The Exciting Connie Francis
After her breakthrough in early 1958 with her single "Who's Sorry Now?", a rock 'n' roll oriented version of the 1923 standard, and a subsequent album of the same title, Francis chose to take a more adult approach to her second album. For "The Exciting Connie Francis", she chose twelve American standards. Francis clearly marked the album as a concept album by dividing it into two sections with different moods: Side A is filled with songs differing between mid-tempo and up-tempo, while Side B consists solely of ballads.
Together (1928 song)
"Together" became a Top Ten hit in the summer of 1961 via a recording by Connie Francis cut in New York City on 3 June 1961 with Cliff Parman acting as arranger and conductor. After focusing on new material for her recent singles releases, Francis with "Together" reverted to the mode of remaking traditional pop songs which had provided her with her biggest hits in the 1950s. "Together" reached #6 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and was the first single release by Francis which could avail itself of the July 1961 inauguration of "Billboard"'s Easy Listening chart where "Together" peaked at #1. Francis' "Together" also reached #2 in Australia, #6 in the UK, #7 in Ireland and #6 in New Zealand and was a #1 hit in India.