Connie Francis, the viral 'Pretty Little Baby' singer, dies 63 years later.

Connie Francis , American folk legend and the first woman to reach number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, has died at the age of 87, two weeks after it was revealed she had been hospitalized due to "extreme pain."

Ron Roberts, Francis' close friend and president of her record label, Concetta Records, confirmed the news on Facebook early Thursday, July 17: "It is with a heavy heart and extreme sadness that I inform you of the passing of my dear friend Connie Francis last night. I know Connie would approve of her fans being among the first to hear this sad news. More details to come," concluded the message, which was also shared on Francis's official Facebook profile.

The artist revealed she was "back in the hospital" on July 2 , telling fans she had been "undergoing tests and checkups to determine the cause of the extreme pain I've been experiencing. Two days later, she wrote on Facebook that she was "feeling much better after a good night," but her health has since deteriorated, and she ultimately passed away.

Francis had recently made headlines because her 1962 song "Pretty Little Baby," translated as "Linda Muchachita" in its Spanish version, had become a huge viral hit on TikTok and Instagram 63 years after it was released. "To tell you the truth, I didn't even remember the song!" she told People upon learning what was happening with her old hit. "I had to listen to it to remember. To think that a song I recorded 63 years ago is touching the hearts of millions of people is truly amazing. It's an incredible feeling."

But Francis's career goes far beyond this anecdote. She was one of the most popular singers of the 1950s and early 1960s in the United States , with Top 10 singles such as 'Who's Sorry Now?', 'My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own', 'Where the Boys Are' and 'Don't Break The Heart That Loves You'. The song that made her the first woman to top the Billboard Hot 100 was 'Everybody's Somebody's Fool' in 1969, and she went on to have two more number 1 hits, with 'My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own' (which reached the top spot just three months after 'Everybody's Somebody's Fool') and 'Don't Break The Heart That Loves You'.

Born Concetta Franconero in Newark, New Jersey, in 1937, the artist began participating in talent shows at the age of 4 , encouraged by her father, singing and playing the accordion. Later, she began appearing on television shows and appeared on NBC's Startime Kids, where she chose the stage name Connie Francis.

In 1955, she signed a record deal with MGM Records, but most of her early singles were unsuccessful. Just before the label dropped her, her father suggested she record a version of "Who's Sorry Now?" in 1957. It took a lot of convincing, but from then on, luck began to smile on her. "My father wanted me to record a song written in 1923. I said, 'Forget it, the guys on American Bandstand would laugh at me.' And he replied, 'If you don't record this song, silly girl, the only way you'll get on American Bandstand is if you see your reflection on TV while you're sitting and watching it.'" In fact, the song didn't become a hit until she performed it on Dick Clark's American Bandstand in 1958.

She became an international star thanks to the recordings of her songs in several languages, eventually selling nearly 200 million records. She also appeared in several films in the 1960s, including "Where the Boys Are," a teen romantic comedy starring a young George Hamilton.

But from the 1970s onward, she experienced a real descent into hell. In 1974, she was raped in a Long Island motel room; three years later, she underwent nasal surgery that temporarily lost her voice; and in 1981, her brother George was murdered by the mob.

That same year, she resumed her career, but her mental health problems prevented her from doing so. Her father committed her to several psychiatric hospitals, and she survived a suicide attempt in 1984. That same year, she published her first memoir, "Who's Sorry Now?"

During the golden years of her career, she was romantically involved with singer Bobby Darin, and was subsequently married four times. Her first husband was Dick Kanellis, whom she married in 1964 but divorced five months later. She married Izzy Marion in 1971, but their marriage didn't last much longer, as they divorced ten months later. Joseph Garzilli was her next husband, in 1973, but the marriage ended in 1977. Her last husband was Bob Parkinson, whom she married in 1985, but again the marriage only lasted a few months.