Broke Billboard’s Glass Ceiling in 1960; Her Legacy

Connie Francis unwittingly blazed a trail for the women who followed. 

(July 17, 2025). The first solo woman to top the Billboard Hot 100 was Connie Francis, who achieved that historic feat on the chart dated June 27, 1960, with the upbeat hit “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool.”

Then, later in 1960, she topped the Hot 100 again with her followup single “My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own.”

That accomplishment was a pretty big deal in 1960, as it was rare for women to even reach the top ten, let alone have number one hits in the early days of the Rock-and-Roll era.  Francis, born Connie Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in 1937, died Wednesday, July 16, at age 87.  She, along with Brenda Lee, now 80, took turns sending two No. 1s apiece atop the chart in 1960, before any other female had ever achieved one.

To put this in perspective, there were already 29 other No. 1 songs on the still-nascent Hot 100 chart before Francis became the first solo woman to do it nearly two years after the chart’s inauguration on August 4, 1958.  In the 22 months before her achievement, only men and one group with a female vocalist (the Teddy Bears’ singer Carol Connors on “To Know Him Is To Love Him”) had ever reached the top of Billboard’s premier singles chart.  

Francis, who had been recording hits for many years before the Hot 100 debuted, would also get a third chart-topper on March 31, 1962 with “Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You.”  Lee’s third No. 1 occurred just two years ago with “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” which topped the Hot 100 during its annual return to the chart during Christmas 2023.  

With Francis’ third No. 1 in 1962, she passed the baton to the next in line: Shelley Fabares, whose debut hit “Johnny Angel” topped the chart just one week later.

Until Francis’ passing, all three of these women were still alive and able to receive their flowers for having laid this incredible foundation for women in pop music.  

But it was Francis who started it all.  After years of toiling at MGM Records and nearly having her contract abandoned before the signature hit “Who’s Sorry Now” — the tenth and final single she was obligated to record under that contract — became her first top-five single, and her first million seller, Connie’s career shifted into high gear.  The hits became bigger and more consistent until, finally, “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” (originally a B-side to “Jealous of You”) knocked the Everly Brothers’ “Cathy’s Clown” from the top, creating that iconic Billboard moment — and an ironic one, with a “Fool” dethroning a “Clown.”

That irony aside, Francis’ success (and that of Lee) wasn’t the immediate harbinger for women that it portended to be.  It would take years — and the cultural upheavals of the late 1960s and early ’70s — before solo women began topping the charts with regularity.  No solo females reached No. 1 in 1961, or again in 1969 (after several years of moderate No. 1 success by the likes of Little Eva, Petula Clark, Bobbie Gentry, and Aretha Franklin, among others).

The only No. 1 song by an all-female entity in ‘69 was Diana Ross & the Supreme’s “Someday We’ll Be Together,” which Ross essentially recorded without the other group members.  Ross, famously, was the only solo female to have a No. 1 single the following year (1970) and again in 1976 (twice).

But there has been at least one No. 1 song by a female on the Hot 100 every year since 1970, with women owning some of the biggest!  Debby Boone and the late Olivia Newton-John have the two longest-running No. 1 hits of the pre-SoundScan era with “You Light Up My Life” and “Physical,” respectively, at ten chart-topping weeks apiece.  Mariah Carey, in a team-up with Boys II Men, owned the chart’s longest-tenured No. 1 song (16 weeks) for more than 20 years before the record was finally broken in 2017. Carey is aiming to own the record again when her “All I Want For Christmas Is You” battles for No. 1 in the upcoming holiday season and what would be her record-tying 19th and record-breaking 20th weeks at No. 1.

Women have achieved more impressive milestones since Francis ruled the charts.  In June 1979, all-female acts (Anita Ward, Donna Summer with two songs, Sister Sledge, and Rickie Lee Jones) occupied the top five positions on the Hot 100 for the first time — something the Beatles had done singlehandedly more than 15 years earlier.  Superstar Taylor Swift has since done it multiple times, and just last year occupied the entire top 14 positions with songs from her The Tortured Poets Department album.

While it’s probable that Brenda Lee or another female would’ve eventually broken this glass chart ceiling if Francis hadn’t, there’s something to be said for being first.  It’s a place history will forever hold for her — a mark that can never be erased.  Many women from generations after her achievements owe a debt of gratitude for making something that was once unheard of possible. 

Connie Francis continued recording throughout the 1960s after becoming one of the first international singing superstars.  She recorded songs in several different languages – nine in all – to ensure her songs’ success overseas in countries like Germany, Spain, Italy and the U.K.  

Changes in musical tastes and the onslaught of the British Invasion changed her fortunes in the U.S. and Francis never had another American top 40 hit after 1964’s “Be Anything (But Be Mine).”

Francis suffered personal tragedy when she was raped in November 1974 at a motel lodge in Jericho, New York.  She won a settlement against the Howard Johnson’s motel chain for providing inadequate security, but the rapist was never found.

Over the years, Francis – who has famously battled depression following the rape and several personal losses – has had sporadic success with various releases, including a disco version of “Where the Boys Are” in 1978 and several brushes with the country and adult contemporary charts.

She’s also appeared in film and on several tours, including stints in Las Vegas in recent years.

Most recently, her 1962 song “Pretty Little Baby” went viral on TikTok and peaked on the Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart in May 2025 at No. 13, becoming her first such entry since 1973.  (Her last Hot 100 entry was “The Wedding Cake” in 1969, which peaked at No. 91).

It was a bittersweet bookend to a chart career that began before the Beatles and found new life in the era of TikTok.

May Connie Francis, a Hot 100 chart icon and the first female to have a solo No. 1 hit, rest in peace. 

Here’s a list of the first 20 women to have solo No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 (* denotes deceased):

DJRob

DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff!  You can follow him on Bluesky at @djrobblog.bsky.social, X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog, on Facebook or on Meta’s Threads.

DJRob (@djrobblog) on Threads

You can also register for free (select the menu bars above) to receive notifications of future articles.