By A song that once lingered in obscurity on the back side of a Connie Francis album has reemerged six decades later as an unlikely viral hit. “Pretty Little Baby,” recorded in 1961 but long overshadowed by Francis’s chart-toppers like Stupid Cupid and Who’s Sorry Now?, has suddenly captivated millions of TikTok users with its wistful charm and vintage sound.
The platform’s endless churn of short videos has propelled the forgotten tune into the cultural foreground. Everyday creators and celebrities alike—including Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner—have adopted the song for their posts, turning it into the soundtrack of a new viral wave, writes The Today Show. Its popularity has pushed the track onto Spotify’s viral playlists, giving it streaming numbers it never saw in its original release.
For Francis, now 86, the song’s resurrection came as a surprise. “My thanks to TikTok and its members for the wonderful, and oh so unexpected, reception,” she wrote in a Facebook post. She admitted her first reaction to the news was to ask, “what’s that?” But curiosity gave way to participation: Francis has since joined TikTok, where her account showcases the original album artwork for the track. Though she has yet to post a video, her presence on the platform links her directly to a generation discovering her work anew.
Parade noted that “fans will be able to dive deeper into Connie Francis’s legacy. Announced on Aug. 25, more than 100 of her songs—singles and rarities released between 1955 and 1960—are now available to stream for the first time ever.
The Singles 1955-1957, The Singles 1958-1959, The Singles 1960-1961, Rarities 1957-1959, and Rarities 1960 are now on streaming services, according to an announcement from Republic/UMe. Plus, both volumes of Francis’ The Italian Collection will return to streaming services as one compilation.
This is just the start. More of Francis’s albums will arrive on streaming platforms for the first time on Sept. 12: 1964’s A New Kind of Connie and newly expanded editions of 1966’s Jealous Heart, 1967’s My Heart Cries For You, and 1969’s The Wedding Cake.”
The moment underscores TikTok’s power to breathe life into forgotten music, recasting yesterday’s B-sides as today’s sensations. For Connie Francis, a singer once synonymous with America’s golden age of pop, “Pretty Little Baby” is proof that even six decades on, a song can find its moment.
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