lowing Steve." Can he?
"I wish I could," he says with
a laugh. "But no, I can't." 111

ook over Connie Francis'
catalog of albums, and
ou'll find much more
than 'Who's Sorry Now?"
"Everybody's Somebody's Fool"
and all the other pop hits she's
best known for.
There are albums devoted to
Spanish and Latin American mu-
sic. And to Irish, German and
Hawaiian styles. She recorded at
least five albums of Italian fa-
vorites (her real name is Concetta
Rosa Maria Franconero). And dur-
ing 1960, she released Connie

Francis Sings Jewish Favorites,

In 1960, at the encouragement of her Italian father, Connie Francis released a Jewish Favorites album. This month, she came
out with a Greatest Hits & Finest Performances anthology that features some of her earlier album's selections.

Who's Sorry Now?

Perhaps Barenaked Ladies, but not Connie Francis.

GARY GRAFF SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

T

t's a tired Stephen Page who
calls from Toronto. Yes, the
Barenaked Ladies' singer
and guitarist has been keep-
ing rock 'n' roll hours, but he's
been doing more rocking than
rolling.
His wife gave birth to their first
child, a son, in mid-November.
The boy's name is Isaac, 'just a
name we like," Page says. And
even though it means about four
hours of sleep for the parents right
now, Page says fatherhood "feels
great."
Which is why he's ruing De-
cember, when Barenaked Ladies
goes back on the road for two
weeks of radio station-sponsored
concerts and, later in the month,

Gary Graff is the editor of the new
MusicHound Rock: The

the group's traditional swing of
holiday dates. Hey, it pays the
bills.
And Barenaked Ladies is also
supporting its second album of the
year, Rock Spectacle, just released
earlier this month. The new CD
is a concert recording that features
11 BNL songs as well as video ma-
terial and other goodies that come
on enhanced CDs.
"We've had a lot of requests
from fans to do a live record," says
Page, 26, who was raised as a "Re-
form but quite observant Jew."
"I guess our live show is a big
part of who we are and how we've
developed our following."
Rock Spectacle was recorded at
shows in Chicago and Montreal,
and though it's designed to dou-
ble as a best-of package — with
BNL hits such as "Jane," "Brian"

"If I Had $1000000," it's not quite
comprehensive.
"It was really a matter of what
we had good performances of on
tape," Page explains. In fact, he
says, BNL's record company
asked the band to remove one
song, "Shoe Box," in order to in-
clude 'The Old Apartment," which
is the group's current single.
After December, the group is
slated to come off the road again,
and Page figures he and partner
Ed Robertson will start writing
new songs in earnest toward the
end of January in order to take
the band into the studio by April.
"What that means is Ed and I
have to stop procrastinating,"
Page says. "He'll actually come
over to my house and we'll break
out the guitars."
And about that album cover

a volume that included "My Yid-
dishe Momme," "Hava Negila"
and "0 Mein Papa (Oh! My
Papa)."
Francis credits her interna-
tionalism to George Franconero,
her father and personal svengali,
who died last Oct. 14.
"He used to take these projects
of enormous proportions and drop
them in my lap with one sentence:
`Do this,"' remembers Francis,
who turns 58 on Dec. 12. "He'd say
`Do a Jewish album.' I was living
in a Jewish neighborhood at the
time, so I went to everybody's
houses —including the rabbis —
and asked what their favorite
Jewish songs were. And then we
had an album."
Francis learned to trust her fa-
ther's judgment early in her ca-
reer, starting at age 4 when she
played "Anchors Aweigh" on ac-
cordion for a recital at her musi-
cal school. Francis says her
success began when her father
pushed her to record 'Who's Sor-
ry Now?" a 1923 song that became
her first big hit, rising to No. 4 in
1958.
"For a year and a half he
shoved it in front of my nose, but
I wouldn't record it," Francis re-
members. "I said, The kids on
"American Bandstand" will laugh
me right off the show.' He said,
`Unless you do this, the only way

you'll get on "American Band-
stand" is sitting in the audience."'
Franconero finally persuaded
his daughter to record the song.
It marked the first time she sang
in a style all her own, she says.
"I hated the song so much I didn't
try to sing like anyone else — like
Rosemary Clooney or Jo Stafford
or Patti Page or anybody. I just
sang it," she says.
After the song was out for three
months, Dick Clark heard it, loved
it and put Francis on "American
Bandstand," beginning a string of
aching, romantic songs that had
teen-age girls around the world
crying into their pillows as they
listened to them.
This year, Francis is remem-
bering her career with two collec-
tions — the four-CD set Souvenirs
and the three-CD anthology Her

Greatest Hits & Finest Perfor-
mances. The latter includes some

of her Jewish selections, includ-
ing "My Yiddishe Momme" and a
medley of "Exodus" and "Hava
Negila."
"I come out thinking I'm a very
lucky girl," says Francis, who still
performs despite a voice weak-
ened by complications from
surgery to correct a nasal prob-
lem. "Basically, I've had the op-
portunity to see people backstage
who, when they see me, say Tve
waited 23 years to meet you.
You're my idol. I love you.' I get
this from people in every city, and
that kind of response you just can't
buy. It's the greatest feeling to
know you've made a difference in
some people's lives." ❑

Barenaked Ladies has two
shows scheduled for the De-
troit area. The group performs
with Sara McLachlan, Dish-
walla and Duncan Sheik at 7
p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, at the
Palace of Auburn Hills. Tick-
ets are $14.96. Call (810) 377-
0100. The group returns to
play at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec.
26, at the Fox Theatre. Tick-
ets are $20. Call (810) 433-
1515.

Barenaked Ladies — Stephen Page (new proud papa of Isaac), Ed Robertson, Jim
Creeggan and Tyler Stewart— will be back in Detroit Thursday, Dec. 26, to play at

+1,n_Crwrixtathro