Letter: Connie Francis snubbed by Hall of Fame

I bought a new set of non-sports cards on EBAY which arrived recently. It was 250 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Not realizing there are over 2,000 stars on the walk I was wondering why no Clark Gable. I soon used the internet to discover he indeed has a star. Once again thinking of the Rock and Roll Hall of Shame I had to find out if my favorite female singer Connie Francis had a star.

No explanation is given for her omission. A rock historian noted Francis was the undisputed top female teen idol of the '50s and the early '60s and sold more records than Elvis between 1958 and 1962. She had 35 top 40 hits (16 that went gold), including several No. 1s and many Top 10s. She had the first rock 'n' roll song by a female artist to sell over 1 million copies ("Stupid Cupid" in 1958). She was the female artist of the year for seven years in a row. Joel Whitburn rated her the 11th most important rock act for the first 10 years of rock 'n' roll. She has sold over 110 million albums worldwide. Add to that the quality of her voice and the influence she had on upcoming female rock artists, and her omission smacks of sexism.

The argument by some is that she was from the pop era, which the R&RHOF frowns on. Yet, Ricky Nelson and Fats Domino are in, both of whom had less top 40 hits than Ms. Francis. To add insult to injury, just this year, Dolly Pardon was elected, and while I love her music dearly she never sang rock and roll, ever.

I once again rest my case.

Larry Eichman

Addison