The “Pretty Little Baby” singer, whose 1962 track has recently gone viral on TikTok, retired from the music industry in 2018. But she reentered the spotlight earlier this year as her song, which she recorded at age 24, entered Billboard’s Global 20 and Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA more than six decades later.
In the wake of her song making waves, the New Jersey native—who in 1960, became the first woman to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with her single “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool”—was thrilled about her music being reintroduced to a new generation.
“I am flabbergasted and excited about the huge buzz my 1962 recording of ‘Pretty Little Baby’ is making all over the world,” she said in a June 6 TikTok video. “To think that a song I recorded 63 years ago is captivating new generations of audiences is truly overwhelming for me.”
And though Francis admitted that she hadn’t thought about “Pretty Little Baby” for quite some time, she remained grateful for the outpouring of love.
“It’s truly awesome,” she explained to People in May. I never thought it was possible. It’s a dream come true.”
